The Nothing Phone (1) transparent design just shown for first time

A render of the Nothing Phone (1) from the back, with a parrot perched on top of it
(Image credit: Nothing)

We've just got the first official glimpse of the Nothing Phone (1) from the back, and it gives us a much better idea of what's in store for the phone's launch July 12.

The design teaser, coming from Nothing's Instagram page and founder Carl Pei on Twitter, proclaims the phone offers a "Bold. Warm. Full of soul." design. So what exactly does this design entail? You have to look past the parrots to find out.

A render of the Nothing Phone (1) from the back, with a parrot perched on top of it

(Image credit: Nothing)

First off, we've got a transparent back just like the company's last product, the Nothing Ear (1) earbuds, with components like the wireless charging/NFC coil fully visible. However, this isn't a truly see-through phone, since all the parts are coated in plastic to give the phone a harmonized all-white look.

Looking more closely, we can spot a dual-camera array in the top left corner, and what looks to be flat sides with volume and power buttons on the left and right edges, respectively. We don't yet know what these two cameras are, but the most obvious guess would be that they're a main/ultrawide combination, similar to the iPhone 13.

A render of the Nothing Phone (1) from the back, with a parrot perched on top of it

(Image credit: Nothing)

You can't see them clearly in this image, but the phone does feature lighting strips around the camera bump and wireless charging coil, plus two lines pointing off towards the charging port and the top right corner of the back. These were teased heavily in previous Nothing announcements, but we still don't know if they serve a practical purpose or are just there to look interesting.

That's pretty much it from this leak, but we have a few other details from prior events to go off of. The phone will run on a Nothing OS skin of Android, which will get three years of full updates but didn't impress us when we tried out the freely downloadable test version.

Nothing has promised the phone will use a Qualcomm chipset, possibly the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 like many of the best Android phones this year, although there are rumblings it could use the less potent Snapdragon 7 Gen 1.

As for unofficial details, The phone could measure 6.5 inches across and feature an FHD display, claims one source. Another says the phone could retail for just €500, which would put it in line with some of the best cheap phones like the upcoming Google Pixel 6a or the current iPhone SE (2022)

All we know for sure is that we'll find out all the missing information on July 12, the full-blown announcement for the Nothing Phone (1). There's certainly a lot of hype surrounding the launch, but we're going to save our judgments for when we get our hands on the hardware.

Richard Priday
Assistant Phones Editor

Richard is based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, tablets, gaming, and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's also written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's likely thinking about how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee.