Nothing 1 phone is launched with the hope of re-energizing the smartphone market

UK-based company Nothing has launched an Android phone with a quirky design that aims to light up the smartphone market.

Nothing 1 is a distinctive-looking phone with a translucent back featuring hundreds of light-emitting diodes that function as notifications. Nothing raised more than $144 million to develop this handset. YouTuber Casey Neistat, iPhone designer Tony Fadell and co-founder of gaming channel Twitch, Kevin Lin, are allies included in this company.

Carl Pie, the creator of Nothing 1, co-founded the phone company OnePlus and is highly regarded in the smartphone industry. He said he wanted to "make tech fun again" for consumers and investors. The company announced it had received more than 200,000 requests for phone pre-orders. It also said that the cost of the phone is £399, which is about half the price of an average iPhone – manufactured in India and China. Despite software teething problems, Nothing has sold more than half a million units of the first product, wireless, noise-canceling headphones Ear 1, launched in August.

Ben Wood of CCS Insight said that for the high-profile name associated with it, Nothing 1 has fair hype, but it has a hard way to go. According to him, the smartphone market is dominated by Samsung and Apple, with incredible resources. He added, "The rest addressable market is a firefight between many Chinese manufacturers desperate to grab share, making it even harder for a new entrant to break into the segment."