In October of last year, co-founder of smartphone brand OnePlus, Carl Pei, left the company and was in talks of starting up his own brand. Now, it's been announced, and it's called 'Nothing'.
Announced via Twitter under @nothingtech, the reveal showcased a trippy launch video with statements such as "we're rethinking everything, from what we make and how we make it," and "a giant reset button for all things innovation." Yes, Nothing has clearly piqued our interest.
In an interview with The Verge before the announcement, Pei stated the company is London-based and it's all about consumer technology. In more surprising news, he also states the first smart devices from the company will be released in the first half of the year.
We rethought everything and came up with #Nothing. pic.twitter.com/VSz905KgugJanuary 27, 2021
While Pei's time at OnePlus makes us presume it could be along the lines of a new smartphone competitor, it is never specified what kind of smart devices will be released or what devices Nothing will focus on making.
There are rumors of the company's focus being on headphones or speakers, but we haven't heard any concrete details of what kind of devices will come from Nothing.
What Pei did mention in the interview is the aim of making smart devices in multiple categories, all to make an ecosystem possibly in the same vein as Apple's.
The company has also reportedly received $7 million in funding from investors, including the American engineer and inventor of the iPod, Tony Fadell, Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin, and Reddit CEO Steve Huffman. According to Pei, Nothing will produce different designs from what's already on the market, but not just for the sake of being different.
For now, we're excited to see some Nothing products, and whether they will contend with the best smartphones of 2021.
