OnePlus isn’t the same as it was before, or at least, won’t be for much time. There is no way to deny this fact now that the former startup belonging to BBK Group joined its sister company Oppo. Both companies have merged some of their departments and workforce and we expect Oppo to slowly absorb OnePlus. Many facts are pointing to this and one of the most screaming ones is the development of a new Operating System that will combine ColorOS with OxygenOS. Even the latest OxygenOS 12 brings more ColorOS similarities than previous versions. The fact is that this change probably was one of the reasons that pushed Carl Pei into another adventure with its Nothing company.
Nothing was announced as a brand for wearables, lifestyle, and smart products. However, a few times after its announcement the company acquired Essential, the company behind the controversial Essential Phone, and its patents. This move pointed to the undeniable fact that Nothing would consider launching a smartphone in the future. This won’t take much longer and the company is already developing a phone for a release in early 2022.
So far Nothing only has one product – the Nothing Ear (1). That will change soon and a smartphone will soon join the company’s portfolio. This comes as no surprise. After all, Carl Pei’s experience with OnePlus proves it is a capable leader for a smartphone brand. Also, the company’s Essential Patents will give enough resources to launch its very first smartphone. This is exciting, especially for the fans of the OnePlus brand of past days.
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Nothing Phone could fill the gap left by the old OnePlus
Another fact corroborating with the launch of the smartphone is the announcement of a strategic partnership with Qualcomm. Interestingly, OnePlus had a strategic partnership with the chipmaker previously. We don’t know if this partnership is yet ongoing as the company launched a MediaTek smartphone this year. Anyway, this confirms that Nothing Smartphone will have a Snapdragon chip. The question now is whether it will be a flagship or a cost-effective flagship.
We believe that Nothing will try to emulate and fill OnePlus’ enthusiast-focused shoes on the flagship killer segment. After all, OnePlus has changed and became a mainstream brand. Nothing could come to fill this gap with a focus on hardware, affordability, and also with software skin.
For now, there is a lack of evidence to point out what the Nothing Phone will exactly be. We expect the first details to leave the wraps in the coming months. After all, it’s almost impossible to keep secrets with new smartphone launches.
