Nothing's Carl Pei declares war on Apple, 'one bored iPhone user' at a time

Nothing founder Carl Pei has posted yet another cheeky video taking aim at Apple, and this one might be his most self-affirming effort yet.

In a video posted to Instagram, Pei looks directly into the camera and declares, “This is a message to Apple. My name is Carl. I make phones in London. I’m gonna steal your customers. One bored iPhone user at a time.”

The message appears to be aimed at users who feel smartphones have become uninspiring and repetitive. Unfortunately, the video comes across as far more dramatic than the message probably needed to be.

This isn’t a new strategy for Nothing and Pei. Ever since founding the company, Pei has positioned it as an alternative to what he sees as an increasingly boring smartphone industry. He has repeatedly argued that Apple has lost its creative edge and no longer delivers the kind of innovation that once inspired him. In previous interviews, he’s criticized Apple’s direction while pitching Nothing as the brand for users who want something different from the phones their parents own.

More recently, Pei has leaned heavily into the idea that Nothing can challenge Apple and Samsung by winning over younger users. He believes Gen Z is the key demographic that could help Nothing break into a market dominated by the two smartphone giants.

The funny thing is that Nothing is actually doing decently well without the theatrics.

According to Counterpoint Research, Nothing’s shipments in India jumped 146% year over year in Q2 2025, making it one of the country’s fastest-growing smartphone brands. The company also posted 32% growth in Q4 2025, while its CMF sub-brand was the fastest-growing smartphone sub-brand in India.

But growth percentages only tell part of the story. Despite its impressive momentum, Nothing remains a relatively small player in the global smartphone market, which is dominated by Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo, and others.

That said, Nothing has been making steady moves to grow its business in recent months. The company recently announced plans to significantly expand its retail presence in the US through Best Buy, giving its products far greater visibility in a market where breaking Apple’s and Samsung’s dominance is most difficult.

That’s a more meaningful step toward winning over iPhone users than posting a direct challenge to Apple on Instagram. So yes, Carl Pei and Nothing may very well win over a few bored iPhone users. Whether that’s enough to make Apple lose sleep is another question entirely.