Nothing
Following his departure from OnePlus, Pei announced Nothing on January 27, 2021.[17] According to Pei, Nothing’s mission is to remove barriers between people and technology to create a seamless digital future. The company is based in London and landed a number of notable investors, such as iPod inventor Tony Fadell, Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, and YouTuber Casey Neistat. On February 25, the company announced Teenage Engineering as founding partners, mainly responsible for the design aesthetic of the brand and its products.[18]
Nothing's first product "ear (1)" was launched on July 27, 2021.[19][20]
On March 23, 2022, Nothing announced its first smartphone, the "Nothing Phone 1” with an anticipated release date of Summer 2022.[21] It released on July 21, 2022 to overall positive reception. Critics praised the premium and innovative design and ‘glyph’ system, the display, and overall value for money. They were more critical of the quality of the cameras, and disappointing battery life, though reviewers have stated both have improved since with software updates.
On February 28, 2023 Carl Pei announced that in their next Nothing smartphone, they would be partnering with Qualcomm for their eighth generation chipsets for their next smartphone.[22]
Nothing announced and released the Nothing Ear (2) wireless earbuds on March 22, 2023 to generally positive reviews, particularly for the improvements upon the flaws of the previous model.[23][24][25] Pei's team led the market April 2024 by shipping a "first-of-its-kind integration" of ChatGPT for users of a paired Nothing phone and Nothing earbuds.
Nothing further went ahead to launch their own subbrand, CMF, which prices its phones at a more accessible pricepoint.[26]
