JB Hi-Fi is now selling Nothing. Yep, you read that right, nothing, well not nothing but the Nothing Phone 2, and the budget ‘2a’ model.
Nothing first came to Australia in 2022 with the original Nothing Phone, an Android smartphone with a weird name and a strange, glypth-based feature on the back. The phones have a transparent casing to them that lets you see a bit underneath, and internal LEDs on the back that light up when certain actions are performed. In terms of pushing innovation forward, Nothing doesn’t really do that, but it’s a cool phone with a neat body, with a pretty good reviews run – though perhaps the cameras could be better, and the back is a bit of a nightmare for scratches. Our colleagues in the U.S. called it a cool phone for bored Android users.
But Nothing (the company) is also a start-up – from London, in fact. It was founded by Carl Pei, the co-founder of OnePlus, with funding from tech industry giants (and YouTuber Casey Neistat – yes, that guy). Up until now, the phone has mostly been available through the official Nothing website and on Amazon. Now, JB Hi-Fi is going to be slinging the latest generation of devices.
“We are thrilled to be working with JB Hi-Fi to launch our product portfolio to their engaged customers and provide them the opportunity to experience the full range of Nothing’s innovative products in-store across Australia,” Nothing co-founder Akis Evangelidis said.
While the company’s two current phones will be joining the JB Hi-Fi product range, the Phone 2 and Phone 2a, the company’s ‘Ear’ earbuds weren’t part of the announcement.
For now, the two phones that Nothing is offering are worth considering if you’re looking for an Android smartphone below the $1,000 mark and slightly above it. Depending on storage capacity, the Phone 2’s price ranges from $999 (256GB) to $1,099 (512GB), and is available in black and white. It comes with a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, a 1080 x 2412 OLED display, and a dual camera array on the back (50MP wide, 50MP ultrawide, 32MP selfie on front).
The Nothing Phone 2a, the budget-oriented device, starts at $529 (128GB), and goes up to $599 (256GB), also in black and white. It comes with a Mediatek Dimensity 7200 Pro CPU, a 1080 x 2412 AMOLED display, and a dual camera system on the back (50MP wide, 50MP ultrawide, 32MP selfie on the front).
Both phones include Nothing’s signature glyph backing and cyberpunk adjacent OS aesthetic.
Both phones will be available from April 11, with preorders live now. Not to rain on JB Hi-Fi’s parade, but you could also just… Buy it now from Nothing directly?
I’m sure it’s Nothing.