Nothing founder Carl Pei has confirmed rumors that the company's first smartphone, the Phone (1), will be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 778G+ processor. The 77G+ is an upper-mid-range SoC that's mainly similar to the standard 778G. It comes with an octa-core CPU comprising of 4x Cortex A-78 performance cores and 4x Cortex-A55 efficiency cores. It also includes the Adreno 642L GPU for graphics and an X53 modem for 5G connectivity. However, where it differs from the standard 778G is in its ability to support wireless charging and reverse wireless charging.
Nothing is a new consumer electronics brand that has been able to whip up quite a bit of hype over its first smartphone. Called the Phone (1), the device is slated to be unveiled on July 12 in London and is already one of the most eagerly-awaited consumer tech product launches of the year. The company recently claimed that more than 100,000 people had joined the waiting list to buy it even without knowing its official tech specs and price. That's impressive for a brand that has only launched one product until now.
In an interview with Input Mag, Carl Pei revealed that the Snapdragon 778G+ SoC will power the Nothing Phone (1). According to Pei, the chip was chosen ahead of the flagship Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 due to its higher efficiency and lower cost. He also claimed that the 778G+ was more suitable than the flagship chips and even the newly-announced Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 from a power-consumption and heating point of view. According to Pei, modern upper mid-range processors offer decent enough performance for general tasks without adding to the cost of the smartphone, and the Snapdragon 778G+ is no exception.
Reverse Wireless Charging For Nothing Phone (1)
Pei also claimed that Qualcomm specifically created the Snapdragon 778G+ for Nothing and added wireless charging and reverse wireless charging. Interestingly, the 778G+ was announced almost a year ago, back in Oct. 2021, alongside a bunch of other mid-range and entry-level chipsets like the Snapdragon 695, 680 and 480+. While the 695 and 480+ offer 5G connectivity, the 680 misses out on that feature and is restricted to up to 4G connectivity.
As for the Nothing Phone (1), the company has confirmed that it will not make it to U.S. shores but will be available in select European countries and India instead. Either way, it is shaping up to be an interesting device, especially for people who loathe paying around $1000 for flagship smartphones. While the official price will likely only be announced at launch next month, rumors suggest it might be priced under the €500 mark in Europe. If that proves to be correct, the Nothing Phone (1) could become a real success and one that could help the company launch a proper flagship-level smartphone at some stage going forward.
Source: Input Mag