It looks like the Nothing Phone (2) will launch in the US in July as part of a global rollout, marking the company's formal entry into the US market.
The launch timeframe was mentioned during an interview between Forbes and Nothing’s CEO Carl Pei, who helped found Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus.
Nothing’s first product, the Nothing Phone (1), only arrived in Europe and India. Months later, the startup then brought the phone model to the US, but only through a beta program while conceding the device itself had limited compatibility with US carriers.
“The reason why we didn’t launch in the US is because you need a lot of additional technical support, to support all the carriers and their unique customizations that they need to make on top of Android,” Pei said last year. Since then, the company has been working with US carriers to ensure its next product will work in the country.
Pei has already revealed the Phone (2) will be a “premium” step up from the previous model, although it’ll use a slightly older Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, instead of a Gen 2. In the interview with Forbes, he added the Phone (2) will sport a 4,700mAh battery, which will be bigger than the 4,500mAh battery in the Phone (1).
Pei is hoping the new product will offer US consumers an alternative to the iPhone when competition in the smartphone arena has shrunk in recent years. “With the US being a very Apple-dominated market with no real option for people looking for an alternative, it represents a good opportunity for Phone (2),” he told Forbes.