After a series of launch problems and little information about the upcoming product lines, Carl Pei’s fleece technology brand Nothing is the sole owner of the one-off smartphone brand Essential.
Speculation abounds about the first golf products that came from former OnePlus director Carl Pei and his brand “Nothing”. Recent confirmation has come from the firm that Niks will launch a range of wireless earbuds with a wider focus on smart home technology and integration as product production ‘Niks’ expands.
9to5Google recent submission to the UK Intellectual Property Office shows that former Android founder Andy Rubin has signed ownership of his one-off smartphone contestant Essential from Carl Pei’s Nothing Technologies Limited. This process was completed from 6 January 2021, and the application was actually already done on 11 November 2020.
This means that all existing trademarks, logos and the entire Essential trademark are now the intellectual property of Pei’s, invested in Alphabet, although it is unclear how this affects any patents currently owned by Essential. While this does not necessarily mean that nothing is entering the smartphone market, it may be a sign of intent to do so in the not too distant future.
Essential himself worked on his own Home smart hub and speaker that would use ‘Ambient OS’. The device was originally supposed to be launched at the end of 2017, but never brought it to market. Nothing has pledged to launch its “first smart devices in the first half of this year”. It’s also not clear whether former Essential engineers also joined Pei’s startup as part of this cover, as it currently appears to include only the brand and brand portfolio.
Essential’s change of ownership to Pei’s Nothing will be accompanied by extra baggage. Rubin’s public allegations of sexual harassment effectively ended hopes that the PH-1 would get a PH-2 follow-up. ‘Project Gem’, the proposed candybar prototype was alluded to in October 2019, but was canceled just three months later with the full closure and closure of the US tech firm.
A team of former Essential employees who helped build the PH-1 also formed OSOM privacy. The goal is to create a privacy-oriented Android device that can be released in early 2021. It is unclear where this is nothing, as the Essential brand is being acquired, or that the focus on smart devices will remain entirely.
Nothing will reveal more information about upcoming products via their official website in the next few days. Let’s hope it turns out to be … actually nothing …
One can speculate that this is a play by Nothing to access the Essential patent catalog, with numerous patents regarding “Voice setup instruction” and “voice-enabled home setup.” With the main focus for the fact that nothing is on smart devices, and therefore a smart home technology, improved technologies can develop even faster as the brand grows rapidly.
We have not reached out to anyone for comment on the above and would update it should we receive an official response.
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