The Nothing Phone 2 is officially here, and after weeks of sneak peeks, we finally get to see whether or not all the fuss was worth it. The Nothing Phone 1 was (and still is) a solid first try from a new company and it hit a lot of things right, including price, which means the Phone 2 has some big shoes to fill. While our review is in progress, here are our initial impressions of the phone.
The Nothing Phone 2 ships in a slim package much like the Phone 1, but now you get a proper box that slides from the inside of the printed outer shell. Here you’ll find documentation, the transparent SIM eject tool, and a flashy new USB Type-C cable with a transparent section near the connector. The Phone 2 comes in a new dark gray color instead of black, but there’s still a white variant.
Nada has released the Phone 2 in three configurations. The base variant is priced at Rs. 44,999 in India and has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. for Rs. 49,999, you get 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. This time around there is a new third variant with 512GB of storage (and 12GB of RAM) which is priced at Rs. 54,999 in India. The prices are, of course, higher compared to the launch price of the Phone 1, but the Phone 2 has notable improvements to try to justify it.
The included cable is fancier, but you still don’t get a power adapter in the box
It’s clear that design plays a pretty big role in Nothing; more than the specifications. Phone 2 evolves that original semi-transparent design in subtle ways. From afar, it’s hard to tell the two models apart, but you’ll notice the changes once you get your hands on them. The Nothing Phone 2 is a larger smartphone than the Phone 1: noticeably taller, and a bit wider, heavier, and thicker. It still feels great in the hand, and Nothing says the midframe is made from 100-percent recycled aluminum.
The antenna bands and one of the microphones are positioned a bit differently on the new Phone 2, but the buttons and ports are in the same places as on the Phone1. The glass back panel of the Phone 2 has curved edges that make it more comfortable to hold, and the Glyph lights now have more segments, allowing for more varied lighting patterns and information display.
The Nothing Phone 2’s taller new display is an LTPO OLED panel
The Nothing Phone 2’s display is still flat, but it now has a centered hole-punch camera. It measures 6.7 inches and the company has used an updated LTPO OLED panel, so the refresh rate can vary from 1Hz to 120Hz, if necessary. Peak brightness is increased to 1600 nits, while the Phone 2’s water resistance rating has been slightly improved to IP54, compared to IP53.
The Nothing Phone 2’s hardware has also received some updates. Unlike the mid-range chip in the Phone 1, nothing is gone with Qualcomm’s more premium Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC. It’s not the latest or the best, but it’s tried and tested and I think it should work well for its segment. The battery has slightly increased its capacity to 4700mAh, and the Phone 2 now supports 45W PD fast charging. There’s also 15W wireless charging along with 5W reverse wireless charging.
The Nothing Phone 2 still has two rear cameras, but the main one has been upgraded to a 50-megapixel Sony IMX890 sensor; the same one we’ve seen on many recent phones, like the OnePlus 11R, OnePlus Nord 3, and more. The ultra-wide camera uses the same 50-megapixel Samsung JN1 sensor as the Phone 1, but has autofocus for macro photos. The Phone 2’s selfie camera has been upgraded to a 32-megapixel Sony IMX615 sensor. We’re in the process of testing the cameras, so check out the full review for our final thoughts, when it’s available.
The Nothing Phone 2 has a bigger battery and can charge faster
Finally, we come to the software. The Nothing Phone 2 runs Nothing OS 2.0, which is based on Android 13. The Phone 2 should receive three years of Android updates and four years of security patches, according to the company. Nothing OS 2 introduces some new widgets, a monochrome icon pack, and many subtle tweaks to the interface.
The Glyph lighting system has new customization options. It now supports auto-brightness, and you can label certain apps or types of notifications from a particular app as “essential,” which means a light strip on the back will stay on until you dismiss or view that notification. There are new ringtones and notification sound packs, and you can even now use Glyph lights to keep track of a timer or check the progress of an activity in some third-party apps like Uber. Finally, the new Glyph composer allows you to create your own ringtones and alert sounds.
The Nothing Phone 2 has some tough contenders to contend with in India. There’s the OnePlus 11 5G, Oppo Reno 10 Pro+ 5G, and iQoo 11 5G, to name a few. We’ll explore the Phone 2’s software and performance in much more detail in the full review, so make sure you don’t miss out. In the meantime, drop us a comment and let us know if there’s anything specific you’d like to know about this phone.
