It all began with a humorous exchange on X (formerly Twitter) and resulted in a substantial bonus for Nothing Phone 2a buyers. This social media interaction involved Nothing CEO Carl Pei and Aravind Srinivas, chief of Perplexity AI.
Here's the breakdown: the Nothing Phone 2a debuted at $349 and then saw prices dip to $250 in India during a special promotion. Shortly after, Nothing announced an impressive offer of a complimentary one-year subscription to the Pro model of Perplexity AI, valued at $200. This enticing deal is available until March 19.
Currently, the Nothing team is actively engaging fans at various pop-up events to generate excitement around their innovative budget phone, and for good reason. Based on personal experience, I find it to be the finest device Nothing has produced so far. Reviews corroborate this, labeling it as “the best cheap phone in ages.”
What’s often overlooked in Nothing’s marketing blitz is the exceptional value tied to its collaboration with Perplexity. Essentially, Perplexity is a web-summarizing generative AI chatbot that combines the intelligence of ChatGPT with the flexibility to explore other leading AI models.
This description holds true, as I’ve found it significantly reduces the amount of time I spend on Google Search. For research and information gathering, Perplexity efficiently compiles answers from reliable sources, bypassing the clutter of ad-heavy articles that dominate Google results.
I’ve used Perplexity alongside Arc Search, another remarkable web-summarizing tool, and I can confidently recommend both as effective alternatives for managing your online searches. So, what practical value does Perplexity Pro offer to the average Nothing Phone 2a user?
The standout feature of the Pro subscription is access to OpenAI’s latest and most capable chatbot model, GPT-4 Turbo. If this doesn't suit your needs, you can effortlessly switch to Anthropic’s Claude 3 model, which reportedly outperforms GPT-4 and Google’s Gemini in key areas, including mathematics and reasoning.
Typically, access to Claude’s latest models comes at a cost, with Anthropic offering its subscription starting at $20 per month—a price comparable to ChatGPT Plus, Microsoft’s Copilot Pro, and Google’s One AI Premium Plan for Gemini Advanced. The advanced features of the latest GPT-4 model for ChatGPT Plus are also behind a subscription wall.
This means that For those looking to experiment with Anthropic's latest AI models or OpenAI's offerings, the free Perplexity Pro subscription is an outstanding opportunity. While there may be minor differences in features compared to standalone subscriptions, a year’s free access to Perplexity Pro represents incredible value.
Additionally, the Pro subscription includes access to Perplexity’s proprietary experimental model and Mistral’s extensive model. With Perplexity Pro, users also benefit from a more in-depth search capability, concise answers, the ability to rephrase questions easily, and suggestions for related inquiries to provide even more relevant information.
As the company boasts, “no fluff, all substance.” This innovation in web search challenges the long-standing dominance of Google. While it may not entirely replace traditional search methods, it comes remarkably close. With the right approach, Perplexity can significantly enhance your online tasks.
However, AI has its limitations, including occasional inaccuracies. Srinivas discussed these concerns in detail earlier this year. There are also moral considerations regarding the impact of “search killers” like Perplexity. As AI summarizes information from various websites, how will independent sources and reader-supported platforms thrive without human traffic?
This presents a complex dilemma. I believe tools like Perplexity are fantastic when urgent information is needed, but it’s crucial to also engage with journalists’ work, which is grounded in thorough research, testing, and fact-based interviews, backed by years of industry experience.
A recurring theme with AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot is their adeptness at quickly gathering web information and presenting it concisely. They function as AI companions that absorb all publicly accessible information and present it according to user queries.
For instance, if you ask, “Who flew the world’s first airplane?” Perplexity will provide a succinct summary of the Wright brothers’ groundbreaking achievement, complete with source citations, often from reputable institutions like the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.
The real appeal of the Perplexity search is its conversational interface, which streamlines the process of finding niche information. Instead of navigating countless web pages, social media posts, and forums, Perplexity efficiently locates relevant guides or videos for specific tasks, such as fixing a kitchen appliance.
This AI tool can even tackle fun tasks like composing a sonnet about French fries or engaging in deep philosophical discussions. More practically, you can upload documents (PDF, code, etc.), and it will analyze the content efficiently.
For example, it can summarize and translate uploaded files, clarify code, and present information in digestible formats with bullet points and headers. This feature is particularly beneficial if you need to sift through multiple research papers but lack the time to read every document stored on your device.
It’s also advantageous that conversations are accessible across mobile and web versions as long as you’re signed in with the same account. This continuity is particularly gratifying for users like me, as I can have summarized versions of research papers and press materials handy, speeding up my work on in-depth stories.
While Nothing isn’t the first company to integrate generative AI into smartphones—Samsung’s Galaxy S24 and Google’s Pixel 8 also offer significant AI features—there's ongoing uncertainty regarding the future costs of these on-device AI capabilities. Will companies like Google begin charging subscription fees for AI enhancements on phones?
As smartphone manufacturers adopt AI models such as Llama 2 through partnerships with firms like Meta and Stability AI, will device prices increase? Could apps like ChatGPT introduce their own subscription models?
For instance, Samsung plans to introduce charges for premium AI features on the Galaxy S24 after a year of free service. In contrast, Nothing provides a clear offer: a full year of complimentary access to a third-party AI tool that integrates advanced models like OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Anthropic’s Claude. If you enjoy the service, you can choose to pay for it in the following year.
There are no hidden fees or ambiguity about what features might transition behind a paywall, unlike many current brand-specific or freemium models. It will be interesting to see if Nothing deepens its collaboration with Perplexity in the future. Imagine features like one-tap access to Perplexity for analyzing on-screen content or a custom integration for audio output? That’s the kind of innovation we’d love to see from Nothing!
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