Nothing just announced something radical that could teach Apple a thing or two

I've lost count of how many times I've rolled my eyes at tech launch events. The stage lighting, the dramatic pauses, the breathless reveal of a product that's basically last year's model with slightly better specs. Whether it's the latest iPhone, camera, laptop or tablet, the script is always the same.

So when Nothing CEO Carl Pei announced they won't be releasing a flagship phone in 2026, I perked up. "We're not just going to churn out a new flagship every year for the sake of it," he said. "We want every upgrade to feel significant." Imagine that. A tech company admitting they don't have anything genuinely new to say this year, so they're not saying it.

What we can learn

If you've been reporting on tech for as long as I have, the launch of a new flagship typically feels like Groundhog Day. Sometimes the improvements are meaningful: the Canon 5D Mark II to Mark III leap, or the arrival of Apple Silicon in MacBooks. But most of the time, the "new" model feels like a firmware update someone decided to charge $2,000 for.

I'm thinking of you, firms who've released multiple versions of essentially the same product in recent years. Cameras with identical sensors. Tablets with marginal processor bumps. You know who you are.

If the only result was that entitled tech reporters got bored, that would be one thing. But this annual cycle madness actively harms the planet. Every new release means resources extracted, factories running, packaging created, and perfectly functional equipment being discarded. The average photographer's drawer of "backup" cameras and phones is a monument to upgrades they didn't need. Same goes for old tablets and laptops.

In contrast, Nothing's approach acknowledges a simple truth. Sometimes the best thing you can do is nothing. The Phone (3) is still excellent, so why discard it? Why create waste and emissions for marginal gains nobody asked for?

Who agreed to this?

Somewhere along the line, we all agreed that technology needs to evolve on a strict calendar, as if innovation respects fiscal quarters. But genuine breakthroughs don't work that way. They're lumpy and unpredictable. Sometimes you get mirrorless cameras that change everything. Sometimes you get five years of the same thing with different buttons.

The tech world would do well to embrace this reality. Imagine if Apple made iPadOS genuinely excellent instead of releasing another marginally improved iPad. Or if Canon focused on perfecting their lenses instead of another R5. Or if Sony finally nailed their camera menu system.

This isn't about companies going quiet; it's about redirecting energy toward things that matter. Nothing is focused on developing its mid-range Phone (4a) series, and improving existing products through software in the meantime. Smart moves that don't require churning out hardware nobody needs.

Why this makes sense

Here's the beautiful part: if tech firms adopted this approach, our gear would stay relevant longer. No more sinking feelings when the "Mark II" drops six months after purchase. No more watching resale values crater. We'd have time to enjoy our tech, instead of perpetually lusting after upgrades.

I'm not naive enough to think this will catch on widely. Shareholders love new releases. But Nothing has shown there's another way. Even Apple, the OG of annual release cycles, could learn from this.

So here's to Nothing doing nothing. May it inspire tech makers to do the same. And who knows? If we're not frantically upgrading every year, we might actually use our gear for what it was designed for.

Phone (4a): A New Chapter - YouTube

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