Carl Pei, CEO of Nothing, told Inverse that the U.S. was his top priority in terms of markets. The Phone (1) isn’t built to support bands used by US carriers (you can get one for $300, but it’s a beta test). Nothing Phone (2) will target the US market specifically in late 2023.
Nothing sells more TWS buds than the US, in fact, the US accounts for a third of all sales. Pei believes that the Phone (2) will have similar success in the new market.
It will be more premium than the original – Pei is hesitant to call it a “flagship”, as the company is focusing on a refined software experience and innovative hardware design.
Was the US market not considered when designing the Phone (1)? It was just that nothing had the resources. In the US, carriers require phones to undergo a certification process and include certain features in the software.
Initially, there were only five engineers on the mobile team, so work on Nothing OS had to be outsourced. However, the team has grown, and now there are 100 people working on the software. There is no third-party involvement in Nothing’s Android 13 beta.
The Apple/Samsung duopoly is beginning to bore US consumers, according to Pei’s analysis. As alternatives, Motorola and OnePlus are mostly available, and Nothing will follow soon.
