From the moment Nothing appeared on the market, it brought with it a rather peculiar approach: naming each of its devices with a code name taken directly from the Pokédex. What began as a typical inside joke among engineers has ended up becoming an absolute hallmark of the brand. Every phone released has its own assigned creature.
To bring some order to this whole ecosystem and pay tribute to this clash between technology and nostalgia, I’ve put together a series of custom visual mockups pairing each of the 21 devices released to date with its official Pokémon. If you like it, maybe I'll try it with CMF products.
From inside jokes to brand identity
Using code names in the tech industry is nothing new; almost every brand does it to throw the press off the scent before a launch. The difference here is that the choice is never random. Each name somehow fits the concept, size, or personality of the product in question.
To illustrate this visual journey of the company, here is a graphic compilation of the 21 creations arranged chronologically up to the date of this article.
The complete list: 21 products and their creatures
This is the official breakdown between the company's hardware and the Pokédex:
- Nothing Ear (1): Aipom
- Nothing Phone (1): Abra
- Nothing Ear (Stick): Bellossom
- Nothing Ear (2): Azumarill
- Nothing Phone (2): Alakazam
- Nothing Phone (2a): Aerodactyl
- Nothing Ear: Entei
- Nothing Ear (a): Cleffa
- Nothing Phone (2a) Plus: Mega-Aerodactyl
- Nothing Ear (Open): Flaaffy
- Nothing Phone (3a): Arcanine
- Nothing Phone (3a) Pro: Arcanine
- Nothing Phone (3): Arbok
- Nothing Headphone (1): Elekid
- Nothing Ear (3): Feraligatr
- Nothing Phone (3a) Lite: Bulbasaur
- Nothing Phone (4a): Bellsprout
- Nothing Phone (4a) Pro: Bellsprout
- Nothing Headphone (a): Hoppip
- Nothing Phone (4b): Blastoise
- Nothing Ear (3a): Jumpluff
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A blend of technology and nostalgia
Seeing the brand's transparent designs aligned with the aesthetic of each creature reveals the extent to which pop culture is embedded in the project's foundations. It's a curious blend of "geekiness" and industrial design that has already become part of the company's product launch history.
Fernando
Excellent compilation. I've always enjoyed seeing when they announce a new Pokémon to imagine what kind of product it will be.
Now all that remains is to find out what the newly presented Lanturn might be.
As a suggestion, I also seem to recall that the phones have a classic video game as their codename. I remember the first time I was updating the phones and looking at the build number: the Phone 3 is Metroid.
ruudhesp
Thank you so much, Fernando!
You're right, and you've given me a great idea to do something similar but with code names. I'm making a note of it!