How Nothing went from a small start to something special in 2022

Veni, Vidi, Vici. Or in this case, Veni, Vidi, et Nihil. Let me translate. 'I came, I saw, and Nothing.' I would argue that this should be the motto for Nothing, the company co-founded by former OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, which had a truly breakout moment this year when it released the Phone (1).

The Nothing Phone (1) is easily the most unique design I've seen in years.The design was literally inspired by Italian designer Massimo Vignelli's New York City subway maps. Now, if you thought that was pushing the envelope, the crack design team at Nothing followed that up with a pair of Truly Wireless Earbuds whose case was literally inspired by a lipstick. Truly wild.

The Nothing Ear (stick)

With the Ear (1), Phone (1), and the Ear (stick), Nothing has been on something of a roll — all three products have been received positively. I'm ignoring some of the online teeth gnashing and handwringing because that will always be there — and that is quite the hit-rate for a startup.

Last week, I caught up with Nothing's Vice President and India General Manager Manu Sharma. We chatted about the company's past, present, and future, and there was some gushing (from my side, obviously) about the Phone (1). In case you hadn't noticed, I reviewed the phone twice and it was a positive experience both times.

Nothing tells me they refer to 2022 internally as their real founding year, as they made their big-stage debut with the Phone (1).

The Nothing Phone (1) and its (now) iconic Glyph Interface

This has been a great run for far for them, and Nothing says they are not sitting on their laurels. There's more to come, though the company, much to my curious mind's frustration, won't tell me exactly what. But I suppose knowing what's to come will take the thrill away.

But Manu Sharma let me down gently.

"...we don't want to talk about our future products because there is a competitive angle to it. Second, internally also, early on, there's a lot of R&D happening, (there are) times you can change products and sometimes cancel them over time because of industrial reasons," Sharma said.

Fair enough.

Then the ball got truly rolling on the interview. Looking in from the outside, the Nothing team apparently had a ball coming out with the Phone (1) — there were artsy promo drops with different parrots, behind-the-scenes videos, a limited edition auction with phones going for as high as $2,000, and finally the proper first look at an art exhibition at Basel in Switzerland.

A guest takes a photo of the Nothing phone (1) at a private art gala in Basel, Switzerland, in June. (Image: Nothing)

But it couldn't have been a party all the way. There were surely moments of frustration, anger, and gut-wrenching anxiety — especially in the moments before a zen Carl Pei sat in an empty auditorium and took the covers off the Phone (1) with the practised ease of a master presenter. Then the phone went on sale and there would have been churning stomachs aplenty. How did the Nothing team handle this rollercoaster of emotions?

"We were, of course, internally, very anxious with the Phone (1)," says Sharma, adding, "This is a product in a category (smartphones) which is very big — we also took time to reveal that, but you're right. I think we, as a team, did an amazing job in building (the product, the excitement in building the hype."

He referred to the art show in Basel — which was a one-of-its-kind smartphone reveal — and said "people saw for the first time our totally different design."

The one thing that separates Nothing from the pack is just how unpredictable they are. After the Phone (1), rumours of another pair of TWS earbuds were doing the rounds, and the sharks in the water smelt blood. Surely, they said, the Ear (2) is around the corner? How will they differentiate it? What design changes will Nothing make? Can Nothing pull off a hat-trick of unique products?

The Nothing Ear (1)

Nothing, in what is becoming classic Nothing fashion, subverted expectations by launching a whole new pair of earbuds — the Ear (stick). Housed in a vertical, cylindrical case inspired by the twisty lipstick, and without Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), Nothing proved once again that, with the right idea and implementation, any product can be successful.

So, the New York City subway maps, lipsticks — did the brass at Nothing ever have to pull their design team by saying, "Okay, dial it down, that's a little too far?"

Never, says Sharma.

"Our mission is and remains exactly that — we want to create iconic and connected products ... the reason we were born literally was to disrupt the market."

According to Sharma, most products out in the market were starting to look similar, and that was where Nothing sensed an opportunity.

A Massimo Vignelli New York City subway map design from 1972

"We knew right from beginning (that) we were not to going walk the regular path; we will have our own journey. You will see a differentiation in terms of how we approach, And (rejuvenate) the consumers," he says.

Sharma says they tapped into this space — or vacuum as he pithily put it — at the right time, as consumers are more open to experimenting with their gadgets than they might have been before.

"The world is evolving. People want to experiment. And if you were to look at what the the world offers at this point of time in earbuds design, it's the same old thing. I think this was when i first saw the Ear (stick) — fascinating, fantastic," Sharma says.

Lipstick or not, Sharma says the Ear (stick) provides a very satisfying experience in the way one twists it open to access the earbuds.

"It's a fantastic looking device — the way you open the device and shut it ... in the cylindrical format — it's just it's just very, very different from whatever is out there in the market," Sharma adds.

In a nutshell, no design is too wild, quirky, or too off the wall. "Our designers globally ... they do some kick-ass stuff."

Nothing was also beset by some bad press and negativity online after they raised their prices across their lineup recently. But Sharma says they were prepared for the backlash, such as it was, and added that they had no choice.

"We are a small company and have to manage our pricing in such a way that it's sustainable. We raised our prices by about Rs 1,000 — just before the Phone (1) launch, it was Rs 75 to a dollar. It became Rs 82. That's a huge tank on the old profitability. That was the reason we increased the price and we expected (the backlash)."

So, is there a Nothing Phone (2) in the works? How about the successor to the Ear (2), considering the Ear (stick) does not have ANC? Sharma says the company is currently focused on improving user experience rather than — as some other companies do — flood the market with half-a-dozen products.

"We are not in a rush in terms of launching devices," Sharma says, "unlike other brands which launch six devices every year or even more. Delivering the experience — I think that's the important milestone that we're looking at. If you can elevate the OS experience, have a seamless experience on a device, you know, with no bloatware, or hanging, small niggles, then you've done the job."

But for now, the company is focused on finetuning the Nothing OS 1.5, —  the company's version of Android 13 — which is currently in public beta. "The Android 13 beta is fantastic. I'm already using it. And as you know, we already released so many OTA (over-the-air) updates (seven, to be precise)."

"The Phone (1) has been a very important milestone because it's the centre of the connected ecosystem."

Plus, Nothing opened its brand store in Soho, London, and Sharma says they plan to open stores in two or three Indian cities next year.

The task is made more difficult for them as they're still a young company and lack the resources of their bigger competitors, Sharma says. "Unlike other brands who already had a legacy, we started from scratch. w are a startup. We don't have deep pockets like my old company or even Apple."

But just because they're a startup doesn't mean they're green.

"We are young, but of course, very experienced. And we, we know the market," Sharma says.

Carl Pei (Image: Nothing)

Of course it has not all been smooth sailing for Nothing. They were off to a rough start, with difficulties in putting out their debut product, the Ear (1). Sharma says many manufacturers refused to work; he claims the competition tried to stifle them.

"But i think after having sold more than one million devices globally, people are looking at us very differently. That is really helping us as we move forward — it allows us to explore more products," Sharma says.

And what might those products be?

Sharma answers with an enigmatic smile. "We have a very interesting lineup for next year, as well. We'll continue to expand our phone lineup, with new products — all I can say is allow us to meet you again to talk about our future products."

As Alice would say, "Curiouser and curiouser!"