Nothing CEO Carl Pei confirms Phone (2) launching in U.S. later this year

Nothing CEO and founder Carl Pei confirmed in an interview with Inverse that the company was working on Phone (2), set to launch later this year, including in the U.S.

“We decided to make the U.S. our No. 1 priority in terms of markets,” Pei told Inverse.

Pei, who previously co-founded OnePlus, made waves with the launch of Nothing and its fantastic, transparent hardware designs. However, when the company’s much-hyped Phone (1) launched in March 2022, North America was omitted.

Fast forward to this year, and it looks like things are changing for Nothing fans — at least, in the U.S. The company recently launched a beta program that let some U.S. residents purchase the phone with the caveat that it would have limited support on U.S. networks. At the same time, MobileSyrup got its hands on a Phone (1) to see what it would be like using the device in Canada — read about that here.

Moreover, while Pei confirmed a U.S. launch for the Phone (2), he didn’t say anything about Canada. MobileSyrup reached out to Nothing for more details, but the company did not respond in time for publication (we’ll update this story with any pertinent details).

“We couldn’t [bring Phone (1) to the U.S.] earlier because we were only in our second year and our hands were tied building the team as we were building the products. Now as we’re on a more solid footing, we can take a step forward,” Pei explained to Inverse.

Part of that comes down to growth. Pei talked financials with Inverse, noting that the company “did more than $200 million USD last year; the first year we did something like $24 million USD,” and that Nothing had “shipped over a million products already.”

Moreover, Nothing has doubled in size to 400 people and Pei noted the company is having better luck working with companies that wouldn’t work with Nothing before.

As for the Phone (2) itself, Pei only said that it would come later this year and that “we’re developing a smartphone that’s more premium than the Nothing Phone (1).” Software will also be a big focus area for Nothing.

Despite being “more premium,” Pei was adamant that the Phone (2) will be as much as flagship as the Phone (1) was.

On the software side, Pei noted that the software team is now close to 100 people and that he’s “confident” the beefed-up team can make a “fast and smooth experience.”

This all sounds very promising and definitely has me intrigued about what’s coming with the Nothing Phone (2). It’s great to see Nothin expanding into the U.S. — hopefully the company’s momentum carries to Canada as well.

For a look at the Nothing Phone (1), check out Brad Bennett’s in-depth look at the unique device.

Source: Inverse