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Nothing pauses flagship launches in 2026, bets on Phone (4a) series

In a YouTube video, Nothing CEO Carl Pei they won't be launching a flagship this year and that the upcoming Phone (4a) series will offer a flagship like experience.

2 min readNew DelhiJan 30, 2026 01:07 PM IST

Nothing CEO Carl Pei says the company will skip launching a new flagship smartphone in 2026, keeping the Phone (3) as its top model. (Express Photo)

Nothing won’t be launching a new flagship smartphone this year, CEO Carl Pei confirmed in a new YouTube video. “There’s no new flagship this year,” Pei said when asked about the company’s 2026 plans.

“We’re not just going to churn out a new flagship every year for the sake of it, we want every upgrade to feel significant. Just because the rest of the industry does things a certain way, it doesn’t mean we will do the same”, he added.

He also confirmed that the Nothing Phone (3) (review), which was arguably one of the most polarising smartphones launched last year, will remain as the company’s flagship in 2026. This suggests the Nothing Phone (4) won’t be coming anytime soon.

In the video, Pei said that unlike most phone makers, which unveil new flagships with minimal or iterative upgrades, Nothing will be spacing out its flagship device and introducing a new one only when there’s a clear step forward. However, this approach isn’t new for the brand as the Phone (3) was launched two years after the Phone (2).

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Nothing Phone (4a) is coming soon

As it turns out, Nothing is turning its attention to the mid-range segment. Carl Pei said that they are preparing to launch the Nothing Phone (4a) sometime later this year.

According to Pei, the upcoming device “will be a complete evolution over its predecessor across the board, from display, to camera, to overall performance.” Compared to its predecessor, Pei said that the Nothing Phone (4a) will offer a flagship-like experience and that it will be a “complete evolution.”

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While Nothing hasn’t officially confirmed anything, the company is reportedly working on two devices – the Phone 4a and the Phone 4a Pro. Rumour has it that the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro will be powered by a Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chipset and come with 12GB of RAM.

Speculations also suggest that the upcoming phone will have a 5,080mAh battery and 50W wired charging, hinting that the company isn’t ready to adopt the new Silicon-Carbon battery technology.

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