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A limited number of phones will be sent to beta users in the US and Canada.
The lauded Phone 1, first smartphone production of up-and-coming tech brand Nothing, is set to hit markets in July. The brand’s promise of an affordable, streamlined device has many interested, especially after success after Nothing’s original line of true wireless earbuds. However, it seems that only a subset of consumers will have access to this new device, at least at first.
Today, the company announced that the Phone 1 is only planned for release in its home markets, specifically the UK and Europe. The device will not be commercially available in the US or Canada, and any attempts to use a Phone 1 in either territory is expected to go poorly, as the device isn’t designed to work with western phone networks.
“While we’d love to bring Phone 1 to the entire community around the world, we’re focusing on home markets, including the UK and Europe, where we have strong partnerships with leading local carriers,” Nothing told PCMag in a statement. “It takes a lot to launch a smartphone as you know, from ensuring the handset is supported by the country’s cellular technologies to carrier partnerships and local regulation, and as we’re still a young brand we need to be strategic about it.”
Nothing’s Phone 1 isn’t coming to the US https://t.co/jbRirlXd71 pic.twitter.com/2X3FG0W7vn
— The Verge (@verge) June 22, 2022
While the device won’t be available to all US and Canada users at launch, Nothing is planning on sending out a handful of units to select community investors in the countries as an early beta test. Nothing likely needs more information about how the device interacts with Verizon, T-Mobile, and other local phone networks before they can attempt to release anything here, though they have said they do want to release another phone worldwide sometime in the future.
