Meet the Nothing Fold (1), a new chapter for the company that brought us the Phone (1), Phone (2), and Phone (2a), disrupting the smartphone landscape.
The London-based startup is in a uniquely advantageous position. They’ve launched 3 (ish) new phones in one year, with 3 more to come in the following year. The company has seen a meteoric rise in popularity, with tech reviewers and global audiences all paying attention to what Carl Pei announces next. Their next phone, or at least one of their next phones, should be a foldable.
The Nothing Fold (1) has the potential of creating a big splash that the foldable market needs. Samsung has pushed out its fair share of foldables, most Chinese brands are either joining or overtaking Samsung (Huawei launched a tri-fold phone just two months ago), and it seems like Apple is working on a foldable but with no realistic timeline. Folding phones are experiencing a lull right now because they’re A. Expensive, and B. Boring – two areas that aren’t a problem for Nothing.
Designer: Sarang Sheth
So behold the Nothing Fold (1) concept, a folding phone running the coveted Nothing OS 3, boasting a 6.5-inch screen on the front, and an expansive 8.37-inch screen on the inside. The kicker? There’s a Glyph Interface on the back as well as the spine. Boot the phone up and the Glyph spells out the number 1 (for Fold (1)), and once your phone’s booted, the interface transforms into a ‘third’ screen of sorts, delivering notifications not just through glyphs but through a dynamic ticker-tape monochrome display running along the spine of the phone.
The Fold (1) concept is clearly flagship material – besides boasting two screens, it boasts three cameras, including a main shooter, an ultrawide, and a telephoto/macro. Two more additional cameras sit within their respective hole punches on the front and the inner displays, giving you a whopping total of 5 cameras. On the inside, a MediaTek Dimensity 9400 5G chip brings powerful processing chops to the foldable, boasting an 8-core CPU, 12-core GPU, and even an NPU to assist with AI tasks. A whopping 5,500mAh battery powers the phone, giving it over a day’s worth of battery thanks to the chipset’s power efficiency.
The Fold (1) is the first to ship with Nothing’s new OS 3 built right in, boasting better performance, a wider widget catalog to choose from, and a few more notable UI upgrades that just make the foldable seamless. Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, all these brands have had to deal with exciting hardware that’s let down by boring software – the Nothing Fold (1) doesn’t have that problem. Aside from looking stunning and measuring a mere 6.3mm thin when open and 14mm thick when closed (including the camera bump), it has a seamlessly minimal and ruthlessly efficient operating system that complements the hardware beautifully.
Speaking of hardware, the Fold (1) has all the hallmarks of the Phone (2), Nothing’s last ‘flagship’, including that gorgeous gray finish that really allows the phone’s transparent back to shine. The wireless charging coil makes its reappearance after disappearing in the Phone (2a), and the Glyph Interface gets a minimal makeover, featuring 6 individual glyph bars as well as the Glyph Ticker on the spine of the phone, visible both in open and shut modes.
A metal outer structure feels premium, while the glass front and back give the phone its elite edge, unlike the Phone (2a) which opted for plastic instead of glass. Strategically placed volume and power buttons allow you to access them comfortably in closed or open formats, and the under-display fingerprint on the main screen helps unlock the device. Of course, the Fold (1) sticks to the same eco-friendly approach with recycled materials and biodegradable packaging – that’s a given.
The cameras experiment with a new layout, following the profile of the phone’s corner. Many have compared past Nothing phones to iPhones given their size, camera layout, and uncanny ability to fit perfectly into iPhone cases – with the Fold (1) beating the folding iPhone, it doesn’t have to live in the shadow of any such device. The Fold (1) has an identity of its own, something that Nothing’s loyal fan base loves about the brand.
Aside from being visually exciting (and bringing fun to the foldable category), the Fold (1) can uniquely position itself as a flagship foldable that doesn’t break the bank. Huawei’s tri-fold nearly hits the $3,000 mark, and most foldables average at $1,200, but the Fold (1) – should it be serious about its role as the hottest folding phone on the market – needs to maintain a budget-friendly price tag. A £799 ($1014) foldable would absolutely cement the phone as the most coveted piece of tech from the UK-based phone maker.
Image Credits: Sarang Sheth