Earlier this year, an APK leak hinted that Nothing was considering a $120 annual subscription for the Essential Space feature. However, the company quickly responded, stating that no final decisions had been made about pricing at that time. The speculation around the cost was met with criticism, as many felt that the proposed price was too steep for what was essentially a simple AI feature.
So I think that’s what happened, somebody got their hands on an older version of the APK and they decompiled it and saw that there [were] some strings related to charging for Essential Space. That was never in the production software, it was just like zombie strings we had there for while we were developing it.But I think at the same time, we’ve not been that great at communicating. We saw the feedback and the questions and we didn’t really tell people what’s coming. But I think since then, we’ve clarified that, at least the current scope of the features, there won’t be a charge. There might be a premium tier in the future. I think most smartphone companies are also developing a premium tier.For us right now, Essential Space is pretty bare bones. It’s like in a preview mode. We think it’s probably 10% done, [with] 90% left to build. If we’re going to charge, it has to be some substantial value that people can get out of it and not just the current product.
Pei further suggested that while the feature is free now, Nothing may introduce a “premium tier” in the future, which could offer additional functionality that justifies a price. This aligns with trends seen across the smartphone industry, where most manufacturers are developing premium features or services to offer to users as part of a subscription model. One example of that is Google’s recently launched AI Pro and AI Ultra tiers that are tied to its cloud storage and AI image and video generation apps.
The company’s focus appears to be on refining the feature and making it more valuable for users before any potential pricing changes. For now, Essential Space will stay free, allowing users to take full advantage of its AI capabilities without any added cost.
