Nothing CEO Says No To Foldable Phones: Here’s His Reason – News18

Nothing is looking to make the smartphone segment fun again, but that plan will not include a foldable device anytime soon. In a recent media interview, Nothing CEO, Carl Pei was quizzed about his company’s plans to enter the foldable segment, where you already have brands like Samsung, Oppo and Motorola among others.

But much to everyone’s surprise, Carl’s opinion suggested that foldable is not the direction in which he wants to take his brand. He didn’t seem excited about the product, in fact, he felt that brands are bringing foldable devices as a, “forced innovation.”

Carl making this statement clearly hints the company will be staying away from the segment, which no doubt shows innovation but he is probably looking at the business sense of having such a product for consumers. He is also sceptical about the strategy behind these devices, where you find it hard to separate the form factor of one brand from another. “If you don’t see the logo anymore, you hide the logo on the foldables, I don’t think a consumer can really tell them apart,” Carl was quoted saying.

Brands like Oppo, Motorola and Samsung have a strong repertoire of products made over decades, which gives them the scope to experiment and work with multiple iterations of these devices. But for a newish company like Nothing, making a foldable will be capital and resource intensive, which might not give them immediate returns.

The company has launched its second-gen Phone 2 in the market, in the premium mid-range segment, and bringing a foldable might not be the right move for the brand, which is looking to build itself as a premium alternative to iPhones and other Android peers. He is clearly focused on making the Phone 2 a success for now, but even if Carl has quashed the plans for a foldable, one cannot rule out his plans in the next year or so, if their funding and business sustains its level.