This brand goes by the name Nothing—and ironically, it was everywhere. Within just 24 hours, it racked up 100,000 orders. The design was the real showstopper: a transparent glass back lit by 900 LEDs, a clean and minimal operating system, and a price tag nearly half of an iPhone’s. Fans were convinced it was the “iPhone of Androids.”
But that love story didn’t last. The same community that hyped it up soon turned on the company. So, what went wrong? And why on earth is a tech brand called Nothing?
To answer that, let’s rewind. The story begins with Carl Pei, a Swedish entrepreneur you may recognize as the co-founder of OnePlus—a company built on the idea of delivering flagship-level specs at budget-friendly prices. OnePlus thrived, growing 163% in 2020, even as the global smartphone market shrank by 15%. Then came a surprise twist: Carl left. No big scandal, no corporate drama. As he put it, “OnePlus has been my singular focus for seven years. I’m ready to decompress and follow my heart on what’s next.”
That “next” turned out to be another leap into the phone industry, but not with the same playbook. Backed by high-profile investors like Reddit’s Steve Huffman and YouTuber Casey Neistat, Carl launched a new venture in 2020—aptly named Nothing. The philosophy? Simplicity. Minimalism. Products that feel fresh in a world where every phone looks like a copy of an iPhone.
In March 2022, Nothing Phone (1) debuted. A mid-range Android device with a daring aesthetic—its transparent back revealed internal components, punctuated by 900 customizable LED lights. They weren’t just for show either: they pulsed with ringtones, glowed as a camera fill light, and even displayed charging status. Quirky? Definitely. But that was the point. In a saturated market, standing out was survival.
Powered by a custom Nothing OS, built on Android, and priced at just $399, the phone delivered premium vibes without the premium price. It was Carl’s reputation and clever hype-building on social platforms that pushed it further. Within 48 hours, 100,000 people were on the waitlist. The momentum carried into the release of Nothing Phone (2), which doubled those numbers—100,000 sales in just 24 hours.
Everything looked like a success story in the making. But cracks began to show.
The phones were good, but not flawless. Still, fans adored the rebellious design language. That is, until Nothing Phone (3) came along. The iconic transparent LEDs were gone, replaced by a circular “Glyph Matrix” display. The new design felt off-balance, and worse yet—the pricing shifted dramatically.
No longer a mid-range bargain, Phone (3) entered flagship territory. Starting at $799, and going up to $899 for higher specs, it now competed directly with Apple, Samsung, and Google. But under the hood, the specs didn’t justify the leap. A Snapdragon 8G chip and decent cameras weren’t bad, but they were hardly “flagship.” Fans felt betrayed. The brand that promised affordability and bold design suddenly looked like just another premium player with gimmicks.
Carl’s response to criticism was polite but dismissive: Nothing isn’t for everyone. If you just want specs, buy another phone. But if you want something unique, we’re here. That message didn’t land well. Fans weren’t angry about uniqueness—they were angry about paying flagship prices for mid-tier performance.
Then came a real disaster: Nothing Chats. Marketed as a way to bridge iMessage and Android with end-to-end encryption, it turned out to be anything but secure. Messages were transmitted in plain text, stored unprotected, and even accessible to developers. Within 24 hours, the app was yanked from the Play Store, leaving a major dent in Nothing’s credibility.
Things didn’t improve with the launch of Essential Space, an AI-powered “vault” for organizing notes, reminders, and screenshots. What sounded like a built-in feature was actually a subscription service, with hidden limits and a rumored $120 annual fee. Fans called foul—this wasn’t the transparent, value-driven company they signed up for. It felt like Nothing was building the same kind of closed ecosystem they once rebelled against.
Despite the backlash, the numbers tell a different story. In 2024, Nothing became the fastest-growing smartphone brand worldwide, with revenue crossing $1.5 billion by mid-2025. They’ve sold 7 million devices to date, shipping over a million units each quarter. Impressive, yes—but against giants like Samsung’s 57 million quarterly shipments, it’s a reminder of just how small Nothing still is.
And yet, Carl’s gamble continues. The company sits at a crossroads: remain the bold disruptor that won fans with affordability and design—or risk alienating its base by chasing Apple’s playbook of premium pricing and gated features.
Because in the end, Nothing was never supposed to be everything.
For more deep dives into stories like this—where innovation, hype, and reality collide—make sure to follow StoryAntra. Stay tuned for more untold tech journeys, brand sagas, and market twists that shape the world around us.