Looks like we made a lot of noise out of Nothing. Literally.
Over the past few weeks, MobileSyrup journalists have covered Carl Pei’s Nothing and his next phone (1) quite extensively. It turns out it was all in vain: the phone (1) will not reach Canada.
Leaker Evan Blass (@evleaks) detected a new disclaimer on the auction page Nothing Phone (1) which reads as follows:
“Nothing phone (1) is not fully supported in North America. Functionality may be affected depending on your carrier, coverage, speed and / or reliability; or may not work at all.”
The disclaimer applies to this list of supported carriers, which does not include any US or Canadian carriers.
Nothing seems to be skipping in the U.S. in terms of phone availability (1) and network compatibility. Disappointing, but understandable. It’s hard for young brands to get the operator’s adoption here, and without these offers, it’s really not worth negotiating retail channels …
– Ev (@evleaks) June 21, 2022
PC Mag received confirmation from Nothing about the lack of support, and the company provided the following statement:
“While we would like to bring the phone (1) to the entire community around the world, we focus on the domestic markets, including the UK and Europe, where we have strong partnerships with leading local operators. launch a smartphone as you know, from making sure your phone is compatible with the country’s cellular technologies to collaborating with operators and local regulation, and since we’re still a young brand, we’ve of being strategic about it.
“We have big plans to launch a U.S.-compatible smartphone in the future. For now, a limited number of investors in our private community in the U.S. will be able to get their hands on the phone (1) through a closed beta program In the meantime, if readers really want the phone (1) to be available in the U.S. as soon as possible, they should call their carrier to let us know.
Also, Nothing told PC Mag that people may try to use the phone (1) with US carriers, but it may not work properly. Specifically, Nothing said the phone would have “unpredictable” coverage on T-Mobile, no voice over 4G on AT&T, and no service with Verizon. Presumably, coverage with Canadian operators will be equally erratic.
Overall, this is a big misfortune for Nothing fans who want to try out the company’s new phone. While I remained skeptical about the phone (1), I was eager to follow the launch closely and learn more about it.
Now, nothing has left the possibility of a phone launch in the United States (and, by extension, Canadian) open for the future. This can be a good thing in the long run. The first smartphones are hard to do well, and if Nothing can take what you learn from the phone (1) and then include North America at the launch of your next product, for example, an improved phone (2), we could end up with something. great. Only time will tell.
For now, Canadians will have to settle for nothing.
Header Image Credit: Nothing
Source: Evan Blass (@evleaks), PC Mag