🙌 Good morning, and welcome to the Daily Authority. I spent the weekend dodging national power cuts, but at least the mask mandate has finally lifted in South Africa. No more nose creases!

Can Carl Pei do it again?

We’ve had some time to ruminate on the glowing Nothing Phone 1’s design. It’s a divisive device, to say the least. But my Android Authority colleague Dhruv Bhutani argues that this might not be the phone’s defining characteristic.

• Instead, perhaps it’s the proven smarts of OnePlus co-founder, Carl Pei.
• With the OnePlus playbook under his arm and Nothing at his feet, Pei can now let his imagination run wild unbound by the limitations of OPPO.
• This unshackling has allowed Pei to target the “TikTok generation” and “hypebeasts” in the audience through a novel design and savvy marketing.

Not just guerilla marketing:

• Pei’s strength is getting people talking, but our first glimpses of the Nothing Phone 1 suggests it isn’t just designed for design’s sake.
• The “Glyph” is a series of LEDs at the phone’s rear that double as a critical visual trait and a smart notification light.
• Pei has also mentioned “creating an ecosystem of interconnected devices, and the ability for the phone to interact with connected peripherals made by other manufacturers too.”
• Overall, there’s hope to build a company with a broader ecosystem of AIOT devices.

What’s next:

• Is this enough for surefire success?
• While the Phone 1 surely stands out, there’s more to a phone’s market performance than smart design and a charismatic leader.
• Pei and his team will need to focus on the basics, from launch to post-sales support.
• Like OnePlus’ initial offerings, Pei will need to focus on price and value.
• But Pei has given the company its best chance to succeed.
• Let’s wait and see how it plays out.

Roundup

📱  Nothing reminds us that smartphone design innovation isn’t dead (Android Authority).

👉 Xiaomi 12T leaks, could fix where Xiaomi 12 went wrong (Android Authority).

📝 Is an Android-powered e-ink tablet really a good idea? The HUAWEI Matepad Paper provides some surprising answers (Android Authority).

🤷 Even in 2022, blockchain smartphones don’t make a lot of sense (Android Authority).

🆒 I stuck a cooling fan to my phone — did it make a difference? (Android Authority).

🍏 Apple’s readying several new products ahead of its Fall 2022 bonanza, including its first mixed-reality headset (Bloomberg).

🐢 Weird. According to several reviewers, base 13-inch MacBook Pro models with M2 chips tested with much slower SSD read and write speeds than M1 models (MacRumors).

📡 Starlink RV could be the best way to stay connected to high-speed internet when exploring the great outdoors, provided you’re not actually moving while using it (The Verge).

🧠 “From here on out, the safe use of artificial intelligence requires demystifying the human condition.” A fascinating read about AI’s ability to seem human and the implications therein (Wired).

👀 Is anyone else getting Minority Report vibes? A deep dive into China’s plans to police the future through “techno totalitarianism” (NYT, $).

🚗 Mercedes smashed its own distance record with its Vision EQXX electric vehicle, traveling 746.8 miles from Stuttgart, Germany to Silverstone, UK on a single charge. That’s almost double the range of the Tesla Model S. It still had enough juice left to lap the Silverstone circuit a few times (Autoweek)

🚀 NASA kicks off Australia’s new space era by launching a sub-orbital rocket from a tiny spaceport Down Under. It’s the first launch from the country in over two decades (BBC).

👾 “What is an old video game that still holds up so well today?” (r/askreddit)

Monday Meme

Finally, for something supremely relatable. In all honesty, staying up all night is the best way to wake up early. That’s not good advice but it is functionally true!

Have a great start to your week!

Andy Walker