Nothing sees itself as a credible alternative to the iPhone. Akis Evangelidis, co-founder of the brand, has his say on the subject, but also on the future of the Nothing brand and the launch of its future ecosystem.
The Nothing phone (1) for illustration. // Source: Robin Wycke – Frandroid
We spoke to Akis Evangelidis, the co-founder of Nothing, behind the very good Nothing Phone (1) and Nothing Ear (2). A few weeks before the release of its Nothing Phone (2), the brand takes on the challengers in the smartphone market. After only two years of its existence, the company has created great expectations for its products. With Avnier’s hat on, the brand’s marketing manager told us about his vision for the smartphone market in the years to come. Not without some pessimism about future Apple and iOS dominance.
Other product categories Nothing under three to five years
It’s no secret that the founders of Nothing have great admiration for the iPhone. Carl Pei and Akis Evangelidis both worked at OnePlus, a brand that has never hidden its inspiration. But they disagree on one point. Nothing wants to eventually create an open ecosystem based on Android.
“In the beginning we didn’t know what it took, especially as far as the software is concerned,” smiles Akis Evangelidis in perfect English. “The next three to five years are looking pretty good in terms of expansion into new product categories. We are therefore much more confident in introducing the famous product ecosystem that we have been talking about since the beginning of the project. The Nothing Phone (2) will also insist much more on the software part, with the Nothing Phone (1) being the talk of the town with its original design in particular.
50% of Nothing Phone buyers in Japan are from iPhone
In the interview, Akis Evangelidis told us that Nothing sees itself as a relevant alternative for iOS: “We are one of the Android brands with the highest proportion of iOS users.” For example, in Japan, 50% of phone buyers (1) buy an iPhone. It’s crazy, no one has ever seen these numbers. Even the Android team tells us they are surprised and very happy about it. »
The Nothing ear sleeve (2) // Source: Chloé Pertuis – Frandroid
Should we read here the reason for Nothing’s adventure across the Atlantic, where the iPhone is far more dominant than in Europe? The first, very down-to-earth reason, is that a third of Nothing headphones were sold in the US. They therefore believe that they must aim for “organic traction”. But there might be a more fundamental, almost philosophical reason behind the ancient battle between iOS and Android.
It will be interesting to be honest. It’s pretty crazy how everything has developed so quickly. Looking at the data, 87% of the Gen Z audience are now using iOS. Last year, iOS surpassed 50 percent adoption rate worldwide. It is a problem. There are fewer and fewer alternatives to the iPhone. And I think we’re most likely to become an alternative at some point.
“It’s time for a new brand”
We can all see it: the temptation to bite the apple is getting bigger. But for Akis Evangelidis there is more to come. “I think if nothing changes, in 10 years Android will be in a very complicated situation. Maybe even in five years. Because now Apple is gaining market share in India, traditionally very tied to Android, Apple is dominating in the US… It’s time to launch a new brand. »
We want to say: Why should Nothing be any different than all of its competitors? Akis Evangelidis’ answer is certainly long, but full of lessons for his group’s strategy. Here are some interesting passages from his speech to remember.
The problem today is that everyone is doing the same thing and betting everything on the “value for money” strategy, but what happens every time is that everyone has completely reduced their margins and that’s why nobody is doing it except Samsung and Apple in Europe good .
The whole dynamic of the European market is very old-fashioned. For example, the operators, especially in France, have not understood what is happening in the market, the fact that the brands are not able to subsidize contracts up to 200 euros per smartphone, for example the smartphone brands have this money no longer. They don’t want Apple and Samsung to become some kind of industry duopoly, while at the same time doing everything they can to make it happen.
Akis Evangelidis // Source: Nothing
And so all of these brands have built their identity around the idea of value for money, but the problem is that anyone can come in and drop the prices even further. So you don’t want to do that. In order to give our products a premium design aspect, it certainly requires higher R&D costs for us. This requires that we are based in London, at the epicenter of European talent, which allows us to offer a very unique product. We hope people like it and therefore willing to pay a little more.
So will Nothing become Android’s savior against Apple, or will it ultimately embody a simple brand characterized by design and great ambition? One thing is for sure: in order to start building all of this, we need to already release the Nothing Phone (2). See you on July 11, 2023.
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The Nothing phone (1) for illustration. // Source: Robin Wycke – Frandroid
The Nothing ear sleeve (2) // Source: Chloé Pertuis – Frandroid
Akis Evangelidis // Source: Nothing
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