For a company that built its foundation on smartphones that promised to go against the grain, Nothing is reportedly putting heavy emphasis on AI, as sources leak upcoming devices and suggest the company wants to allocate fewer resources to Android phones.
* Smartprix* reports that Nothing wants to devote more effort to developing AI-centered products rather than smartphones, which is where the company began for Carl Pei. The report mentions that the aforementioned CEO supports the idea, believing that the shift will enable brand growth.
This comes as Nothing recently announced the closure of several dedicated hubs in favor of regional operations. Scaling back also came with layoffs or “reorganizations” within the company, confirming earlier reports. While the original story suggested Nothing was shutting down its global operations as a whole, the reality lines up with the recent claims that the company wants to pull away from smartphones.
That doesn’t mean Nothing will stop making products in favor of AI models. It has several devices in the pipeline, according to the leak. For one, Nothing plans to release the Nothing Smartwatch alongside the CMF Ear Clip Buds, Nothing Headphones (Gen 2), and the CMF Speakers.
The Nothing Smartwatch had leaked previously, but pictures weren’t included. New images include all four products. They take on the same design language as Nothing’s Phone series and audio products, so there’s no surprise there.
Another product is visible in the last image, though. It looks like what could be another tracker or maybe a wearable. With Nothing’s new direction, we can assume all of these products will bring a bigger focus on AI than the initial versions did.
We can’t say the writing wasn’t on the wall. The company ended 2025 by launching an AI OS called “Essential.” The software, rather than running as a skin over Android like Nothing OS, would build custom apps for each user. It’s slated for release in 2027, though it’s unclear whether the recent sentiment from sources close to Nothing makes Essential obsolete, or if Nothing simply plans to reduce its smartphone offerings to one or two devices.
The new audio products and Nothing Smartwatch are rumored to launch sometime within the next couple of months.
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