Skip to main content

OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei launches Nothing. No, really

OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei has announced his next venture, and it’s, well, Nothing. No, we’re not belittling Pei’s announcement — Nothing is the name of Pei’s new consumer technology company. The inspiration for this unusual name can be found on the firm’s Twitter page, where the profile states that “technology should fade into the background and feel like nothing.”

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Pei himself is already having fun with the Nothing name. Pei wrote the following on his own Twitter account an hour before the announcement: “We might announce nothing in the end, let’s see…,” followed by a laughing emoji. We expect many similar wordplay gags to come, especially when the company launches its first products.

Recommended Videos

What will Nothing produce? It’s not clear yet. Despite Pei’s background in smartphones, there’s no indication Nothing will also make phones, with the press release saying it will release “its first smart devices in the first half of this year.” Smart devices really could mean anything from smart home products to wearables and headphones to health tech.

Although that’s the only hint we get from the official announcement, there was a rumor the brand would concentrate on audio-related hardware, but this has not been confirmed. Pei does share the company’s mission. though, which gives some insight into the way it will approach its products:

“It’s been a while since anything interesting happened in tech. It is time for a fresh breeze of change. Nothing’s mission is to remove barriers between people and technology to create a seamless digital future. We believe that the best technology is beautiful, yet natural and intuitive to use.”

Pei announced he was leaving OnePlus in October 2020, saying he’d take some time off before launching his new project. He started the company with Pete Lau in 2013, and had been instrumental in creating the firm’s products and image. In-between announcing his departure and now, Pei raised $7 million from various investors (names include Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin, Web Summit’s Paddy Cosgrave, and YouTuber Casey Neistat) to start Nothing.

OnePlus has built an incredible community in a surprisingly short time, and consistently launches well-made, exciting, and desirable products, making any company under Pei’s guidance one to watch.

Andy Boxall
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
OnePlus’ next phone is a compact powerhouse and it’s launching soon
OnePlus 13T

Following the launch of the OnePlus 13 in January, the next phone that we’re going to see from the popular offshoot of Oppo is the OnePlus 13T. The official launch of this phone has been booked in for April 24, so there’s not long to wait.

There’s a slight catch though: the launch is taking place in China, with no word on whether this phone is going to get a global release and make its way to the US, or not. That might not be the end of the story however. While the OnePlus 13 made its global debut in January 2025, it saw an earlier announcement in China in October 2024, so it could be that this compact flagship device gets launched in other regions too.

Read more
OnePlus 13T design leaks and it’s got serious iPhone vibes
OnePlus 13T leak

OnePlus was one of the first to release its flagship smartphone offering at the beginning of the year, beating everyone - including Samsung - to the punch with its OnePlus 13 series. The OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 13R were made available  globally on 7 January but there's another device set to join the line up in the OnePlus 13T. 

OnePlus has already confirmed the device is coming, and there have been a number of leaks surrounding it too, including that it will run on Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite processor. The latest leak - or leaks we should say - present what the OnePlus 13T could look like though, and well, it's somewhat familiar.

Read more
Is a $500 OnePlus Watch 3 still worth buying? The answer is complicated
A person wearing the OnePlus Watch 3.

The OnePlus Watch 3’s price has suddenly increased to $500, but we reviewed the smartwatch when it cost $330. It hasn’t become a different device overnight, no additional features have been added, and it doesn’t come with a solid gold bracelet. OnePlus has not made a comment on why the price has increased, but as it has (so far) only increased in the U.S., it’s fairly safe to assume the price increase is due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, as the OnePlus Watch 3 is made in China.

The question now becomes, is the OnePlus Watch 3 worth $500 and should you still buy it? The answer is complicated.
The OnePlus Watch 3 is excellent

Read more