The Nothing Phone 2 will be coming to the U.S. this year, CEO Carl Pei said today. The company previously launched its first entry into the smartphone market in Europe and Asia due to resource constraints.
“We decided to make the U.S. our No. 1 priority in terms of markets,” CEO Carl Pei said in an interview with Inverse. “We couldn’t do it earlier because we were only in our second year and our hands were tied building the team as we were building the products. Now as we’re on a more solid footing, we can take a step forward.”
The Nothing Phone 1‘s priorities revolve around bringing back ‘fun’ to phones. Though its idea of fun was a little uninspired, the company did tap into the fervor that some smartphone enthusiasts have for phones that are a little less predictable and practical than the current crop.
As for specifics on the Nothing Phone 2, Pei was a little guarded in his comment, sharing with the publication that it would be “more premium” with software being a big focus. “We’re developing a smartphone that’s more premium than the Nothing Phone 1 and software will be a big focus area for us.” Software on the Nothing Phone 1 was inoffensive and helpful, almost Pixel-like in some areas, but the company’s update cadence left some to be desired. That’s likely to be improved, according to the interview.
As for a more premium device, the original Nothing Phone 1 was criticized for its chipset, which was weaker than a comparably priced Xiaomi phone in Europe, or the Tensor-powered Pixels in the U.S. A more powerful chipset would improve the Nothing Phone all around, as well as make it more competitive in general.
The Nothing Phone 1 was received critically by reviewers. Setting aside its gimmicks and the QA issues endemic to smaller brands, the phone served as an example of a competently made Android phone with a strong design and few flaws. A U.S. release could see the cultic device make inroads into more mainstream hands. It won’t be an iPhone killer, but perhaps it could try its hand at getting smaller brands like OnePlus supplanted.
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