“Users have to say, ‘Oh, wow, this is awesome, this is different’….” Manu Sharma, VP and GM of Nothing India, is clear about what his company’s agenda is when it comes to new products and it is certainly not recycling old designs. Nothing is going after customers who value a differentiated design over the specs of a phone. Sharma, who heads the India operations of the British technology startup Nothing, led by the OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, knows the opportunity is huge, especially in the premium segment which is where the Phone (2), Nothing’s second smartphone, will be positioned. “A few years ago, the screen size used to be a very important aspect. Now, if you look at screen size, is this a priority? No, it's not anymore, because it has become standard over time,” he explained in an interview to indianexpress.com ahead of the Phone (2) launch. “What I'm seeing is very interesting. In our research, suddenly design is popping up as an important need for consumers.” Since the brand’s debut two years back, Nothing has positioned its products differently from what competitors are offering. For instance, the Phone (1), Nothing’s debut smartphone last year, was finished in a semi-transparent casing and had flashing LEDs on the back. Although it was a mid-range Android phone, the device’s striking design and affordable price grabbed a lot of eyeballs. Sharma claimed Nothing has sold close to 750,000 units of Phone 1 till date. Sharma isn’t ready to talk about detailed specs or price of the Phone (2) yet, but he did confirm the device will be powered by a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1, will have a bigger 4,700mAh battery, and a larger screen. Like Phone (1), the Phone (2) will be manufactured by BYD Electronic, a Shenzhen-based manufacturer, in Tamil Nadu. Sharma claims the Phone 2 will be the company’s most sustainable product. The Phone 2’s design hasn’t been made public, and although Sharma refrains from sharing more details about the product, he remembered how challenging it was to manufacture the Phone 1 due to its transparent design. “If you look at the Phone 1, the detailing of the back, and all the materials we use, it takes a lot of effort. Honestly, it's not easy to build transparent products; it’s extremely difficult. On one hand, we are working with sustainable materials and then we also need to ensure that it is completely transparent while also serving the environment. On the other hand, we also need to make sure the inside is equally beautiful as well,” he explained. With the Phone (2), Sharma said the focus will be equally on both hardware and software. In fact, Nothing is doubling down on the software. The company now has a team of over 100 people working in-house just on software. When Phone 1 made its debut, Nothing was dependent on external resources for software. “The Phone (2) is really about the superior experience for the consumers, both from the performance and camera experience perspective. But most importantly, the software experience,” he said. “It’s going to have the best Android experience you can get. We have built the foundation for our Phone 2 in terms of the software experience.” From the beginning, Nothing has created the image of a new face in the tech landscape and subculture to stay hip. Its products have served aspirational consumers at lower prices. But with the Phone (2), and seeing how Indian consumers are opening up wallets for high-end smartphones, Nothing now seeks to lure consumers to the upper end of the phone segment. Calling it “a natural progression”, Sharma believes the Phone 2 will take the brand into a premium segment where both growth and margins are high. But even as Nothing shifts gears and launches products aimed at the premium segment, the Phone (2) comes out at a time when the smartphone market is already matured. There are already signs that the smartphone segment is peaking, with many seeing the impact as consumers hesitate to commit to more discretionary spending. “People are looking for a differentiated proposition… there is a huge opportunity for a brand like us to grow, especially on the creative side.”
