Carl Pei's new hardware startup known as Nothing has been making headlines for the past few weeks. All Pei did in the first few weeks of the brand reveal was announce the funding from Google Ventures, but there wasn't much else. We are now hearing reports that the company has acquired the rights to an old brand called Essential, which by the way belongs to Andy Rubin, creator of Android and founder of said brand. A report published on 9to5Google claims that the process began in November 2020 and ended last month. It should be remembered that Nothing has announced its intention to start its journey by launching audio clothing and smart home devices and will probably launch a pair of headphones as its first product. What remains to be seen in the future is how the defunct Essential would further Nothing's plans. Of course, there's always an air of suspense surrounding everything Carl Pei does, a legacy tied to his OnePlus roots. We'll have to wait and see if this acquisition of nothing (since the brand is gone) is another of Pei's smart moves that usually leaves the industry in awe.
(Image credit: Essential) Essential, which only released one smartphone, but showed off plenty of other products like its second smartphone PH-2, a smart home speaker and hub, and an incredibly narrow form factor phone before to stop abruptly. During its short lifespan, Essential also acquired and then sold Newton, the neat smart mailbox. Hang in there, now that Nothing owns all of Essential's trademarks and logos, it's unclear if any of Essential's patents will transfer as well. Pei previously revealed that Nothing will launch its first smart products in the first half of this year, so the acquisition of Essential can be seen simply as a bullet in the arm giving Nothing access to the many patents related to "configuration instructions." 'voice-activated home setup' proprietary to Essential. That said, now that Nothing has access to Essential, it can launch smartphones as well, should it plan to in the future, and compete directly with OnePlus, the company Pei co-founded. After all, Essential was also known for offering affordable flagship phones that ran on a nearly stock Android experience. Nothing should make an official announcement of this acquisition later today. Get up close with the top tech news you can use, the latest reviews and buying guides. Follow TechRadar India on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!