The Nothing Phone 1 is priced in India at Rs 32,999 for the 8GB RAM and 128GB storage variant, while its 8GB RAM and 256GB storage variant will sell for Rs 35,999. There's also a top-of-the-line variant with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, priced at Rs 38,999.
Highlights
Nothing Phone 1 price in India is Rs 38,999 for the top model
Nothing is selling its 45W charger separately for Rs 1,499
The phone is equipped with 33W wired, 15W Qi wireless and 5W reverse wireless charging.
The Nothing Phone 1 has finally launched in India, and now we have the chance to find out if it truly is a game-changing smartphone in its segment. I've been using the Nothing Phone 1 as my primary phone for about a week, and I think it's safe to say that most people should be happy with it.
While the Phone 1 may not have the over-the-top specifications that its competitors like to hype, it does come with a combination of small details that combine to deliver a good user experience. It's not completely perfect, as it needs some improvements. Along with the good features, we'll also discuss those improvements in this review.
Nothing Phone 1 price in India
In India, the Nothing Phone 1 is priced at ₹32,999 for the 8GB RAM and 128GB storage variant, while the 8GB RAM and 256GB storage variant will sell for ₹35,999. There's also a top-of-the-line variant with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, priced at ₹38,999. These prices seem reasonable considering the phone's features and specifications, but note that the Phone 1 doesn't come with a charger or case, essential accessories that most competitors offer.
Nothing is selling a 45W charger separately for ₹1,499. Additionally, the company is also offering a transparent case for the same price. The charger's price isn't bad, and when added to the phone's price, the Phone 1 effectively starts at around ₹34,500. The phone is available in white and black.
Nothing Phone 1 design
We've already discussed this phone's design in great detail in our first impressions, but I still want to point out a few things I really liked after using it for a while. It's a very comfortable phone to hold as a primary device, and in many ways, feels like an iPhone 12 or iPhone 13. The completely flat sides, and the front and back look very industrial, especially the black variant.
Nothing used Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for the display and back panel, so I didn't notice any scratches on the rear glass during my review period. However, even with careful use, both my review units developed significant scratches after just a week, despite the pre-applied screen protector. Fortunately, Nothing is offering a tempered glass screen protector, but that's a price of ₹999.
The display on the Nothing Phone 1 is good, and if you look closely, you'll notice that the width of the borders is uniform all around. Nothing used a flexible OLED panel, which curves inward at the bottom, resulting in a thin chin similar to the iPhone. However, some early users reportedly encountered a green tint on their screens, while others noticed dead pixels near the selfie camera. Nothing has since acknowledged the issue and clarified that the tint issue will be fixed in an upcoming software update. While issues with newly launched products aren't uncommon, it's certainly not good for a startup launching its first smartphone.
I didn't experience any of these issues on the units I was sent, but I did notice purple fringing when swiping between the toggle switches in the notification shade at low brightness. OLEDs typically struggle to transition from black to dark gray at low brightness, and this is quite evident on the Phone 1.
Let's talk about the Glyph interface. It's a creative new approach by Nothing to differentiate itself from the competition, and I appreciate it. In my opinion, the light simply looks better on the black variant, as white LEDs reflect better against darker backgrounds. I also liked the small red LED for video recording. However, when it comes to actual functionality, I haven't found any meaningful use for it yet. Nothing has used some quirky default ringtones and notification sounds, with the LED lights syncing to each sound beat, and there's also some pretty good haptic feedback.
The Glyph interface can be useful for phone calls, where you have a different light pattern for different people, so you can know who's calling just by looking at the light pattern. But for app alerts, there's no way (yet) to link Glyph to a specific app. Furthermore, if you miss an alert, the light won't flash a second time, meaning you might not realize you just missed a call. In fact, Nothing has created a very attractive always-on display, which I find more functional than Glyph Lite.
Glyph Lite can also be used to check the phone's charging status and to trigger Google Assistant. The 'Flip to Glyph' gesture automatically puts the phone on silent mode and uses only the light to alert you.
