The Nothing Phone (2) is coming later this year, building on the 2022 Nothing Phone (1). Details about the new phone are still scarce, but everything we've heard so far suggests there will be some significant improvements.
We may even see this model go on sale in the US, after the Nothing Phone (1) skipped that country; Nothing CEO Carl Pei has confirmed that this kind of expansion is a priority for his company. While few details beyond the phone's existence have been officially confirmed, there are rumors and reports that give us an idea of what to expect.
Let's see everything we know about this incredible terminal so far.
Price and availability.
The Nothing Phone (2) has been confirmed to be arriving sometime this year, with various sources stating that it will launch sometime in Q3, i.e., between July and September. This coincides with the launch of the Nothing Phone (1), which occurred in mid-July 2022.
It’s not yet known how much the phone will cost, though Nothing CEO Carl Pei has said it will launch as a “more premium” offering than the Phone (1). That phone started at £399 (roughly $490) in the UK, and Pei’s comments suggest the Phone (2) is likely to cost a bit more. It’s expected to be closer to the $699 OnePlus 11 than the $999 iPhone 14 Pro.
The good news is that this device should be coming to the US, as Pei told CNBC that the company was in "early discussions" with US carriers about stocking Nothing devices. Later, Pei also stated that expanding the phone (2) to the US is Nothing's "top priority" for 2023.
Technical specifications
The Nothing Phone (2) is expected to come with a 120Hz Adaptive AMOLED display, a 5,000mAh battery, 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and an "unannounced" Qualcomm Snapdragon 8-series SoC.
Some of those specs aren’t too dissimilar to the Nothing Phone (1), which offered a choice of 8GB or 12GB of RAM, 128GB and 256GB storage options, a 4,500mAh battery, and a 120Hz OLED display. While rumors haven’t revealed the Phone (2’s) display resolution, the switch from OLED to AMOLED should ensure much better picture quality. Whether we’ll see an increase from FHD to QHD is another matter entirely.
The switch from the Snapdragon 778G+ to a Snapdragon 8-series chipset could be a major advantage, considering how impressive the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 benchmarks have been. The phone will likely feature the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Plus, assuming rumors of an unannounced chipset are true. Expect the 8 Gen 2 Plus to be more powerful than the current Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
While technically possible, it seems unlikely that a startup like Nothing would turn to a custom version of the chip, similar to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for the Galaxy S23 that powers the Galaxy S23 models.
Design
There aren’t many rumors about the alleged design of the Nothing Phone (2), although we expect it to retain the transparent design of the Phone (1), the Nothing Ear (1) and the Nothing Ear (Stick). Carl Pei has stated that he believes that “consumers in general are quite bored and indifferent with the existing phone offering” and that “there hasn’t been an increase in footfall in stores to check out new phones.”
Pei is right. Foldable phones are still new and rare enough to be a novelty, but otherwise, most phones are still simple glass rectangles. The last time we saw a significant design change was the launch of the dual-curved Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge in 2015.
A transparent phone isn’t what we’d call a disruptive design, but it was interesting enough to make the Nothing Phone (1) stand out. It would make sense for the Nothing Phone (2) to continue that trend, though we’ll have to wait and see how much the design actually changes.
Camera
It’s unknown what kind of camera specs we can expect from the Nothing Phone (2), but we hope the emphasis on a more premium device extends to improving its photography capabilities. The cameras on the Nothing Phone (1) were pretty disappointing, even for a mid-range phone, and we’d like to see a bigger improvement.
Some of the Phone (1)’s photography weaknesses included weak low-light performance, as well as pale, overexposed images that end up looking washed out compared to the likes of the Google Pixel 5a. Selfies also ended up looking a little unnatural, thanks to an over-application of face-smoothing effects.
While there’s not much to rave about with the Phone (1)’s camera hardware, we’re hoping its successor can deliver an overall improvement in image quality, with better colors and more lifelike images. The inclusion of a telephoto lens would also be nice, though expecting Nothing to include a periscope lens might be a stretch. As nice as it is, we’d rather see more resources put into improving the photos captured.
Device software
Like OnePlus's OxygenOS, Nothing OS is designed to be a more minimalist version of the Android operating system. Despite the name, Nothing OS is a custom Android user interface rather than a standalone operating system. But the good news is that, unlike some phone makers, Nothing hasn't overloaded its version of Android with frivolous and unnecessary extras.
While Nothing OS 1 was originally based on Android 12, it has been updated to Nothing OS 1.5, which is based on Android 13. We expect the Nothing Phone (2) to follow a similar pattern, as it is rumored to arrive ahead of the expected Android 14 release later this year.
It's unknown what changes might come, but we expect Nothing OS to maintain its minimalist, retro-inspired UI for some time.
In summary
There’s still a lot we don’t know about the Nothing Phone (2), but the little information we do have paints a positive picture. Nothing has already made a name for itself with the Nothing Phone (1) which, while imperfect, was a solid first attempt at bringing a new smartphone brand to market.
By improving on the Phone (1)'s flaws and raising the price to compensate, Nothing has everything going for it with the Nothing Phone (2). But the jury's still out, as Nothing still has a long way to go before it can compete with more established brands, especially as it expands into the ever-competitive US market.