Nothing Phone (1) review

22 July 2022


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  • d
  • dishonored
  • rpV
  • 23 Jul 2022

these phone have the "it seems quite capable"
but right now it do not
-camera hardware and quality is nearly the same as a 200$ one
-battery is normal
-no sd or jack since these phone is a mid-ranger
-Soc could have been better a 870 one would be at least decent
-light's are just flashy nothing more all the lights will flickers when charging or someone calling
but guys i'm facing my phone screen on top not on table so it's useless.
don't get me wrong don't kill it its a bad phone
but its not the best in it's price range + give them the chance if they do listen they know their needs work to be done

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • KAS
    • 23 Jul 2022

    trapper09, 23 Jul 2022No offense GSMArena but this review is quite biasedIt isn't. The phone has issues with it's audio and they did mention it. The list of cons also points out to lack of better IP rating

    Overall, the phone is good for the price. I might buy it given that the other issues get sorted out (display, back panel)

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • HXY
      • 23 Jul 2022

      Shame about the audio quality, deal breaker for me..
      Also as someone mentioned, placing your phone screen down just increases the chances of messing up/ scratching the screen.. tipping the rear led light novelty would wear thin pretty quick
      Front or side led notifications I'm 100% about, not sure why they've all but been forgotten about
      If only I could get a compact high end andriod with a led notification and a physical mute switch like on iphones it would be the perfect phone..

        AnonD-970391, 23 Jul 2022Wow how easy you find out so much to complain people? :) ... moreI wasn't going to ask, and HW wise this is maybe balanced, but wow how the camera under performs.

        It's in the price range of pixel Xa series and no where close. And I wasn't joking when I said the camera performance is more like the old and cheap Mi Max 3 than even and old Pixel 4 XL.

        Cheaper phones like the Xiaomi Note 11 pro and similar, despite lacking OIS, takes better photos. Don't take my word for it, just check it yourself. Hence my comment that they have a lot of work to do on the camera software, because they really do.

          Fredwinia, 23 Jul 2022How am I supposed to see those leds? Phone in my hand or it... moreI'll give you a hint:

          It will greatly increase the risk of scratching your screen, or screen protector.

            Fredwinia, 23 Jul 2022How am I supposed to see those leds? Phone in my hand or it... morePut it screen down or rotate it in your hand... simple

              Kangal, 23 Jul 2022I like how GSMArena team finally had the courage to compare... moreDon't bother. They just jumped the hype bandwagon...

                • J
                • Jimmy
                • nrN
                • 23 Jul 2022

                Kaloyan, 22 Jul 2022One clarification about the camera - the phone received its... morethanks for letting us know, even judging by results in your review camera is fine, mostly thanks to Qualcomm ISP which does the job.

                  Better put notification light on the front. Like Nokia did.

                    • P
                    • PakHuySun
                    • nrN
                    • 23 Jul 2022

                    Mikeromeoz, 23 Jul 2022So many of this device's hardware (IMX766 primary, One... moreyeah people were telling this from the first news about Nothing, just a BBK sub brand that calls itself "independent" with a talking head Carl Pei who supposedly decides something

                      • P
                      • PakHuySun
                      • nrN
                      • 23 Jul 2022

                      Nothing Phone (1) (Max Auto) 663

                      lol it's so bad, smartphones in this price category have 800+ brightness

                        I like how GSMArena team finally had the courage to compare this to the Samsung A52s.
                        But they purposely didn't mention a couple things :(
                        Apart from being cheaper (250 euro), the Samsung also gives you 3-years of software updates (compared to Nothing), it gives you a microSD slot, and it gives you a 3.5mm Headphone Jack. And since it's a popular phone, you have greater choice of cases/accessories too. Such as the Spigen ThinFit case.

                        And community development recently took off. There's Android12, root, TWRP, de-bloat, call recording, Gcam Port, and unofficial DeX support.

                          How am I supposed to see those leds? Phone in my hand or it is lying on its back.

                            Instead of calling it Nothing, they should've called it like Jordan Peele's recent film, NOPE.

                            I don't want Nothing the company to fail. I just think their first phone will fail. But they might get really creative in future products. Nothing wrong having a Nothing. We need more companies like them to keep the industry interesting.

                              stoon, 22 Jul 2022in your audio test, you said the speakers are very good and... moreDid you even read the review fully? Speakers are fine, it's bad audio quality are through wired/wireless buds.

                                GSMArena got seriously trashed in the comment section. Deservedly so.

                                  • D
                                  • AnonD-1033007
                                  • g8K
                                  • 23 Jul 2022

                                  derrr, 23 Jul 2022huh? Can you point to where was it stated in this review th... moreNowhere, i corrected myself later and replied that i read it wrong.

                                    • K
                                    • Kai
                                    • fCQ
                                    • 23 Jul 2022

                                    trapper09, 23 Jul 2022No offense GSMArena but this review is quite biasedI agree.

                                      • V
                                      • Vijay
                                      • KSf
                                      • 23 Jul 2022

                                      Why edge 30 is not considered as an alternative? It has clean os, similar hardware and considerably cheaper.

                                        So many of this device's hardware (IMX766 primary, OnePlus-sized and specced screen) and software (Camera app, about page) nuances clearly screams this is BBK-made.
                                        It matters not if they claim they're independent, nor how many bajillions of funds they got from investors, there's no way Carl Pei can simply conjure out of nowhere such a hardware package (at that price range, too!) without a large, existing phone company to back him up. Plus the logistics required to make it available worldwide.

                                        ...which also explains how a 'startup' can acquire 500 people for the software shenanigans, despite being pretty much stock android. They just counted every BBK engineers that had a hand in this, even if barely, and indirectly.