Nothing unveils its latest glyph-clad smartphone with lower price point

UK smartphone manufacturer Nothing Technology has unveiled its latest device, with the company banking on a more affordable price point to reach more users in the smartphone market.

The Nothing Phone (2a), first previewed at last month's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, is half the price of its present flagship, the Phone (2), Nothing Technology said.

The new mobile is a stripped-down version of the Phone (2) which launched in July, however, it retains several crucial features.

The company replaced the Phone (2)'s Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with a MediaTek chip. It removed a 512GB option and decreased the number of its glyphs, Nothing's unique aesthetic is that its lights act as indicators on its transparent rear.

Nothing, however, retained a dual camera set-up with both lenses at 50MP, increased the phone's battery and promised enhanced performance.

The Phone (2a) is Nothing's next "big step forward" and is being positioned to be the "best-selling product we've ever made", Carl Pei, founder of Nothing, said at the event streamed from New Delhi.

The company, beginning with the Phone (2) last year, started manufacturing its devices in India, one of the world's biggest smartphone markets.

"Phones, as a lot of us know, are one of the most impactful tech products in our lives ... we knew that if we wanted to create a world-changing tech company, developing the scale to make phones was crucial," Mr Pei said.

Nothing is a relatively new player in the smartphone industry, having been founded in 2020 and releasing the original Nothing phone in 2022.

Its products are considered to be “flagship killers” – devices that have competitive specifications at lower prices – capable of competing with the most premium handsets in the market.

Mr Pei is the co-founder of one of the most popular devices – the OnePlus.

The company's most notable investors include Steve Huffman, co-founder and chief executive of Reddit, Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin and Tony Fadell, who played a significant role in developing Apple's iPod.

Nothing has made strides in its infancy, having sold more than 2.7 million products and making about $560 million in revenue to date, Mr Pei said.

"In 2022 ... we entered one of the most difficult industries in the world. Every start-up who's tried to make a phone in the last 10 years failed because the value chain is just so long and you need to cover all your bases to be successful," he said.

Smartphones are the most popular consumer electronics devices.

However, the market has shrunk in several of the past years, owing to consumers reducing spending and postponing upgrading their devices.

The industry has also been affected by several factors, including uncertain economic conditions, high inflation and supply chain issues.

After emerging from the pandemic year with a 7 per cent growth in 2021, the market contracted about 12 per cent in 2022, data from Canalys shows.

It rebounded last year, narrowing its decline to about 4 per cent as shipments hit about 1.14 billion, a sign of stabilisation and recovery, the Singapore-based research firm said.

Shipments fell to their lowest Q3 levels in a decade last year, as the recovery in consumer demand was slower than expected, marking a ninth quarter of declines, Counterpoint Research had said.

The market has shown initial indications of a marginal rebound this year, fuelled by the growth of emerging market economies and a resurgence in consumer spending.

Smartphones are expected to benefit from an increase in average selling prices and the swift integration of generative artificial intelligence devices, according to industry experts.

Nothing, however, has its work cut out for them. It has not figured in the upper end of smartphone shipments, dominated by Apple and Samsung, and followed by Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and the brands from Transsion, multiple industry reports have found.

OnePlus peaked with a 5 per cent market share in Western Europe in 2021, according to Counterpoint Research.

"We've done a lot in three years but in a way we're just warming up," Mr Pei said. "This year is about accelerating our progress forward."

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