The most interesting Android phone brand is making me nervou…

Nothing, the technology company started by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, is bothering me. After releasing several excellent mobile products since its inception in 2021 – and really impressing me with its unique vision in the process – there’s evidence that it’s breaking even.

Although Nothing seems like fun, which is great, I’m worried that the unexpected diversification of the Nothing brand might have a negative impact on the thing I love most about it.

Shirt and giggling?

The Nothing Phone 2 is a fantastic smartphone, and its importance, especially for the US market, cannot be underestimated. At its core, the Nothing Phone 2 is just a cool piece of mobile technology, but it’s also wrapped in a body that stands out in the crowd and is refreshingly on its own when it comes to the user interface and its design. He goes away.

Design is a big part of Nothing. The unusual transparent casing of the Nothing Ear 1 in-ear Bluetooth headphones set the tone for the brand, and its understanding of ergonomics and appreciation of simple beauty shines through in the cool, foldable, cylindrical case of the Ear Stick headphones. Whether it’s the fun but useful lights on the back of the Nothing Phone 1 and Nothing Phone 2 or its quirky, retro dot-matrix style font, Nothing’s branding and product line has quickly become clear and instantly recognizable.

Until now, because Nothing’s next product isn’t tech-related at all. These are clothes. Nothing Apparel will launch in the near future, and is described as a range of “wardrobe staples” including coats, tracksuits, caps, backpacks and more. Apparently inspired by its hardware, it brings the design ethos of Nothing to clothing, but there’s no mention of batteries, flashing lights or technology. This appears to be some clothes,

Just before the announcement of Nothing Apparel, Nothing launched Nothing Beer. It doesn’t come in a Bluetooth-connected can, and there’s no QR code for a special Nothing app that only works with Nothing phones; This is the only beer available in packs of six. Or at least, it was, as the limited edition product sold out very quickly. Although I’m sure the brewery was fun to work with, this was a really weird and completely non-technical move.

Fun is good, up to a point

At this point, all I can say is that I am not angry. I’m not suggesting that fun should be banned, and I’m not complaining about these launches or saying that they shouldn’t have happened at all. I may not care for the beer, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be standing in line for the Nothing Cap. Swag (because after all, that’s what it’s all about, whether it’s free or not) is also important for building brand awareness, OnePlus has also done well with its range of excellent backpacks and bags, as well as some fun t-shirts. I still have the shirt.

But all these products are really needed Some? Related to the brand’s core business, which until now I considered technology. Beer and zip-up shirts have nothing to do with technology or anything, other than some loose connection with design or something in the direction of Teenage Engineering, the design house with which it already works on other projects. Has done.

This type of launch means there is a real risk of brand dilution rather than brand building. It’s fine for YouTubers to have their own “merch”, which I’m sure helps with extra income, but I can’t get a Samsung hoodie when I buy my Galaxy S23 Ultra or an exclusive Apple artisan when I pick up my Apple Watch series. Can’t drink coffee. 9. Looked at this way, clothes and beer correspond more closely to YouTubers than actual industry competition.

Then what is nothing? Is it a tech brand? A lifestyle brand? A brand throwing a ton of stuff at the wall to see what sticks? The fact that I’m asking this question means that its recent options are somewhat unusual and perhaps the fun it’s having isn’t working with its carefully crafted and surprisingly effective brand of is – which it did in impressively double-quick time – very good.

Don’t ignore what makes you special

Nothing can launch the way you want, but there are two things I don’t want to happen. The first is that I don’t want tech brands to disappear in the process of diversifying. I’m worried this is already happening, because I know less about its CMF Buy Nothing sub-brand — which makes cheap earbuds and smartwatches — than I know about its beer and clothing, its Even though it has a lot to do with technology and other things. There is no brand that has established itself faster than any of them.

The second is a matter of much greater concern. Nothing is still a young company, and making smartphones is a very expensive, time-consuming process. Spending time, effort, and resources on fun projects shouldn’t actually impact the development of future mobile hardware or its Nothing OS software.

It’s the earbuds, phone, and software that make Nothing attractive and should be the company’s primary focus. That hasn’t happened yet, and Nothing recently released version 2.5 of its phone software and a preview of what it’s doing with Android 14, so it’s not like the end times are nigh. This is an unexpected directional change so early in the life of the firm.

Nothing launched with a compelling mission statement saying it was a tech company committed to creating intuitive, flawlessly connected products without any confusing tech-slang or silly product names – And how it didn’t want to complicate things. beer and clothes Are Making things complicated and confusing, especially as they appear to be more than just a casual marketing stunt. We can see the evolution of the Nothing brand, it may need to do something to survive in such a tough industry, but I hope it will not forget to make and support great smartphones, headphones and other tech products. Any effort to secure its future.