Moving over to Nothing products in 2025
I don’t pay much attention to the phone market unless I’m actually in the market for a phone. I see the odd new model pop up on various news and social media feeds, but there just doesn’t seem to be much beyond the annual and incremental updates from major players. Or maybe it’s just me.
One company I did take notice of ‘out of cycle’ was Nothing in 2023. They’re a relatively young design company founded in 2021 and based out of London and who contract out their manufacturing to China; also they don’t just do phones, but also earbuds (which was their first product) and now smart watches.
Why did I notice them? Well, partly they’re out of the UK and I do slant to seeing what the homeland is up to, and partly I legitimately liked their design and ethos.
Here at Nothing, we’re building a world where tech is fun again. Remember a time where every new product made you excited? We’re bringing that back. Just like our products, we work with transparency. That means leading with honesty and an open mind. Our culture is guided by our four values: Be the change. Pride in product. Thrive on diversity. Survive.
That doesn’t seem too bad, does it.
Nothing Phone 3a
On the phone side, the designs include things having LED strips on the back of some phones - called glyphs - which can be set up to performa different functions. The rear side also has a clear panel which lets you see the insides of the phone such as faux ribbon cables and even has some visible screws! I like that raw almost retro aesthetic.
I quite liked the idea of the LED ‘glyphs’ on the Nothing phone because I like having my phone face down when not in use, and the glyphs say when I’ve received a certain type of message, they can be used as a visual countdown timer, and in quiet mode, when you’re getting a call. I don’t need to look at the screen to ‘check messages’. There’s a lot more in the design - better to go and look at their website, and the positive reviews they’ve gotten from popular websites such as Marques Brownlee.
As I said before I don’t look at phones if I’m not in the market, and honestly, I wasn’t in the market as I’d received a Pixel 6a two years previously as a replacement from Google when my 5a decided to brick itself, which was a known issue. However, a family member who had a 4a was looking for a cheap ‘upgrade’ as they mainly use a tethered iPad on the go and the 4a battery was running down. I said they could have mine, and that would mean that a Nothing phone could be on the menu.
The main phone I was looking at was their Nothing Phone 3a - it’s a budget to mid-range phone, costing just over 50,000JPY here for the 12GB RAM & 256GB storage version. In white. Well, white and very light grey. I was just tired of black phones.
I was actually a little surprised they have good distribution in Japan, and I went on to their local website and I ordered it and it arrived after just a couple of days!
After a couple of months with it … I really like it.
It’s the first interesting phone I’ve owned in a long, long time. Sure, it’s stock Android, but the ‘Nothing OS’ really does add something. As a user it’s mainly a theme, and some apps. The theme is a very minimalist set of icons and wallpapers. At first, I didn’t like it - it was awkward to recognise apps and the icons felt too small. I went back to stock. Then, I decided I hadn’t given it a fair run, so I switched it back, increased the icon size and after a few weeks, I’m still using it. It’s simple, it encourages focus and not just looking for apps to open. It’s difficult to describe.
There’s the Nothing apps too - the camera app has a much better UI than the Google one and its idea of ‘presets’ rather than just filters is nice. What’s different? Well with the B&W preset for example it sets one of the three cameras to 50mm equiv and applies a contrasty black and white filter to it, so it’s a whole look across colours but also focal length and other parameters. It’s nice.
There’s also a timer which uses the rear LEDs and some other apps - they all keep to a minimal, focussed feel. The closest Nothing get to an AI play is their Essential application, triggered by its own physical button which acts like a screenshot and text or audio note application. It’ll extract information, and even remind you. So for example, I took a screenshot for a local event, and a note that I should attend, and then it extracted the date and time and gave me a reminder. That’s useful.
Whilst we’re talking applications, Nothing has their Nothing X app which is the management app for all their devices - including watches and ear buds.
CMF Buds Pro 2
I also needed a cheap pair of in ear earbuds for using on the train in the Summer.It’s a little too hot and humid around Tokyo in the Summer for the good old Sony MH-1000Xs - I’m talking about sweaty ears!
I was thinking getting some simple Anker earbuds but decided I’d try the similar priced CMF Buds Pro 2, and yes, they’re great for the price. To be clear, CMF is Nothing; it’s kind of a sub-brand. It’s supposed to be Nothing’s budget line.
Noise cancellation is acceptable, audio quality is very decent, and the shape is not bad either. The only ergonomic issue I have it that if I’m eating something with them, they sometimes work a little loose. One thing Nothing do with a lot of their earbuds is some innovation in the case. It charges them as you’d expect, but there also a dial on it which you can use the Nothing X app to set to different functions. By default mine uses the dial rotation to set volume, and you can push to stop and start audio. It’s a nice touch. The earbuds themselves also have some touch controls, but using the case as a remote I think is a nice idea.
The only downside is if you’re cycling for example with the case in your pocket - it may activate the dial.
CMF Watch Pro 3
I’m not much of a watch or any kind of accessory person. My only current watch is my Elliot Brown Canford which is a nice, simple and rugged design. I do love that watch.
However, I don’t want to wear it constantly, and I do want some step and sleep information. I looked around and Xiaomi do a nice band, so I tried that, but due to face size I ended wearing the watch and the band, which wasn’t optimal,
Since I was on a Nothing tear, I went to look at their watches found and the Watch Pro 3 was reasonably priced, had all the sensor features I needed and indeed seemed a good deal. The issues raised in reviews weren’t really a problem for me - extreme diving protection and such - so I put the money down.
I went for the orange one as I like some brighter colours around the place, and I liked that face the most - black with some small orange accents.
Yet again, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by it - build is good for the money. The orange strap looks good and it’s really not ’loud’, though I did buy a black strap as a spare.
One issue I noted was that even though the battery lasts 10 days with the features on I need, the magnetic charger can be a bit fiddly and I ended up charging it face down, or the magnetic charing connector would would subtly move and so the watch didn’t charge. It’s not a huge issue, but … be careful.
In Closing
So now a few months on I’m feeling good about the purchases. I’ve mentioned a few times here the value for money. These aren’t flagship anything; I know that, I don’t need flagship, I need good enough for my simple lifestyle.
The phone has been great, decent battery life, decent photos and I like those glyph lights. I like having my phone face down.
The earbuds have completely delivered for the commute during the hot summer, and for listening to meetings and music in the office. Noise cancelling is enough for the train commute.
The watch has delivered on the sleep notes, step notes and just, you know, telling the time. Oh, and it does voice notes too, which I hadn’t factored on using before I bought.
Nothing seems to be a polarising company, and they try some things which work, and some things which don’t land, and that’s fine. Of the three things I’ve bought, they’ve all been fine, but it has been only a few months, and the test for these kinds of devices is how long they last.