Admittedly, I’m not much of a TikToker, but I have many coworkers and friends who spend every waking hour learning the platform’s bevy of short videos. So when one of them notices a trend happening, I usually stop what I’m doing and start digging. What I found was something I never expected: People are throwing away their iPhones to get Blank Phones.
After sifting through thousands of comments on videos like this one, I was really surprised by some of the responses, especially the top comments. “I get a Nothing Phone when my iPhone dies,” noted the top comment, followed by “Charlie XCX is the model for the Nothing Phone soooo.”
Just a few threads from that read “I’m so tempted by a blank phone,” “I don’t have a blank phone and it’s great,” and many people realize they’re still on the iPhone 11s and 12s and don’t want to upgrade (or update iOS).
So I knew I had to dig a little deeper to get to the bottom of this. Was Nothing paying people to post ideas on social media to get the word out about the product? Do artists like Charlie XCX really influence public opinion on brands that much? Will anyone reading this comment really know what a No Phone right, right? The answers I got surprised me, but in the best way.
If you’re a small startup in a country where Samsung and Apple rule, the only way to see real success is to use guerilla warfare type tactics. That means more than just launching an expensive marketing campaign or getting big-name influencers to represent your brand (and then go back to using iPhones in their free time). It means building a community of evangelists who will go to the corners of the Earth for you.
Vogue Business published an article on Nothing’s strategy in December 2025, detailing how the company was playing on mainstream TikTok as its primary audience. In the physical world, the brand has been opening pop-up locations and sponsoring concept stores, having fashion models carry its products on the runways in London and New York, and even plugging its headphones at “fashion bag parties,” noted Vogue.
Nothing brought the likes of Charlie Smith to spearhead new advertising campaigns that play up the company’s “irreverent, low-key attitude” to use Smith’s words. When the Nothing Phone 4a Pro was launched, the company filmed its billboards and used this as a way to communicate with users on social media in a way that other brands ignored.
So it’s no surprise to me that TikTok is seeing an uptick in recommendations for the Nothing brand. And while I have a vague idea who Charlie XCX is (sorry, editors), the company’s late May ad campaign featuring her as an investor and brand ambassador certainly made more people aware of the brand’s presence.
But it’s not just social influence and subtle messages that drive the Nothing brand; and the cost of its phones. Comments like “Sick of phones that cost 1000 plus dollars” drive another clear trend among these posts. There aren’t any more recent models that cost half that and offer more compelling designs and specs, as well as better battery life and faster charging than the iPhone.
The first Nothing phone, launched in mid-2022 and carried a price tag of less than £400. The Nothing Phone 2 came the following year with minor improvements but, in the end, it wasn’t the most exciting release. It wasn’t until the Nothing Phone 2a arrived in 2024 with an even more budget-friendly price that people started paying attention. “Why would you buy something else?” put Android Central’s Harish Jonnalagadda in his review, and that sentiment seems strong today.
Besides, there’s something uniquely appealing about Nothing’s sleek retro styling. The company first became known for its Glyph Interface, which flashed the caricature of the Apple logo on the back of the Nothing Phone (1). Now, its latest phones have abandoned the LED strips “dot-matrix display”, released with the Nothing Phone 3.
In keeping with brand practice, the Glyph Matrix display on the back of that phone was empty when it launched, but now it’s filled with everything from virtual pets to music monitors, and even a flippin’ Pokedex.
The company has also been at the forefront of AI-based gadgets like Essential Space, Essential Apps, and Essential Voice, all of which produced exciting new ideas before the big guys did. Essential Apps, in particular, has had a huge impact on the community, and is yet another way Nothing Plays from the team will drive the brand for years to come.
Will the Nothing Phone solve all iPhone users’ worries about their phones? Maybe not, but it seems to fix some pain points in everyday life. I’ve seen posts about people ditching their 2 year old flagship for the Nothing Phone, which seems crazy at first until you see how much better the battery life is compared to a Samsung or Apple flagship.
And there are other options you might not consider, too. Two years ago, a friend of mine suffered from random, chronic headaches and couldn’t figure out what was causing them. I suggested that it might be the PWM dimming on his iPhone that was causing it and sent him a Nothing Phone 2a to try since the company uses eye-friendly dimming methods. Two years migraine-free, she has only used Blank Phones since then.
Whether the company’s recent marketing direction continues to hold is anyone’s best guess, but the product has entered India, the UK, and the US recently, so it’s clearly appealing to people looking for something different from the usual suspects. Have you tried Blank Phone? Let us know what you think in the comments.