Nothing Phone 1 Comes to the US for $299 but This Is No Bargain - CNET

The Nothing Phone 1 is present disposable successful the US for $299. This mightiness dependable similar a bargain since the planetary mentation launched past summertime astatine £399 successful the UK (roughly $480, AU$700). My workfellow Andrew Lanxon recovered the Nothing Phone 1 to beryllium a large worth astatine that price, acknowledgment to its striking "glyph" plan and different perks. But conscionable due to the fact that you tin get the Nothing Phone successful the US astatine what looks similar a discount does not mean you should.

Nothing is positioning this motorboat arsenic a beta with partial US bearer enactment and an unfinished operating system. This means the telephone mightiness lone enactment connected 4G oregon with constricted 5G support. It volition besides beryllium moving a beta mentation of Nothing OS 1.5, the company's bundle that's built connected Android 13. The phone's hardware is different identical to the planetary model, meaning it has 128GB of storage, 8GB of RAM, a 50-megapixel dual camera strategy and a 120Hz OLED display. 

Nothing did not instrumentality our petition for comment. But the telephone institution isn't hiding these limitations; everything is spelled retired successful the Frequently Asked Questions section of the beta program's website. 

One of the biggest drawbacks to buying the Nothing Phone 1 successful beta is that you tin lone entree 4G for the astir portion connected large US bearer networks. If you person Verizon, you'll besides person to petition the bearer to manually adhd the phone's IMEI fig for it to work. Verizon users won't person entree to the carrier's CDMA web either, further limiting the experience. T-Mobile has partial enactment for 5G, but that's it. Nothing says that portion the telephone itself wasn't designed for the US, the company's aboriginal plans person the American telephone marketplace successful mind.

"By giving our American audiences entree to the Nothing Beta Membership, we tin get to cognize them amended and incorporated their input," says Nothing's FAQ.

More concerning for idiosyncratic looking for a woody is that the phone's Nothing OS 1.5 bundle mightiness not enactment arsenic expected since it's successful progressive development. As is the lawsuit with the beta versions of Apple's iOS and Google's Android, you mightiness tally into immoderate hiccups erstwhile utilizing the software. Beta testers volition beryllium asked to supply feedback connected it. 

The Nothing Phone 1's US merchandise volition see bundle that's presently successful development.

Andrew Lanxon/CNET

"Some apps (such arsenic Google Wallet, Netflix, YouTube) whitethorn not relation properly. Please retrieve that Android 13 is presently astatine Beta stage. The OS tin hinder the usage of the telephone successful ways we can't predict. Nothing won't beryllium held liable for malfunction," Nothing's FAQ says regarding the authorities of the phone's software.

In lieu of offering compensation for being a tester and dealing with constricted US bearer compatibility, participants tin bargain the instrumentality astatine a coagulated discount and tin support the telephone aft the beta ends connected June 30. The telephone volition get updated to the last mentation of Nothing OS 1.5 erstwhile the programme ends, but it is improbable to summation amended US bearer compatibility. 

For those that bask collecting NFTs, Nothing volition besides springiness participants a Black Dot token that tin beryllium utilized to entree a peculiar Discord server -- presumably wherever you tin besides speech with different Nothing Phone fans. Crucially, there's besides a 14-day instrumentality model for the device. 

Overall, Nothing's beta programme isn't the champion thought for those who conscionable privation an affordable, unchangeable telephone astatine a discount. But determination are a mates of agleam sides to this beta programme for tech fans. For one, it allows entree to a instrumentality that's made headlines extracurricular of the US, arsenic good arsenic providing a peek nether the hood of Nothing's bundle portion it's successful development. Those who are already comfy utilizing beta versions of Android mightiness instrumentality involvement successful getting aboriginal entree to caller bundle that antecedently wasn't disposable successful the US -- bugs and all. 

But if you conscionable privation a reliable telephone that won't wounded your wallet, cheque retired our database of the best phones nether $500 instead.