When Nothing announced its new Beta Membership program, I glanced over it, thinking it was another press release meant to drum up hype around the brand. But taking a closer look, it was an interesting proposal that offered those in the United States access to a Nothing Phone 1. If you're from outside the country, this might not sound exciting, especially considering that the Phone 1 has been available for several months already in a lot of regions. But for those in the U.S., this seemed to be a golden opportunity to pick up a Phone 1 through an official retail channel, and with a substantial discount to boot.
However, looking through the FAQ and the fine print, you aren't actually purchasing a Phone 1. Instead, you're buying access to the Nothing OS beta. By purchasing the Beta Membership, you gain immediate access to the Nothing OS 1.5 beta, and in addition, the company is offering up a Phone 1. While it might be nothing (no pun intended), I started asking myself why this bothered me. Why does this $300 transaction between Nothing and the customer feel kind of dirty?
With Nothing, there needs to be compromises
If we just focus on the Phone 1, Nothing is offering the existing global variant of its device to US customers, and with that model, comes compromises. In case you didn't know, the global model of the phone isn't all that compatible with US wireless carriers, and if you choose to use it on AT&T and Verizon, you will be without 5G. Customers on T-Mobile are a little better off, with access to 5G using band N41, which uses the 2.5GHz spectrum. Unfortunately, if your area doesn't use this band, you'll be out of luck and forced to rely on good old LTE service. Now, if those hurdles weren't enough, with Verizon, you won't be able to just pop in your SIM card and have things "working," instead you'll be required to call customer service to get the device on the carrier's device list so that you can use it.
Despite all the challenges a consumer might face, the real bombshell is that there is no warranty on the phones offered through the program. That's right; you get 14 days to ensure the handset is in good working order, but after that, you better pray that it won't have problems. Now, to be fair, everything that I've mentioned is listed on the website. The company does state in its fine print that "the Phone (1)’s distributed are for testing purposes." So if the region is so important for the company, why have this be the first experience out of the gate?
What's worse is that the whole ordeal makes it seem like Nothing is trying to skirt some kind of policy because it can't legitimately offer this handset as a product on its web store. In case you didn't know, during the phone's launch, PCMag, Engadget, Time, and countless other news outlets reported that the Phone 1 wasn't FCC certified. If you're asking why this is a big deal, it's because most electronics in the U.S. require FCC approval to be sold here in the U.S.
At the time, Nothing did issue a statement, sharing with PCMag that:
While we’d love to bring phone (1) to the entire community around the world, we're focusing on home markets, including the UK and Europe, where we have strong partnerships with leading local carriers. It takes a lot to launch a smartphone as you know, from ensuring the handset is supported by the country’s cellular technologies to carrier partnerships and local regulation, and as we're still a young brand we need to be strategic about it.
Lead analyst for PCMag at the time, Sascha Segan, stated:
Reading between the lines here, it looks like Nothing just couldn't come to a deal to get the phone cleared by U.S. carriers - or it couldn't afford their costly approval processes.
While I don't know the full cost or the procedures involved with getting a phone FCC certified in the U.S., one thing is for certain, it doesn't come cheap and could end up costing over $1 million for just one phone on one wireless carrier. Of course, these costs are to ensure that the electronics being used maintain safe levels of RF exposure. Like Nothing stated, every country has its own set of regulations, and because of this, the company chose not to enter the US market, and that's why we're getting this kind of program now. But is this really the way the company wants to break into the market, under the cover of a Beta Membership program?
Nothing came out the gate pretty strong, thanks to the impressive leadership of Carl Pei, so it's easy to forget that the company is just a fledgling startup that doesn't have the same budgets as Samsung, Google, and pretty much any other major smartphone company. Because of this, every move it makes has to have a purpose and, more importantly, has to make financial sense. During an interview with CNBC, Pei stated that “we are not profitable right now," and that “the goal is to be profitable in 2024.” While a Nothing Phone 1 isn't in the cards for the U.S., there is the possibility for another device, with Pei stating in the same interview that the company is "in discussions with some carriers in the US to potentially launch a future product there."
Pei is no stranger to building a company from the ground up, and perhaps the best example of this comes from his former company, OnePlus. The company launched its first handset, the OnePlus One, in 2014, and while it managed to create a cult following, for a number of years, its handsets could only be purchased directly online. It wasn't until 2018 that the company would launch its first handset on a wireless carrier, partnering with T-Mobile with the OnePlus 6T. So while it would have been great to see a Phone 1 in the US, it's more important for the company now to prioritize regions where it has a better chance to recoup its investments.
In the end, it's really up to you whether you think $300 is a good deal for a phone that might work in your area and doesn't come with a warranty. After all, those things really shouldn't matter because the real purpose of this membership program is to test Nothing OS 1.5 and to provide feedback. So in a sense, as long as you get to tinker with the phone, and its software, that should really be enough, right? If you're just looking for a good affordable Android smartphone, there are plenty of great options priced in the $300-$400 range. If you're willing to spend a little more, you can often find great deals on some of the best Android smartphones, too.
With that said, and speaking from a place of positivity and no ill intent, but just do better, Carl Pei. You left a company because you clearly had a superior vision and thought you could build something better. For the most part, it looks like you're succeeding with over one million in product sales and an extremely loyal fan base. But as we all know, it's rarely a sprint, and most times, it's a marathon, and even if it takes time, I think the U.S. market will gladly wait and would even appreciate a true effort rather than this recent attempt to sneak the Nothing Phone 1 into the U.S.