Carl Pei’s Nothing Phone has caused quite a stir, but if you’re in the United States, you shouldn’t get too excited.
Nothing Phone (1) will not be sold, not even working in the US
The Nothing Phone (1) is practically channeling the spirit of the early days of OnePlus, promising to be a competitor that shakes up the smartphone market a bit. Yesterday we took a look at how this would happen, taking a look at the “glif” lighting tricks of the Nothing Phone that occur on the back of the device.
While there are still many things we don’t know about the Nothing Phone at this time, it has now been confirmed that the device will not arrive in the United States with any official feature, at least at launch.
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. It takes a long time to 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 as we are still a young brand, we need to be strategic about it.
That confirmation came just hours after Evan Blass hinted on Twitter that Nothing Phone would have no US support.
PCMag, which Nothing confirmed the news, offers the idea that carrier associations are the main obstacle that Nothing faces to enter the US market, which the company seems to confirm in an additional statement.
We have big plans for launching 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.
The good news for those who want to buy a Nothing Phone (1) in the United States is that a model with support for the US network is being worked on, but no calendar is available.
In the meantime, if you’re trying to buy a Nothing phone in the United States, you’re having trouble using it. The device is expected to work with limited capacity on T-Mobile, but will not have VoLTE service on AT&T and will not work on Verizon at all.
Looking back at Carl Pei’s previous efforts, this move is a bit of a surprise. The OnePlus 6 was the company’s first device to be sold through carriers in the U.S., but all previous models were sold unlocked in the U.S. market for those who wanted the device. Surprisingly, considering all the marketing behind the Nothing Phone so far, the company is leaving the US out for now.
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