Cheeky answer in lieu of update: Nothing Phone (1) to receive Android 13 later

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TL;DR

• Nothing Phone (1) is supposed to receive an update to Android 13 in the first half of 2023.
• Fans are disappointed since NothingOS hardly offers any customizations and Android 13 has already been released.
• Nothing co-founder responded to a query that a smartphone is more than just technical data and version numbers.

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If you purchased the Nothing Phone (1), you would have ridden a certain hype wave for a few weeks. Chances were that friends would have wanted to take a look at your new Glyph-backed handset. As Antoine discovered in his hands-on, the Nothing Phone (1) is indeed a very good Android phone. However, a significant delay in update distribution is now causing headaches for Nothing customers.

Android 13, which has rolled out to Google's Pixel smartphones for a few days already, will not arrive on the Nothing Phone (1) via an update until the first half of 2023. Android Authority learned that Nothing has already confirmed the late update. The reason behind this? The software needs to be adapted to the hardware of the new smartphone with a heavy focus on the user experience.

Carl Pei's reaction is not very customer-oriented

Of course, Nothing's reasons are understandable, especially since the Nothing Phone (1) is the very first smartphone release from this disruptive company. Since problems with software updates tend to make big waves in the tech industry, it might be advisable to act rather cautiously. However, Nothing fans could take offense at the answer of Nothing founder Carl Pei to a query about the Android 13 update.

A product is more than just its specs, features, and version numbers

— Carl Pei (@getpeid) August 17, 2022

At first, Nothing only communicated that an update to Android 13 would arrive later, but Nicholas Lellouche pressed the issue further via Twitter. When asked if Carl Pei knew when the update would come, he simply answered: "A product is more than its specs, features, and version numbers". This reply not only does not answer the original question very well, it also seemed to be surprisingly impudent in such a context.

At the same time, the answer contradicts Nothing's official statement, which points out the importance of the user experience. After all, a user experience is also more than just flashing lights, transparent designs, and outstanding launch parties. Nothing has to maintain its products that are launched on the market.

How do you view this situation? Do you understand Pei's reaction to the question via Twitter or do you find it to be rather curious as I do? Let me know in the comments! Because a comment section is more than...argh, let's not even go there!

Source: The Verge, Android Authority