Nothing Phone 1 specifications and software
The Nothing Phone 1 competes in a segment populated by phones powered by Qualcomm's 800-series SoCs. The Snapdragon 778G+ SoC in the Phone 1 doesn't offer the same power, but it's by no means a weak chip. It delivers good power and is quite power-efficient thanks to its 6nm build. Its performance falls between the MediaTek Dimensity 1300 and Dimensity 8100 SoCs.
The Nothing Phone 1 comes with an IP53 rating for dust and water resistance. It also includes stereo speakers, an in-display fingerprint sensor, and wireless charging. The presence of wireless charging really sets the Phone 1 apart from the competition, as it's the only smartphone in this segment equipped with this feature. The Phone 1 packs a 4,500mAh battery and supports up to 33W wired charging, 15W Qi wireless charging, and 5W reverse wireless charging. The Phone 1 supports 12 5G bands, dual-band Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, and all the basic sensors.
The Phone 1 runs on Nothing OS, based on Android 12. The company promises three years of Android updates and four years of security updates. The software is free of any bloatware, and you only get Google's suite of apps. The recorder app has a retro skin, and the camera app's design is clearly inspired by iOS, but everything else is stock. Nothing OS has some nice animations for locking and unlocking the display and when the phone is charging. I really like the dot-matrix font used throughout the menu labels and the always-on display.
My experience with the software was very good overall, but I did encounter a few bugs during my review period. Sometimes the glyph lights would suddenly become completely disabled, and I had to manually turn them back on. The tap-to-wake setting for the display didn't work at times, forcing me to use the power button. The auto brightness adjustment was also a bit annoying when using the camera app, as even in daylight, the brightness level was too low to see the viewfinder clearly, and I had to manually increase the brightness.
These bugs haven't recurred. The most recent software update (v1.1.0) arrived just a day before this review was published, and it appears to have fixed most of these bugs.
Nothing has created a widget to showcase your NFT collection and has also partnered with Flipkart to offer 'Nothing Community Dots' NFTs to customers who pre-order the phone in India. These redeemable tokens are said to unlock exclusive benefits like early access to new products and offline events. There's an 'Experimental features' section in the Settings app, which currently only has the 'Connect to Tesla' feature. This lets you control various functions of the Tesla car without actually installing the Tesla app.
Nothing Phone 1 performance and battery life
Apart from these initial software glitches, the Nothing Phone 1's performance was very good in my experience. While using it as my primary phone, I didn't encounter any issues with calls, alerts, or display performance outdoors. The haptics add a nice premium touch to any interaction, and the 120Hz refresh rate makes everything feel smooth. HDR videos on YouTube looked good, but Netflix wasn't able to detect any HDR capabilities even after the latest update. The speakers are quite loud and the sound output was good, but the bottom speaker felt more powerful than the earpiece, so the stereo effect didn't feel very balanced.
The Nothing Phone 1 handles games like a champion. Racing titles like GRID: Autosport and Asphalt 9: Legends ran well. Games like Apex Legends and Call of Duty: Mobile also ran very well, with good graphics and touch response. Framerates remained stable, though the phone did get a little warm after about 20 minutes of gaming without a case. Demanding titles like Genshin Impact also ran well on the mid-range SoC. There's also a Game Mode feature to block calls and alerts while playing.
Speaking of battery life, when I first started using this phone, it struggled to last a full day, but things improved over time. With medium to light usage, which mostly involved using the Slack app and browser, along with a few calls, the Phone 1 easily lasted a full day and another half before needing to be charged. With gaming and camera use, battery life dropped a bit, but I still managed to last almost a full day.
The phone can charge at 33W, which is actually quite low compared to the 80W to 120W charging speeds offered by the competition. If you buy Nothing's 45W charger or have a supported USB-PD charger, the phone should charge up to 65 percent in half an hour, which isn't bad. The phone can also be charged wirelessly with any Qi wireless charger.
Nothing Phone 1 cameras
The Nothing Phone 1 has a good primary and secondary camera. The 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 sensor comes with OIS and an aperture of f/1.88. The ultra-wide camera also has a 50-megapixel resolution, but it's based on the Samsung JN1 sensor, and as we saw in our OnePlus 10 Pro review, it's not as good as the Sony. However, it does have autofocus, which means macro photos are actually usable. The 16-megapixel selfie camera is equipped with a Sony IMX471 sensor, which is good as long as you use it in adequate lighting.
