Primarily I just think the difference is overall good design between the OS and the phone itself. There are a lot of little thoughtful details that improve the experience.

The ‘glyph’ lights are a good example. When I was researching the phone I thought they were just a gimmick. Like sure they’re neat and all but I didn’t really see much value added. However, in practice you start realizing how valuable they are.

The notifications lights can be customized so important ones turn on a light until the phone is checked. This makes ignoring your phone so much easier. The Glyph Timer is really useful, especially if you need a silent timer. There’s also a Glyph flashlight. This seems redundant at first because there’s already an LED flashlight on the back of the phone, like every other phone. However, the Glyph flashlight is much softer which is perfect for navigating a dark room where someone is sleeping.

People will point out that most of Nothing’s features can be replicated in some capacity on any Android phone. This is absolutely true, but I think they’re discounting how thoughtfully these details are implemented by Nothing on their phones.