Smartphones all look the same these days. British startup Nothing wants to change that. Today, they launched the Phone (3a). It’s a device with a fresh design and a friendly price. Can this small company shake up a market ruled by giants like Apple and Samsung?
Nothing was started in 2020 by Carl Pei. He’s a tech star who once co-founded OnePlus. That company won fans with cool, cheap phones. Now, Pei is trying it again with Nothing. “People used to love tech,” he said years ago. “Now they don’t care. We want to fix that.”
Smartphone sales are flat. People keep their phones longer. Upgrades are small, and prices keep climbing. Most phones look boring and similar. The Phone (3a) aims to stand out.
The Phone (3a) has something called “Glyph” lights. These are LED strips on the back. They flash with ringtones or alerts. It’s a fun way to notice calls without staring at your screen.
It also has three cameras:
- A 50-megapixel main camera for clear shots.
- A 50-megapixel zoom lens for faraway stuff.
- An 8-megapixel wide lens for big group pics.
The phone uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chip. It’s not the fastest, but it works well for daily use and games. The base model costs £329 ($414). A fancier version, the Phone (3a) Pro, is £449. It skips India, though—a big market for Nothing.
Analyst Ben Wood likes Nothing’s style. “To sell cheaper phones, you need to be different,” he said. Most companies focus on power, not looks. Nothing bets on personality. A study says over 60% of buyers care about design. Nothing’s odd shapes and lights tap into that.
Nothing is small. It can’t make millions of phones like the big players. Experts say selling a few hundred thousand would be a win. The company has sold 7 million products so far, like earbuds. It made $1 billion in 2024. That’s good, but tiny compared to Apple or Samsung.
In India, rivals like Xiaomi fight hard with low prices. Nothing grew 557% there last year. Still, it’s a battle. Co-founder Akis Evangelidis is moving to India to push harder.
Nothing, founded in 2020 by Carl Pei, known for co-founding OnePlus, launched the Phone (3a) on March 4, 2025. Pei’s vision is to inject personality into consumer electronics, addressing what he calls technological indifference.
He noted in a 2021 CNBC interview, “In the past, people were so optimistic about technology. But now people are indifferent. And there must be a way of breaking the cycle.”
This launch aligns with current market trends where smartphone sales have plateaued, with consumers holding onto devices longer due to incremental upgrades and rising prices, as per CCS Insight.
