Nothing’s next phone is the result of an unusual collaboration

By Andy Boxall Published October 15, 2024

Technology company Nothing will launch its first Community Edition smartphone at the end of October, and rather than being a collaboration with another brand, it’s the result of a collaboration with its fans. The device is the culmination of a project that started in March 2024 and involves members of the Nothing fan base suggesting and designing certain aspects of a new phone. The resulting device will be called the Nothing Phone 2a Community Edition, and it’s set to be fully revealed on October 30.

If you haven’t heard of the Nothing Community Project before, here’s a quick overview. When it was announced in March, the company explained that there would be four different stages,where members of the Nothing fan base could contribute ideas and designs to shape a future version of the Nothing Phone 2a. The first stage focused on hardware design, the second involved wallpapers, the third concentrated on the packaging for the new phone, and finally the last stage was all about the marketing.

Submissions were voted on at each stage, and you can already see the winners on the Nothing Community Edition website, so we have a good idea of what the new edition will look like. The racetrack-style design on the back of the Phone 2a will put a bright green, possibly glow-in-the-dark finish on the new Community Edition, while the wallpapers follow a similar theme with colors, along with a cool layered effect. The packaging and marketing campaigns also play on the same themes, while highlighting Nothing’s trademark lighting effects and love of minimalism.

Now that all the winners have been chosen and the design finalized, all that’s left is to fully show it off and release it. As with most other Nothing projects, an insect is part of the initial teaser campaign, and this time it’s a firefly glowing in a similar green envisioned for the Phone 2a Community Edition’s new color scheme. The specifications were never part of the Community Edition project, so we assume it’s going to be identical to the existing Phone 2a, meaning a MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro processor, a pair of 50-megapixel cameras, and a 6.7-inch, 120Hz AMOLED screen.

Nothing will reveal the Phone 2a Community Edition at 11 a.m. in the U.K., which is 4 a.m. PT and 7 a.m. ET, on October 30.