The company that once carved out a niche in the smartphone market with its transparent back panels and Glyph LED lights is now facing its most difficult period since its founding.

According to a recent report from Digit, Nothing is shutting down its operations in 12 or more markets globally, with exits including the Middle East, Japan, and parts of Europe. Simultaneously, the company is reducing its global workforce by 40%—with the research and development teams in China and London, UK, affected in a 7:3 ratio. The Chinese team is seeing approximately 50% layoffs, while the London team is facing a 30–40% reduction.

Poor sales are the root cause of all this

The numbers tell a clear story:

The Nothing Phone (4b) has shipped only about 20,000 units globally since its launch.

The Phone (4a) and Phone (4a) Pro combined have shipped approximately 150,000 units.

In 2025, Nothing's global sales reached about 2 million units, but maintaining that base in 2026 "has become incredibly difficult."

The sub-brand CMF, originally aimed at the value-for-money market below 30,000 Indian rupees (approximately 2,105 RMB), has no plans for new device releases this year. Nothing co-founder Akis Evangelidis offered a candid explanation:

"We were indeed developing a next-generation product, but at the current memory costs, we simply cannot create a truly generational upgrade while maintaining CMF's original value-for-money advantage."

In other words, rising memory prices have blocked the path to offering a "cheap yet significantly upgraded" phone, so CMF has decided to forgo any new releases. Adding to the drama, at least one new device originally planned under the CMF brand has been moved to the main Nothing brand—because the main brand's higher positioning can absorb a higher selling price. This is a clear case of "escaping upward."

Contraction is a means to survive

By pulling resources from 12+ markets, cutting the team by 40%, and merging CMF's models into the main brand, Nothing is executing a strategy: operate with fewer markets, a leaner team, and a more focused product line to secure a future where it can continue to breathe.

The "industry disruptor" is now learning to huddle up in the cold. For users who appreciate Nothing's design language, this may not be bad news—at least, as long as the main brand survives, the Glyph LED lights will continue to shine.

The butterfly effect of rising memory prices is now manifesting across smartphone companies. Nothing is the first to loudly voice the pain, but it will not be the last.