The Nothing Phone (1) didn’t live up to its hype as expected (perhaps expectations were high) and it’s likely to do better in its successor. That said, an early version of Carl Pei’s smartphone has been spotted at the ongoing Mobile World Congress 2023. Carl was even seen holding the device next to his own phone (1) and the resemblance is undeniable.
The mobile device in question is the Luna designed by Shanghai-based Chinese company Unihertz. On the back, there’s a transparent shell with LED light strips that light up in different hues compared to the milky white Glyph interface on Nothing (1).
Designer: Unihertz
The 6.81-inch display smartphone has a relatively sketchy design detail and inside, the hardware is also mediocre. As such, one cannot praise it highly on any performance metric. If you thought the Nothing Phone (1) didn’t live up to fan expectations with its Snapdragon 778G+ 5G SoC, then the Unihertz Luna doesn’t overshadow the phone by any means. It has a below average MediaTek Helio G99 processor.
Other specifications are good with the phone; it has 8GB of RAM, 256GB of internal storage, a 5,000mAh battery and 18W fast charging which should be good enough for most users. On paper, the rear-facing triple camera setup dominated by the 108MP camera and 20MP night vision camera seems like the USP of the device along with the colorful glyph interface. Not to forget to mention that the device also has a 3.5mm jack, so audiophiles should take that into consideration. On the front, the device sports a 32MP camera with the Samsung S5KGD1 sensor, so it should be able to click good selfies.
The LEDs on the back can be changed to any color, which is kind of a cool feature. On the Nothing Phone (1) it’s the glyph interface, but I’m sure Unihertz will come up with some fancy name for their version. For now, they are promoting it as a simplified, geometric interface with minimalist lines inspired by the ancient oriental philosophy of the round sky. As they put it very rhetorically, “The moon moves eternally in circles around the earth, and circular objects in the physical world are active, just like the round moon.”
The Unihertz smartphone made headlines at MWC this year, and according to company representatives, the mobile device will cost around $300. For this kind of price, the odd compromise or two shouldn’t hurt a budget buyer. Especially the geometric interface with a customizable array of LED lights for app and call notifications. The phone is slated for a March 2023 launch, and it should be interesting to see how it fares in the global market.
