Dear Nothing controversy follows Nothing Phone (1) launch: NOTHING for you to bother

Nothing Phone (1) has been dominating the internet way before its launch and hence, it was obvious to see a huge demand once the prices would be announced at the launch event. However, a different kind of demand crept up just hours after the launch, and it was from content creators who did not get their hands on the review unit of the Nothing Phone (1). A South Indian creator had created a parody video, taking a dig at Nothing for not providing review units of the Nothing Phone (1) to regional content creators.

YouTube channel Prasadtechintelugu released a video hours after the Phone (1) event finished and in it, Prasad took a dig at Nothing for not providing a review unit of the Phone (1). Nothing had sent out limited review samples of the Phone (1) to certain publications and creators, and in the process had missed out the rest of the media. The video, however, painted this as a plot by Nothing to avoid South Indian video creators, especially with a fake packaging box and fake letter.

Nothing blamed for avoiding South Indian creators

In the video, Prasad takes out a fake packaging box and shows off a counterfeit letter that says, “Hi Prasad, this device is not for South Indian people. Thank you.” While Prasad meant this to be a prank, his followers on social media widely distributed this, claiming this to be an authentic letter from Nothing. Hence, people started calling Nothing for having bias towards the local creators, and eventually the hastags #DearNothing and #BoycottNothing came up.

Nothing says something in response

Soon after this incident flared up, Nothing VP and GM India Manu Sharma released a press statement, clarifying the confusion. Sharma in his letter says that Nothing had planned to send out devices to the media houses and content creators in a phased manner. As part of the process, many content creators from the reginal channels have already got the device, including regional journalists.

Sharma also points out that the fake letter and fake Nothing box have been misunderstood as an official communication from the brand. He also adds that misinterpretation and misleading claims are not acceptable.

Should this incident hinder your buying decision?

First of all, readers and content creators should know that it completely depends on a certain brand to hand out review samples of a product, be it a smartphone or laptop. In today’s day and age, Indian brands have to reach out to hundreds of websites, publications, journalists and content creators on social platforms. Most of the times, the brands hand out review units to the more prominent banners first in order to further the hype and publicity, and others have to wait for more products to arrive.

Similar to many other publications and content creators, we at HT Tech also couldn’t get our hands on a review unit of the Nothing Phone (1). Hence, you are yet to see any first impressions or deep-dive story on the device. However, HT Tech understands that it is up to the brand to share the review sample as and when they deem fit.

Until we don’t get our hands on the device, we cannot comment whether you should buy or skip the Nothing Phone (1). If you have liked the Phone (1) based on what you have seen from other media houses and Nothing’s promotionals, it is up to you to decide. But you should not consider this controversy while taking a decision on the device.