Nothing to launch its next smartphone on March 5

Nothing’s next smartphone, the Nothing Phone 2a, is launching on March 5.

The company sent media invites for the streamed unveiling, titled “Fresh Eyes,” and posted an accompanying video on YouTube.

The video, unsurprisingly, doesn’t provide much specific detail about the upcoming phone itself, though we know that it will be the first entry-level/mid-range phone coming from Nothing. Instead, the company’s founder Carl Pei (also known as the co-founder of OnePlus), shares his smartphone-making philosophy and there’s a few interesting thoughts in the video. Asked by the host about the Nothing Phone 2a, he says that mid-range phones typically don’t get attention because the big companies “don’t care,” and just “outsource the entire thing.”

Pei places a lot of emphasis on bloatware, which apparently won’t be pre-installed on the Nothing Phone 2a. He also points out that other smartphone makers use “cheap materials,” implying that the Nothing Phone 2a will be made out of more premium stuff.

As far as what we can expect from the Nothing Phone 2a, Pei says the focus was on “great performance,” and “great camera,” while still retaining the brand’s unique design.

Speaking of design, the video also features industrial designer Chris Weightman. Interestingly, he implies that the Nothing Phone 2a won’t be just a cheaper version of the company’s Nothing Phone 2; instead, Nothing is trying to bring something “very new and fresh to the market.”

The unveiling is set for 6:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, March 5. The live stream will be available at https://nothing.tech/pages/event.