The camera app on the Phone 1 has a simple design. As we mentioned, it will remind you of the iOS camera app. I'm glad that Nothing hasn't included unnecessary shooting modes that most of us will probably never use. In addition to essential modes like Portrait and Slo-Mo, some modes are useful, such as Timelapse, Panorama, and Expert. There's no dedicated mode for night shooting. Instead, you can activate it by tapping an icon in the viewfinder depending on your needs.
When I first started using the Nothing Phone 1, the primary camera's colors were a bit oversaturated, but this improved slightly after receiving two firmware updates. Landscape shots taken in daylight had a good amount of detail and the right amount of warm tones. Details on objects at the edges of the frame were a bit weak, but you'd have to look closely to notice. Close-up photos had rich and vibrant colors, with excellent detail. Reds and greens sometimes appeared a bit punchy, but nothing that couldn't be fixed with a little editing. Shots captured in portrait mode had good edge detection for both objects and pets.
Ultra-wide landscapes in daylight weren't as good as those taken with the primary camera. The wide point of view was helpful, but color tones were generally cool and details were comparatively weak. Macro photos were good, but the camera app didn't automatically switch to macro shooting mode, or even suggest switching to macro mode when you got close enough to your subject.
After the latest update, the quality of photos taken in low light improved significantly. Colors were accurate to the scene, and objects had good detail. There was some grain in some areas of the photos, but this became noticeable only after zooming in. Night mode makes a big difference in photos, as it significantly improves exposure and reveals more detail even in shadowy areas. However, a minor side effect of having a brighter photo was the appearance of slight distortion around the edges of objects, but again, this was only noticeable if you cropped the photo heavily. The ultra-wide camera is quite weak in low light, even with Night mode on. Details were lacking and photos taken with the primary camera were much darker.
The front camera performed quite averagely when it came to taking selfies. Exposure was handled well in daylight, and skin tones were good, but low-light photos were quite poor, with poor detail and skin tones. Night mode wasn't very helpful, as it further deteriorated photo quality.
The Nothing Phone 1 can capture video at up to 4K 30fps with the primary and ultra-wide cameras, while the selfie camera is limited to 1080p. Strangely, video captured by the primary camera doesn't appear to be stable even when shooting at 4K or 1080p, and even if OIS is enabled, this phone doesn't perform very well with it. Stabilization can be enabled, but it's only electronic stabilization, which crops the frame and adds distortion to footage when you're moving and recording.
The ultra-wide camera also supports 4K video recording, but the quality was quite poor. Additionally, it lacks the ability to switch between the two rear cameras while recording at any resolution. Low-light video recorded with the primary camera is good, but stabilization performance needs improvement. Night mode is a bit helpful for video, but it's limited to recording at 1080p, and audio is muffled.
Verdict
The problem with the Nothing Phone 1's massive hype is that it automatically creates unrealistic expectations in buyers' minds. If you strip all of that away, you're still left with an above-average smartphone that offers enough unique features to set itself apart from the competition. Wireless charging is a premium addition to the Phone 1, something no other smartphone in this segment has managed to achieve, unless you include the older but still-purchasable Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G
. The features I liked were its premium build quality, vibrant display, good primary camera, and clean Android experience. The Glyph Lite is a nice addition, but I personally didn't get much use out of it. One thing that needs the most improvement is the Phone 1's secondary camera, especially in low light. Furthermore, video recording could benefit significantly from better stabilization and features.
If you're looking for something special in your next smartphone, like super-fast charging or excellent gaming performance, there are some better phones available under ₹40,000 . The Samsung Galaxy A53 5G is one of the only new models in this segment with an IP67 rating and is also an all-rounder in terms of performance. If you're looking for excellent gaming performance, phones like the Xiaomi 11T Pro and iQoo 9 SE would be better options. Additionally, the Motorola Edge 20 Pro 's 5X telephoto camera should please photography enthusiasts.
All of these phones have better specifications and features than the Nothing Phone 1 in one or more areas. However, if you want a phone that stands out with all the essential features, there's nothing quite like the Nothing Phone 1 on the market right now.
