When Biggest iPhone Maker Foxconn Refused To Work With Nothing. Here's Why

One of the biggest challenges for Nothing in the US was competing with tech giants Apple and Samsung, which makes it difficult for smaller tech firms to compete.

When Nothing approached Foxconn to manufacture its phones, its request was turned down: Carl Pei.

Consumer tech brand Nothing may have created a small niche for itself in the market now, but when the company was about to bring its first smartphone, the Nothing Phone (1), it faced a lot of challenges, Nothing founder Carl Pei has revealed. One of the biggest challenges for Nothing in the US was competing with tech giants Apple and Samsung, which makes it difficult for smaller tech firms to compete, according to an interview by CNBC.

However, a third of the sales of Nothing's newly launched Ear (Stick) TWS earbuds currently come from the US, according to Pei.

The report quoted Pei as saying that among other big challenges that Nothing faced was being turned down by the world's biggest contract manufacturer Foxconn, also the biggest Apple iPhone supplier. When Nothing approached Foxconn to manufacture its phones, its request was turned down due to Foxconn's past failures in the smartphone industry.

“Every startup manufacturer has worked with Foxconn. But when it was our turn, they said no because every startup that worked with them failed. And every time a startup failed, Foxconn lost money on it, they were not able to recoup their costs,” Pei was quoted as saying by CNBC.

This comes soon after Pei confirmed that Nothing is not going to launch Nothing Phone (2), the purported successor to the Nothing Phone (1) anytime soon. Taking a swipe at competing Android smartphone brands, the company founder also said Nothing will not launch "dozens of products a year like many others."

According to Pei, Nothing will focus on Nothing Phone (1) and will not be unveiling the Nothing Phone (2) in the near future. Also, the company is working towards introducing Android 13-based software updates to the Nothing Phone (1). 

"Phone (2) isn't launching anytime soon. We're focused on doing a few things well, and won't churn out dozens of products a year like many others. Phone (1) is our main focus. We're cooking something really great in terms of software, Android 13 and beyond," Pei tweeted on Monday.