Nothing’s First Community Edition Project Is A Glow In The Dark Smartphone

However you see it, Nothing has a strong global fanbase, and what better way to show that you're listening to your fans than having them help develop a special edition Nothing phone? As a first byproduct of the Nothing Community Edition Project, the Phone (2a) Plus Community Edition is quite unique—it has a glow-in-the-dark back cover, unique wallpaper and packaging design, and will be available in very limited quantities.

If the past few years with Nothing (and OnePlus before that) are any proof, Carl Pei sure knows a thing or two about building brand support from, well, nothing. Last year, his team began reaching out to the Nothing community asking for ideas and concepts that would be included in its mid-range Nothing Phone (2a) Plus. More than 1,000 entries from 47 countries were whittled down to five winners, ultimately leading to the device you see above.

During the development phase, the five winners were assigned to four aspects of the phone—the glow-in-the-dark hardware, wallpaper designs, the unique packaging, as well as marketing content. Arguably the biggest eye-catcher the Community Edition phone is its green phosphorescent material under the transparent back cover that passively glows in low to no light, just like the hands on analog watches. The triple Glyph LEDs are still present, but this addition adds a rather soft, almost permanent glow to the device.

The packaging is worthy of being a collector's item on its own. With the help of one of the winners, the box shows off the phone's macro lens, green phosphorescent strip, with the "(2a) Plus" text as actual glow-in-the-dark elements. Nice touch.

Not to be outdone, six new wallpapers were created as part of the "Connected Collection" set utilizing concepts from one of the winners. The wallpapers highlight various iterations of microchips, pipes, and cables arranged similarly to the rear glow-in-the-dark strip.

On the marketing side, digital and physical assets and a film campaign were developed specifically for the launch of this product.

Unlike the standard Phone (2a), which is only available in U.S. through a developer's program, it's possible that the Community Edition might be unlocked just like phones in other markets. The company website states that the "Community Edition Project phone [will be] available across all markets," so there's hope yet. Pricing is expected to be around $520, and since there are only 1,000 units on offer (on November 12), the lot will probably be snapped up faster than you can say "Bob's your uncle."