When we analyze a new smartphone, there is never much to say about the design, especially when the novelties are already assimilated, as it happens in the time we live in. But Nothing Phone (1) came to reverse this situation and give a fresh air to those mid-range mobiles that seem to be “jack, horse, king”.

The Nothing Phone (1) was eagerly awaited, its creators, former OnePlus directors, promised to bring something revolutionary to an industry without new paradigms. But the novelty is not in its strength, but in the experience and design.

Phone specifications Nothing

Design

Great Nothing Phone section (1). On the one hand, we have a smartphone with almost no bezels or burrs, with a front camera embedded in the upper left corner without a notch, and on the other, a surprise. We meet a set of configurable LEDs. The back cover is transparent and allows us to see some of the insides of the mobile in addition to the LEDs themselves. The phone Nothing (1) is covered with double-sided Gorilla Glass, which offers increased durability. Advanced vibration motors make tactile responses more vivid.

It has symmetrical frames made of 100% recycled aluminum, which give it extra elegance and remind the design of the iPhone. On the black model we tested, these bezels are chromed in a matte steel color. The terminal we worked with is a test terminal that rotates between journalists for several weeks, we usually take extra care with this type of product, so I was intrigued by the nugget at the top of the steel bezel, which leads me to believe that in this case elegance at odds with durability and that it would be interesting to have a cover (transparent so as not to lose the elegance of the mobile) to avoid more of these scratches.

The back of the Nothing Phone (1) has a name, it’s called glyph and define it as a new way of communication. The purpose of the Glyph is to create light patterns that provide various warnings about the state of the mobile, such as calls, notifications or charging. In the case of notifications, it is not necessary that all of them light up, one of the options that Nothing Phone (1) allows us is the maximum customization of the Glyph, we can choose what we want to light up, how it will light up and even if we want to turn it off completely.

The purpose of the Glyph is to provide information without having to look at the screen. Sort of like a disconnect, but without the full execution. In addition to information on the mobile, this light will help the camera even in low light conditions.

If I focus on ergonomics, this phone left a good taste in my mouth, it’s not that it fits in the hand, it’s that it’s very comfortable, its wide edges prevent sliding and it’s the right size to fit any hand, 159.2 x 75.8 x 7.6 mm, it just made me a little heavier than other terminals, but it is true that the weight in the hand also reduces falls and provides comfort in handling.

Screen

The display is 6.55″ OLED. HDR10+ with an adaptive refresh rate of 120 Hz for more responsive interactions while saving battery. The right screen for mid-range mobile phones.

cameras

This Nothing Phone (1) has a 50-megapixel main sensor, the same Sony IMX766 that powers much of today’s high-end. It is the same as we have already seen with other mobiles oriented to the middle and part of the high end, and whose good results leave us room for optimism. The sensor is supported by an optical image stabilizer.

Secondary camera meanwhile uses a Samsung JN1 sensor, also 50 megapixels. This camera is associated with ultra wide angle lens.

Finally, there is 16 megapixel front camera Sony IMX471. Curiously, it’s the same one that OnePlus has used in several of its Nord series devices since Carl Pei himself oversaw that division within the Chinese brand.

We will find a camera with a resolution that we can use if we know how to take pictures, and with which there will be no drama if we are not experts.

Battery and performance

In Nic, they decided that you will use the charger of the old mobile phone, that it is not worth buying a new one, so they do not add it in addition to the cable. It has a battery o Capacity 4500 mAh which easily survives the vacation days in front of the camera and social networks. If you already have or are thinking of buying a fast charger, it is compatible with the Nothing Phone (1) which has a fast charging system Quick Charge 4.0 system at 33W. This charge allows the battery to be recharged from 0% in approximately 62 minutes, a little over an hour.

We have too Qi wireless charging supportwith a maximum supported power of 15 W. It is even possible use your mobile phone to charge other devices or accessories wirelessly, is able to achieve performance 5W When testing wireless charging with the OnePlus charger, we found that the sensor is not very reliable and that it does not maintain a continuous charge, it suddenly stops charging and we have to slide it on the support to suddenly continue charging.

In terms of performance, the Nothing Phone (1) uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ processorone of the California firm’s SoCs aimed at the middle class.

It’s not the most powerful, nor the most efficient. But it does its job and it does everything goes smoothly, and that’s with 8GB of RAM in the unit I’ve been using these days. During the holidays we had downtime of constant use of the mobile in which I did not lack more power and never suffered from excessive heating.

I noticed some flaws in the facial recognition, it misses every time and forces us to add a fingerprint to unlock. Also when unlocking, once the screen is unlocked you need to swipe up to skip the lock screen, the swipe has to be as wide as possible, almost to the top of the screen to “lift”. » and we have access to a mobile phone. A situation that can sometimes be a bit uncomfortable, especially if you can handle the mobile with only one hand.

Software: Android 12

It is clear that there is no Bloatware on the Nothing phone, we have pure Android 12. We will only find a few shortcuts a bit bigger than usual to make the change as quickly as possible.

Conclusions

What I liked most about the Nothing Phone (1) wasn’t its design, at least the lights part, which seems somewhat irrelevant. I’ve never “used” them in the month I’ve had the phone. That means they didn’t serve as a notification to me about anything. Yes, I liked the compact, sturdy and comfortable design in the hand, as well as the pleasant weight.

I really liked the fact that it’s a mobile phone that can handle cars and carts flawlessly, it pays for everything, photography, social networks, multimedia, I think you can’t ask for much more from a mid-range phone. Of course, it will be difficult in such a crowded sector in which they decided to stand out with some LEDs.