Need the Nothing telephone within the US? Be a beta • TechCrunch

Right here’s one thing that appears all however a assure: The best way we buy costly electronics goes to vary. Years after the U.S. started shifting away from the carrier-based mannequin of telephone purchases, it appears as if we’re heading towards one other kind of subscription mannequin within the type of {hardware} as a service.

Even with that in thoughts, this can be a unusual one — although Nothing has made breaking from orthodoxy a central tenet of its existence since day one.

As we’ve identified for a while, the Cellphone (1) wasn’t destined for the U.S. market — not less than not by means of any conventional means. In the present day, nonetheless, the London-based agency introduced it’s obtainable by means of a far much less conventional route. “The USA represents a excessive potential marketplace for Nothing and so the corporate is in search of to raised perceive customers’ wants,” the corporate stated in a observe despatched to TechCrunch.

The “Nothing OS 1.5 Beta” is a $299 program designed to assist the corporate get a greater grip on the world’s third-largest smartphone market — one which’s been notoriously tough to crack. The value features a Nothing telephone that’s yours to maintain, even after this system runs its course on the finish of June.

Nothing notes:

Please observe, the Cellphone (1)’s distributed are for testing functions. While these are ultimate fashions, gadgets might not work with all US carriers. Since this can be a Beta model of the software program, customers might expertise some limitations. Please learn the under FAQs earlier than persevering with.

events can join this system beginning as we speak and save themselves ~$173 off the retail value. A bit of nothing for one thing, if you’ll.