Opinion
We don’t need thinner phones
by Dayan Pfammatter
Nothing joyously celebrates the debut of the Phone (4a)
3.3.2026
Translation: Patrik Stainbrook
Pictures: Lorenz Keller
Nothing has unveiled its new Phone (4a) at the Mobile World Congress. Remarkably, the company has perfected smartphone marketing in just five years.
July 2021: one year after leaving OnePlus, Swedish-Chinese entrepreneur Carl Pei launches the first product from his new company Nothing. But the Ear (1) headphones are merely an appetiser for a hungry tech landscape.
Swiss premiere with worldwide reach
June 2022: a summer evening in Basel. Thanks to the ongoing Kunstmesse (art fair), there’s a lot of hustle and bustle. Nothing hosts a party. The first Nothing smartphone has been announced, but I’d have expected an international event with press members galore.
Instead, I quickly realise once I arrive that the brand primarily invited influencers from the design and art scene – plus a handful of Swiss tech journalists. Everything feels a little different to what I’m used to from smartphone keynotes.
I arrive a little early, getting a chance to walk around while things are still being set up. Most party guests will only arrive much later anyway. And there I suddenly see it, lying on a table: the Nothing Phone (1). A device the industry has been talking about for weeks – no one’s seen it yet, though. I get to hold it for a moment and try it out before it’s placed in a glass display next to the stage.
A short while later, Nothing founder Carl Pei arrives. We journalists are encouraged to exchange a few words with him before the event gets underway and the first Nothing smartphone has its live debut. «Nothing reveals Phone 1 design a month early», schreibt The Verge ein paar Stunden später. My words, pictures and video are shared and quoted worldwide (mind you, some outlets skipped the citations altogether).
A simple lucky coincidence for an inexperienced company? Not at all. Nothing uses every marketing trick it knows right from the off. Weeks before the product launch, Carl Pei himself leaks individual features. Then, surprisingly, the manufacturer reveals first images of its device. Finally, all the details are revealed and the gadget goes on sale.
How the Phone (4a) looks
February 2026: Nothing invites guests to the premiere of its new Phone (4a) at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. In recent weeks, the manufacturer already revealed plenty of tidbits: the first picture of the device (link in German) as well as details about the new Glyph interface. These are LEDs on the back of Nothing smartphones. Alongside a transparent aesthetic, they’ve been part of Nothing’s iconic design since the Phone (1).
Shortly before the MWC, extra details are revealed, such as a new colour. The Phone (4a) won’t just come in black and white, but in a subtle pink as well.
The official premiere will take place on day one of the tech fair. Nothing’s stand is built inside an overseas container. As soon as the doors open, around two hundred journalists and tech bloggers crowd around the small display cases. To everyone’s surprise, there’s a fourth colour: right alongside the white, black and pink models sits a bright blue Nothing (4a).
If you know your stuff, you join Nothing’s party in Barcelona harbour in the evening. There, you can actually pick up the phones and try the cameras at your leisure. The rest of the guests are more interested in canapés and champagne. Nothing has retained that little start-up charm despite its marketing experience. Some of the smartphones can be switched on. Mind you, we’re only allowed to report on the case design. Detailed specs and tests will only be published in a few days time.
The Phone (4a) really turned out beautiful, it reminds me of Nothing’s first smartphone. Less ornate than the models in between, a return to clear lines. The transparent look is centre stage once more, giving the impression I’m able to peer inside the device. A carefully manufactured aesthetic – classic Nothing marketing.
More than just hype
Other brands simply announce mid-range devices in a press release, and then place them in the stores. Nothing turns every product into a highlight. At least in terms of design, they’re on a level above Samsung, Google, Xiaomi and the like anyway. What was a novelty just a few years ago is now an integral part of the industry. Nothing has managed to grow from a start-up to a serious player within a short space of time.
And not just because of the clever marketing, slowly building up to the launch of a new device; Nothing always surprises with its designs and ideas too.
There’s also a healthy dose of well-balanced honesty. Nothing CEO Carl Pei primarily uses the company’s YouTube channel to speak in clear terms.
For example, he goes into why it’s difficult for Nothing to keep up with its much larger competitors in terms of price and technology. As he explains, smaller manufacturers pay much more per unit for the same components such as processors, batteries and memory. He also covers why there’ll be no new flagship this year. In his eyes, every upgrade should be a significant step forward, and that isn’t possible every year.
These serious topics are well placed between plenty playful elements, be it engineers trying to build a Nothing Phone from AliExpress parts, or designers creating dream phones for YouTube stars. And time and again, the CEO makes witty, thoroughly self-deprecating and extremely honest appearances. Carl Pei reacts to reviews of his own devices, whether he wants to or not.
The atmosphere at Nothing’s party in Barcelona is more subdued than the event five years ago in Basel. Maybe it’s the crammed trade fair programme, maybe it’s the gloomy forecasts for the smartphone market with Bloomberg predicting a 13 per cent drop in sales this year due to a memory shortage. Or maybe the reason is that there’ll be another party in London at the end of the week. There, Nothing will reveal all the details about the Phone (4a) – and you bet they’ve got some big surprises ready to go.
Lorenz Keller
Senior Editor
Lorenz.Keller@digitecgalaxus.chGadgets are my passion - whether you need them for the home office, for the household, for sport and pleasure or for the smart home. Or, of course, for the big hobby next to the family, namely fishing.
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