London tech firm unveils first UK smartphone in five years
London-based tech firm Nothing has announced plans to launch the first UK smartphone in five years as it looks to challenge the dominance of Apple and Samsung.
Nothing, headed up by Carl Pei, unveiled designs for the new “phone (1)” today and said it would shake up a market which had been held back by a lack of imagination.
“For too long, the smartphone market has been dominated by the same players and that’s led to unimaginative, bland design across the board,” Pei said.
“As well, these players have created closed-off ecosystems that lock people in, limiting their choice about the products they can access and use. This is what I want to change with Nothing.”
Pei said he had assembled a 15-strong London-based design team with 35 expected by the end of the year, and said the product would be “the most compelling alternative to Apple’s ecosystem”.
Nothing recently announced it had raised 70 million dollars (£53 million) in a fundraising round, bringing total investments to 144 million dollars (£109 million).
The round was backed by EQT Ventures and C Ventures and bosses said they are now eyeing up fresh funding to become Eureope’s most dominant phone maker.