Nothing has long made it clear that it doesn't want to limit itself to manufacturing smartphones and accessories. And it seems its next move will be quite different from what we're used to. Carl Pei, the company's CEO, has published an extensive reflection on the future of artificial intelligence and how he believes it will change the way we work. But among all those ideas, there's one detail that particularly interests us: Nothing will launch its first native AI product next month.
We still don't know exactly what they're cooking up, but Carl has already dropped some pretty interesting hints. It won't be a new screen, and it won't be something that can be fixed with just an app. Let's break it down, because there's quite a bit more to this announcement.
The problem with AI is not its intelligence, but how little it knows about us
Carl Pei begins his reflection with something that is surely familiar to us. Artificial intelligence models are becoming increasingly capable, but we still have to constantly explain our context to them in order for them to truly help us.
We can connect our email, calendar, or work tools, share conversations, and provide them with all kinds of information. Even so, a large part of the time we spend using AI is precisely in keeping it updated.
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And there are situations where that context doesn't even become digital information. The co-founder of Nothing gives a very simple example: imagine you're having coffee with someone and an idea comes up that could solve a problem you've been working on for weeks. What do you do? You take out your phone to write it down, interrupting the conversation, and when you look up again, the moment has passed. Or you simply decide not to and end up forgetting it.
For Nothing's CEO, this is one of the biggest problems AI still faces: it doesn't lack capability, it lacks context. And that context shouldn't always depend on us sitting in front of a screen and typing it in.
Technology for work can also have a personality
There's another part of the publication that fits particularly well with Nothing's philosophy. Carl criticizes the fact that, for years, the industry has understood that devices intended for work should be functional above all else, leaving design and personality in the background.
As an example, he recalls the classic conference phones we've all seen in meeting rooms. Practical products, yes, but hardly ever fond of their users. To demonstrate that things haven't always been this way, he mentions the 1969 Olivetti Valentine, a portable typewriter designed by Ettore Sottsass. A product conceived for work, but with a bold and playful design that ended up becoming an icon.
It's a pretty accurate reference for understanding what he's trying to convey. Nothing has been arguing for years that technology can be different, that not everything has to look alike, and that even an everyday product can have personality.
He now believes that artificial intelligence opens up a huge opportunity to bring that philosophy to a new category of devices. And, given that Nothing develops both the hardware and the software, Pei believes the company is in an interesting position to do so.
From working with AI to letting it work for us
But where does Nothing want to take all this? Carl Pei's vision is quite clear: currently we use artificial intelligence as a tool that we ask for things, but in the future it should be able to anticipate our needs and do some of the work for us.
The idea is that these systems can handle repetitive tasks, better understand our needs, and act proactively, leaving more time for what truly requires our attention.
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To achieve this, it will be essential for devices to be able to access our context and earn our trust. It's not simply about having a smarter assistant, but about creating tools that better understand how we live and work.
It also raises an interesting point about that supposed magic device that many companies seem to be searching for to replace the smartphone. Nothing doesn't want to pursue that idea at any cost. It prefers to gradually build the technology and tools that could make that evolution possible.
Nothing's first AI product will arrive in December
And now we get to what is probably the most intriguing part of the entire post. Carl Pei has confirmed that Nothing's first native AI product will arrive next month. He's given us the first piece of the puzzle and shared a couple of details that allow us to rule out some possibilities.
To begin with, it won't have a new screen. I'm not quite sure how to interpret the fact that it doesn't have a "NEW" screen. Does it have one or not? Does it mean it doesn't have its own screen but will rely on your smartphone's display? Furthermore, it asserts that it couldn't have simply been an app. This last point is particularly striking because it suggests that we're dealing with a product designed around artificial intelligence, not just an additional feature we can install on our phones.
They also explained that it will be a tool designed with the personality and attention to detail that we've come to expect from Nothing. In other words, they don't want to abandon what has defined their products so far. For now, we'll have to wait. We don't know if it will be a standalone device, a new accessory, or something we haven't seen on the market yet. Any guess would be pure speculation, but what is clear is that Nothing wants to start exploring new territory.
And honestly, after so many years of watching smartphones evolve without any major changes to their core concept, I'm genuinely curious to see what Carl Pei has up his sleeve this time.
If you want to stay informed about the latest news and updates on Nothing and CMF products, you can follow me on X (@ruudhesp), Instagram (@ruudhesp) and TikTok (@nothingtec).
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