Nothing is literally trying to bring back the old OnePlus from OnePlus

Carl Pei’s sudden exit from OnePlus came as a shock to the industry, given he was one of the co-founders of the once “flagship-killer” brand. It’s no surprise that Pei brought with him the ethos of the early OnePlus days over to Nothing, launching a promising startup that’s now on schedule to release a highly anticipated flagship phone — the Nothing Phone 2. Ahead of the Phone 2’s release, a report has revealed that the spirit of OnePlus is not all that Pei walked over to Nothing.

According to Inverse, 70% of the software development team at Nothing comprises former OnePlus staff. Kyle Kiang, the former Chief Marketing Officer at OnePlus, has also apparently joined Nothing and is leading the Nothing Phone 2 launch. Nothing is also aggressively poaching hardware engineers from OnePlus to ensure the success of the Phone 2. As it stands today, 30% of the hardware team at Nothing is reportedly from OnePlus.

While details about the Nothing Phone 2 are scarce, we know it’ll feature a high-end Qualcomm Snapdragon chip and launch sometime during the British summer this year. Inverse states that Nothing is tightening its focus and targeting tech enthusiasts with the phone. So one can expect less of the Black Dot NFT and Web3-type storylines and a stronger focus on making a solid device.

The company is also doubling down on Nothing OS development, the report claims. Ex-OnePlus software heads appear to be leading efforts to make Nothing OS more “distinct.” Among the members of Nothing’s software team are the names behind popular OxygenOS features like Zen Mode, Reading Mode, Alert Slider software, and more.

It almost seems like Pei is trying to resurrect the enthusiast-focussed OnePlus of yesteryears at Nothing. The approach has brought the company some pretty good results so far, but a successful North American launch could really help the company set the tone for its future.