Nothing Watch (1): Everything you need to know

While all eyes may be focussed on the imminent arrival of the Nothing Phone (2), it seems that Carl Pei’s company could also be bringing its first smartwatch to the table.

Here’s everything we know so far about the rumoured Nothing Watch (1).

When will the Nothing Watch (1) be released?

There’s been no official word from Nothing at the time of writing. The Nothing Phone (2) is due to launch on 11 July 2023, but we’d be very surprised if the company has managed to keep an entire device secret up until this point. So, it looks likely that the Nothing Watch (1) could have its own launch event later in the year. 

Nothing CEO Carl Pei stirred things up back in February 2023 when he tweeted that he was using a Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro to learn more about smartwatches. This was followed by a question for his followers to share how they use their current smartwatches. When one commenter asked if Nothing was about to enter the smartwatch market, Pei replied simply ‘Learning about the category’. It does seem that Nothing is planning a new device, but from these clues we’d say it would be late 2023 at the earliest before one arrives.   

NotebookCheck reported recently that a new smartwatch device that appears to be from Nothing has been spotted though on the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification site. This goes under the code number D395 and is stated to be from ‘CMF by Nothing’. Whether this is just an early prototype remains to be seen, but Nothing definitely has something in the works. 

How much will the Nothing Watch (1) cost?

Again, we don’t have any pricing for the Nothing Watch (1). But in its short lifespan, Nothing has shown itself to be a company that specializes in mid-range products with pricing to match.

We think it’s likely then, that any new smartwatch it launches will sit around the same price bracket as the Pixel Watch which launched at $349/£339/€379, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 which is available for $279/£269/€299, or the Apple Watch SE that you can pick up for $249/£259/€299 if you choose the smaller 40mm size. If Nothing can bring its smartwatch in somewhere between those models, then it would be quite a proposition. 

What features will be in the Nothing Watch (1)?

As you’ve probably guessed, Nothing has yet to announce that its Watch even exists, let alone the technology inside. This is reflected in the rumour mill, as there’s almost nothing known about the smartwatch, so it’s already living up to its name. 

If Nothing continues with its distinctive transparent look, then the Nothing Watch (1) could be quite an eye-catching device. We don’t think it’s likely to have room for the flashing Glyph lights that makes the Nothing Phone (1) unique, but being able to see the innards of the device will make it stand out from the crowd. 

This concept has recently been taken up by designer Jun Seo Oh, who produced these beautiful renderings of what the Nothing Watch (1) could look like:

In terms of components, it will depend heavily on when the watch is launched. At the moment, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 uses a 1.18GHz dual-core Exynos W920 5nm processor under the 1.2in circular AMOLED display. If the Nothing Watch debuts late in 2023 or even in 2024, then this might have already been superseded by a newer chip.

The Pixel Watch comes with an Exynos 9100 chipset, although this is expected to be upgraded to a Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 chip when the Pixel Watch 2 arrives. Maybe Nothing will follow suit. Hopefully, it won’t be too long until we find out.