Can Carl Pei be struck twice with Nothing Phone 1?

The original OnePlus was a watershed moment in the history of smartphones. By breaking down smartphones into their essential performance and value, the company has solidified its reputation as the first affordable flagship maker. More importantly, what made the brand stand out was the important task of creating a community of enthusiastic fans who were willing to bet on an unknown company and let go of their cold cash. And most of the time, it came down to one person, Carl Pei. And now he’s back on it again with NothingPhone1.

Related: Nothing reminds us that smartphone design innovation isn’t dead

I’ve often joked that Carl Pei would be a shoe-in to lead some of the best creative agencies in the world. The man is a master of hype, and the casually booked OnePlus “OG” has the mysterious ability to create mysteries through obfuscation. How Pei and the original OnePlus team succeeded in drip-feeding information, creating the unusual privilege of being chosen to buy a product through an invitation system could be a case study of a marketing course. there is.

But there is a difference between launching a multi-billion dollar backed brand like Oppo and launching a startup. I can’t afford to lose everything.

To be fair to Pay, he is no longer bound by the ambitions and restrictions of running an Oppo subbrand. It has long been surprisingly clear that Oppo was half-heartedly jealous of OnePlus’ mind-sharing outside of China. Despite working hard to create a premium image and a very broad portfolio, Oppo was unable to achieve that completely. So, I observed OnePlus’ gradual “close colleagues” until I was ready to virtually waste all the credit I earned with OnePlus. Even if it succeeded, Pay failed and eventually left the brand he built.

reference: On the road to success, BBK and Oppo are leaving OnePlus behind

With nothing, he’s clean, and no giant is standing outside the door. His stereotyped approach of seeding mysterious clues and supporting technologically advanced design trends has so far favored him. The fact that the company sells the first 100 units on StockX proves that this is a phone designed for the TikTok generation. From retro-futuristic typefaces to partnerships with Scandinavian technology design genius Teenage Engineering, the brand clearly attracts a “hype” audience. And at first glance, it looks like it’s working.

The worst thing that can happen to a new brand is when people don’t talk about it. Nothing is more central to conversations in the fields of culture, design and technology. In fact, as part of a recent office chat, I argued with a colleague that design is really the last frontier for smartphones to truly innovate. Nothing Phone 1 is bolded by the selective use of Bauhaus and Brutalist design flair. It’s a piece of polarized conversation.

The Glyph interface is probably the epitome of feature-driven design and an important belief in Bauhaus philosophy. The Nothing Phone employs a series of 900 LEDs arranged in a design pattern across the length and width of the phone. They also act as notification LEDs, charging progress bars, ringtone animations, and even fill lights during video recording. It’s original and definitely something that big brands never experiment with. I’m looking forward to what developers will do with it.

But Pay’s ambitions are far more than just design. Pei also talked about creating an ecosystem of interconnected devices and the ability for phones to interact with connected peripherals manufactured by other manufacturers. It’s ambitious. He may not be able to realize all his dreams in the first one or two, but companies are talking about a broader ecosystem around creating their own Artificial Intelligence Of Things (AIOT) strategy. It’s certainly fresh to see.

The competition is fierce and of great value to be found

Design and art are easy to understand, but the proof is in the number of people who let go of their wallets. And that would be a much harder job this time for Pay and his team.

The smartphone market is saturated. Some might say that you have burnout from your smartphone, but that’s not a bad thing. Over the last few years of popular smartphones, it’s easy to identify some trends. The focus area wraps around a slightly better camera, faster charging, and a slightly spruce-up design. Putting aside new categories like foldable has sparked a breakthrough innovation. Instead, a stable stream of reliable and reliable phones across different price ranges and user requirements has emerged. There really is something for everyone. If the phone every second has the same enhanced spec sheet, it is indistinguishable from pure specs. But is the straight LED light ring of the encounter with the unknown the answer? only time will tell.

The pure economics of introducing a brand new phone make this venture even more difficult for startups. Rumor has it that the Nothing Phone 1 will be powered by the Snapdragon 7 series chipset and will be placed head-on in the midrange camp. Meanwhile, Xiaomi, Poco, Realme and others will take advantage of economies of scale more comfortably to bring high-end chips and state-of-the-art cameras to the same segment. It’s still unclear if the market will respond positively to the design-first approach at the expense of specs, but I’m skeptical of the historical priorities we’ve seen on things like HMD Global and Essential Phone.

read more: If Nothing Phone 1 isn’t cheap, it will fail

Even from a software perspective, we have a glimpse of what we aren’t thinking about anymore. The beta release of the Nothing Launcher, well, proved to be nothing. In addition, smartphone brands are certainly making progress when it comes to software. Compared to the early days of OnePlus, today’s software is more about consumer taste than choosing skin that is inherently bad or unobtrusive. In fact, the brand has been offering updates for over three years, making it even harder to generate marketing buzz about these necessities.

It’s not all fate and darkness

It’s great to approach new technology with some skepticism, but the fact of the matter is that Pay proved that his guerrilla marketing tactics worked. Not only did he enthusiastically a group of enthusiastic fans, he succeeded in selling over 600,000 units of Nothing Ear 1.

The invitation system, as we’ve seen before, is a unique solution to the very real problem of supply shortages and the enormous cost of sitting in your smartphone’s inventory. Guarantees quick movement of units while encouraging quick purchases.

Loyalty to the OnePlus phone was built behind the scroll geeks on the Internet forums who perused the spec sheets and custom ROMs. Since then, the situation on smartphones has changed dramatically. Creators’ economies are real and purchasing decisions are absolutely motivated by them. The design is selling and a cool gimmick like an innovative LED light is a splash. Nothing works as a home for exhausted OnePlus fans yet, but to understand that Pei chose to design a phone for cool trendsetters rather than PUBG addicts and made the right call. You don’t need a genius.

reference: No one borrows all the right moves from the early OnePlus playbooks

You see, I want to make NothingPhone1 a success. It’s an exciting and refreshing way of looking at what a phone looks like. We all know that the moment you put the case down, you forget everything about the design, but unlike the monolithic pieces of metal that are the Galaxy S22 Ultra, if you remove the NothingPhone1 case and you do, it’s emotional and Even the sense of the community. ((((Editor’s Note: Alternatively, you can purchase a clear case. )

Ultimately, the success or failure of a phone depends entirely on how well the brand performs launch, pricing, and post-sales support. But that doesn’t undermine the fact that Pay’s marketing magic positions NothingPhone1 for true success. Maybe the lightning can really hit twice.