The Morning After: Nothing is ‘in talks’ to bring its smartphones to the US

While many phone fans in the US are intrigued with the Nothing Phone 1, with its transparent back and flashing glyph design, they couldn’t buy one. At least, not easily. It might be easier for its follow-up devices, though.

Nothing co-founder Carl Pei told CNBC the Nothing Phone 1 isn’t available in the US because the company wasn’t ready to deal with the complexities of the market, which usually entails dealing with powerful US carriers. “Now we are in discussions with some carriers in the US to potentially launch a future product there,” he said. Nothing already sells its Ear Stick wireless buds in the US, which apparently made up a third of that product’s sales. And as the co-founder of OnePlus, Pei is already well acquainted with the US smartphone market. It took years for OnePlus to launch a device with carrier support.

Nothing has topped 600,000 Phone 1 devices sold so far. But Pei has big ambitions, matched by similarly big challenges. He previously said the company has a “zero-percent margin” on its phones, due to the strong US dollar and less-than-favorable terms from suppliers. “The goal is to be profitable in 2024,” he said.

– Mat Smith

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