Tim Hardwick
According to a new report released today, British tech company Nothing is planning to launch a new smartphone in the US that will directly compete with Apple's iPhone.
In an interview with CNBC, Nothing CEO Carl Pei said the startup was in “early talks” with US carriers to launch a new phone in the US, but did not name any. carriers.
In July, Nothing launched its Phone 1 smartphone in more than 40 markets, including the UK, Japan, India and continental Europe. At the time, the company said it had no plans to release the Phone 1 widely in the US.
“The reason we didn’t launch in the US is because you need a lot of additional technical support to support all carriers and their unique customizations that they need to make on top of Android,” Pei explained in an interview with CNBC. “We used to feel like we weren't ready.”
“We're currently in talks with some carriers in the US about a potential launch of a future product there,” said the Chinese-Swedish entrepreneur.
>
Pei also acknowledged that it will be difficult for his company to compete with Apple in its own territory. “Android has issues with iOS becoming more and more dominant. They are very attached to iMessage and AirDrop, especially among Generation Z. So I'm more and more worried about this,” he said.
“Maybe the time will come when Apple owns 80% of the entire market, and there's just no room left for Android device makers to keep playing,” Pei added.
Nothing sold. over 1 million products to date worldwide: Ear (1) sold 600,000 units and phone (1) reached 500,000 shipments.
The company expects its revenue to grow more than tenfold in 2022, from about $20 million in 2021 to about $250 million this year, according to data provided by CNBC. However, the firm is still losing money, which Pei says is partly due to the foreign exchange.
“We pay most of our cost [cost of goods sold] in US dollars, but we make money in pounds sterling, euros, Indian rupees — so everything depreciates against the US dollar,” Pei said. “Our goal is to be profitable in 2024.”
Tag: Nothing[ 15 comments ]
