Oh the “connection” is well-known I thought: the cofounder of OnePlus Carl Pei left the latter company in a huff, when it decided to switch from the gorgeous buttery smooth OxygenOS to the cheap piece of crap ColorOS (not just similar to but the identical one used in the Chinese Huawei phones) and in the process started the Nothing phone company. And because OnePlus phones used to be amazing but right around the time he left they became crappy, people had high hopes for the Nothing phone company that he would bring some of the old goodness - for the tech “enthusiast” market - with him.
However, it sounds like both companies make crap phones nowadays, just like every other major phone company (except Apple phones are gorgeous and amazing, it’s just that iOS makes you want to drive a nail into your brain). We are no longer capable of purchasing what we want (cheap to moderate price with a balance towards higher specs and far far lesser camera, and without bells and whistles like wireless charging, but has some like fast charging - what the “flagship killer” market used to offer!), there is only what they wish to sell us.:-(