Nothing, the brand launched by One-Plus co-founder Carl Pei, completed three years of existence recently. It has been a rather interesting three years, too, with the brand getting its journey underway with a TWS, coming up with two phones with a unique design, and then heading into wearables through a sub-brand of its own (CMF).
While everything indicates that there certainly are more years in the Nothing tank for its ride down the tech road, three years is a good time to sit back and take stock of what we think the brand has got right and where we think it is a bit of a ‘work in progress.’
So, here’s us saying Happy Birthday to Nothing as it turns three, with three things that we think it needs to work on and three things that it has got absolutely spot on in its three years in our lives:
Table of Contents
Rocking!: Three things Nothing has got right
Very different design: There ain’t nothing like this…unless it is from Nothing!
Design has been the cornerstone of most of Nothing’s products, and the brand has certainly made its products look very different from those of the competition, if not always from its own siblings.
Whether it is the transparent, LED-laden backs of the Phone (1) and Phone (2), the transparent buds and cases of the Ear (1) and Ear (2), the lipstick-like opening Ear (Stick), the cosmetic compact case of the CMF Buds Pro or the bright orange CMF Power 65W GaN charger, or the distinct packaging of every Nothing product, Nothing’s design has made its products stand out in the crowd.
You might get a little confused between two generations of a Nothing product, but you are unlikely to confuse a Nothing product with one from another brand. That is almost an Apple and Pixel-like space to be in – very impressive for a relatively new brand in a super competitive zone.
Software game on point: Very frequent and very detailed software updates
Nothing’s software update game has been brilliantly on point from the get-go. The brand has been quick to not only release updates to its products – and it updates phones as well as TWS and their wearable – but also often makes it a point to explain in detail what exactly they do.
Nothing device updates are generally a lot more than the usual ‘fixed some bugs’ and ‘improved performance’ updates that we see from so many other brands. In fact, some of the Nothing device update logs were very detailed and also written with a touch of humor, complete with emojis.
We hope that the brand continues this and that other brands borrow this page from its book. It is always nice to know what an update actually does, apart from restarting your device!
Talking the tech talk again and again: The Carl Pei effect
Carl Pei is known as a bit of a communications wizard, and his expertise has been very much on display at Nothing over the past three years. Every Nothing product launch has been accompanied by extensive and careful “leaks” of specific product details, interviews, and interactions with notable personalities, and the launches themselves have been different from the “call media in a big room and show them a presentation” routine followed by most big brands.
The brand has also picked up a reputation for often responding swiftly to news of problems with its products – something that was seen when there was a flurry of complaints about the Phone (1).
As a result, Nothing has seldom been out of the news for an extended period of time and has got the kind of coverage that brands many times its size have not been able to manage.
Rocked!: Three things Nothing needs to work on
Buggy product releases: The Crash Test Dummy Syndrome
The cynics might say that Nothing’s excellent software update record is more a reflection of the brand’s tendency to release slightly undercooked, buggy products than a reflection of its dedication to software excellence.
We would not like to get into that debate right now, but it cannot be denied that many of Nothing’s products have come with bugs and features that did not work quite as well as hyped. Of course, the brand has generally been quick off the mark to acknowledge these and attempt to fix them, but as a new brand, it cannot risk getting a reputation for being buggy.
The perils of over-communication (and too much Carl Pei)
We are all for brands talking about their products, but we think that Nothing has tended to overdo its comms charge at times, with far too many pre-launch messages on different platforms.
The pre-launch hype also tends to build up unrealistic expectations in consumers.
What’s more, the “we are making the tech world interesting and different” line can only be repeated so many times and can turn into a double-edged sword when the successors of your own products resemble their OG avatars. We also feel that while Carl Pei is a terrific brand ambassador, he could be getting a trifle over-used at times – perhaps the brand needs to evolve beyond being seen as just his new venture.
Getting out of the geek zone: The Pixel effect?
Three years into its existence, Nothing faces the very real risk of getting into what many call the ‘Pixel zone’ – becoming a brand that is talked about more by reviewers and geeks than by actual consumers. Pei had made the OnePlus community a key part of the brand’s initial success, and while Nothing does have a very vibrant and interactive community, but it has not hit the fanatical levels of OnePlus. Not yet.
The street accessory vendors in India’s metros still do not have too many Nothing Phone, or TWS covers – one of the biggest signs of mainstream interest in a product.
That said, even though it is literally a tech infant in the crowd of some very well-aged tech brands, Nothing has managed to make a significant mark in the industry, which is more than one can say for even some very well-established brands.
Happy birthday, Nothing! Here’s to lots of somethings and one more thing from you in the coming days.
