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After a series of launch teasers and little information on upcoming product lines, Carl Pei’s tech brand, Nothing, is now the sole owner of the unique smartphone brand Essential.
Speculation has raged over the first wave of upcoming products from former OnePlus director Carl Pei and his “Nothing” brand. The company recently confirmed that Nothing will introduce a line of wireless headphones with a broader focus on technology and smart home integration as the “Nothing” product line expands.
9to5Google found recent filings with the UK Intellectual Property Office showing that former Android founder Andy Rubin has ceded ownership of his only smartphone, Essential to Carl Pei’s Nothing Technologies Limited. This process ended on January 6, 2021, with the request actually being made on November 11, 2020.
This means that all of the existing brands, logo and all of the Essential brand are now the intellectual property of the startup invested by Alphabet de Pei, although it is not clear how this affects the patents currently held by Essential. While that doesn’t necessarily mean Nothing is entering the smartphone market, it could be a signal of intent to do so in the not too distant future.
Essential himself had been working on his own smart home hub and speaker that would run Ambient OS. The device was originally slated for launch in late 2017 but never went to market. Nothing has committed to launch its “first smart devices in the first half of this year.” It is also not clear whether former Essential engineers also joined Pei’s startup under this envelope, as it stands, the process apparently only includes the portfolio of brands and brands. brands.
The change of ownership from Essential to Pei’s Nothing will come with some additional baggage. Rubin’s public allegations of sexual harassment effectively put an end to any hope that the PH-1 would benefit from a PH-2 follow-up. “Project Gem,” the proposed candybar prototype was hinted at in October 2019, but canceled only three months later with the complete shutdown and shutdown of the US-based tech company.
A team of former Essential employees who helped build the PH-1 also formed OSOM Privacy. The goal is to create a privacy-focused Android device for release in early 2021. It’s unclear where that puts Nothing given the acquisition of the Essential brand or whether the focus will remain entirely on smart devices. .
Nothing is planned to reveal more information on the products to come in the coming days via their official website. Hopefully this turns out to be … essentially nothing …
One would assume this is a game of Nothing to access Essential’s patent catalog, with many patents relating to “voice setup instructions” and “home voice setup”. By focusing on smart devices and hence smart home technology, it would allow even faster development of improved technologies as the brand grows rapidly.
We have reached out to Nothing to comment on the above and will update if we receive a formal response.
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