Carl Pei, or Pei Yu, was born on September 11, 1989, and is currently Nothing's founder and previous director of OnePlus Global.
Carl Pei: OnePlus co-founder, also founded Nothing
Carl Pei was born in China and then the family moved to the United States and subsequently to Sweden where Pei grew up. He studied for his Bachelor of Science at the Stockholm School of Economics but didn't graduate because he dropped out in 2011 to devote himself to the Chinese smartphone industry.
While he was still studying at the university, he joined Nokia (in 2010). He only worked for the company for three months. Meanwhile, Pei had created a fan website about Meizu and that website caught the attention of the Hong Kong branch of the company. He was then called to work for Meizu's marketing team in 2011.
After that, he joined Oppo and worked there as an international markets manager, a position that worked directly under Pete Lau, the person he would later create OnePlus with.
OnePlus era
Pei and Pete Lau founded OnePlus in Shenzhen, Guangdong in December 2013. The company's first device, the OnePlus One, was a giant success and sold close to a million units in 2014, blowing its original sales target (50,000) out of the water. The company was soon to become a "flagship killer maker" with its higher quality phones at more affordable prices, something that was its aim to begin with.
In July 2015, Pei announced the OnePlus 2 through a virtual reality video on YouTube. This was quite the interesting approach to phone announcing events and it is said this was the first product launch in virtual reality. As of August 2023, this video has been viewed over 300,000 times.
Pei continued to work at OnePlus as the company's success was growing and its popularity was gaining traction. In June 2016, Pei unveiled the OnePlus 3, and then soon claimed that it was the company's most popular smartphone. Then three months later, the company went on to release the OnePlus 3T, with updates in software.
OnePlus continued to grow and expand to more markets. In June 2017, Cari Pei stated that the OnePlus 5 was their fastest-selling device to date, just shortly after the phone was released. Basically, Pei was responsible for the design and marketing of OnePlus devices until he left the company in October 2020.
Nothing era
Pei left OnePlus in October 2020 and just some three short months after leaving, he announced Nothing, a new smartphone and mobile tech company he founded. The mission of this new company was to remove barriers between people and technology.
The company is based in London and has been official since January 27, 2021. Some notable figures in the tech world have so far invested in Nothing, including iPod inventor Tony Fadell, Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin, and Reddit CEO Steve Huffman.
The first product of the company was the Nothing Ear (1), which was announced by Pei on July 27, 2021. The product was quite enticing given its unique design. Pei then moved on to create the company's first smartphone, the Nothing Phone (1).
The Nothing Phone (1)
The Nothing Phone 1 was announced on March 23, 2022, and the phone received praise for its innovative looks and its attractive glyph system, as well as for the display and value for money. However, it had some issues with battery life and the quality of the cameras, but software updates brought improvements on these fronts.
Izzy, a tech enthusiast and a key part of the PhoneArena team, specializes in delivering the latest mobile tech news and finding the best tech deals. Her interests extend to cybersecurity, phone design innovations, and camera capabilities. Outside her professional life, Izzy, a literature master's degree holder, enjoys reading, painting, and learning languages. She's also a personal growth advocate, believing in the power of experience and gratitude. Whether it's walking her Chihuahua or singing her heart out, Izzy embraces life with passion and curiosity.
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