Tino Hernandez, a recently graduated mathematics major, was in the queue for the Nothing Phone’s first pop-up in the US at 9am, 10 hours before it opened.
The current OnePlus 8T user wasn’t here for the company’s new release, dubbed Phone (2). He was just here to show his support.
“It’s the first launch in the US for Nothing. I wanted to see the product for myself,” Mr Hernandez said. “Seeing a new design, new everything, new language, new community, new support and everything just feels fresh. It feels like the excitement of new technology in the world.”
Nothing was founded by Carl Pei, who co-founded OnePlus, which makes quality phones with top specs at affordable prices.
Mr Pei started Nothing in 2020 in London with big ambitions about the future of technology and design, and in 2022, he released the Nothing Phone (1) in Europe and Asia.
On July 13, for the US debut of the Phone (2), Mr Pei was inside a red bubble-shaped pop-up kiosk in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, where he greeted customers, checked receipts and bagged orders. He talked with several of them in English and Mandarin, shaking hands, taking selfies and autographing their packages on request.
By introducing the Phone (2) with a new “glyph interface” at the back, Nothing aims to help users minimise screen interactions by accessing key information at a glance.
For example, if you order an Uber, you can set up the interface to act as a progress tracker, which allows you to watch the lights on the back of the phone count down to keep an eye on the arrival of the driver without having to look at the screen in the front.
“Sometimes when I unlock my phone, I just fall into the social media apps,” Mr Pei says while at the pop-up event. “So I think there’s a lot of people like me. How can we empower them to open the screen a little bit less?”
The glyph lights were embraced by customers at the pop-up.
“Innovations can look like gimmicks when something innovative is starting out,” says Rushna Quddus, a PhD student in chemistry at New York University.
“The reason why that doesn’t look like a gimmick to me is because someone bothered to ask the question ‘what about behind the phone? Why are we leaving that useless?’”
The phone, which runs on Android, has a 17cm screen – roughly similar to the iPhone 14 Pro Max – and up to 512 gigabytes of storage.
Other than the lights on the back, the biggest difference between a Nothing Phone (2) and other Android models is the Nothing OS 2.0. The software, based on Android 13, allows users to tailor everything from app labels and grid design to widget size and colour themes.
Henry Tom, a user-experience designer working at a Wall Street bank, decided to sell his iPhone 14 Pro Max after buying a white Phone (2) at the pop-up.
“A lot of people don’t talk about the vision, but I believe in their vision of making phones exciting,” he says. “That’s something really missing in this industry right now.”
Mr Pei says that’s exactly the point. “We’re targeting young and creative people. If you look at our users, they’re very interested in new technology and also interested in design,” he says.
For its worldwide premiere on July 11, he showed up in a vlog-style debut video with YouTuber Casey Neistat.
“If you look at Apple and Samsung, they have a very good business model already,” Mr Pei says.
“They’re making a lot of money. They know who their customers are. So why take a big risk on the product side? I think this is the first time in a lot of years that a small team with big ambitions is able to chart a slightly different course to where the smartphone industry and consumer tech as a whole can go.”
The Phone (2) starts at $599. In the US, the phones are available for purchase only on the Nothing site.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
ASHES FIXTURES
1st Test: Brisbane, Nov 23-27
2nd Test: Adelaide, Dec 2-6
3rd Test: Perth, Dec 14-18
4th Test: Melbourne, Dec 26-30
5th Test: Sydney, Jan 4-8
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advance
Entrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is free
The hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 (Dh808).
