Nothing’s
Phone (2) is an affordable flagship that ticks all the right
boxes and brings a ton of fun and personality to the
traditional smartphone form factor.
Unique design
Gorgeous display
Lovely cameras
Solid performance
Wireless charging
Clean and responsive software
Sharp,
bright display with 120Hz refresh
×Fast
80W charging and included plug
×Excellent
performance with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
×Alert
slider is back
No 4k selfie video
No charger in the box
After launching the excellent OnePlus Nord in 2020, OnePlus co-founder
Carl Pei left the company to spearhead Nothing, a design-savvy consumer
electronics startup. Since then, Nothing has released three competitive pairs
of earbuds and two Android smartphones. During IFA last year, we spent a
week using Phone (1) and came away impressed with this affordable,
unique-looking, and well-rounded mid-range handset.
Phone (1) never officially made it to North America, but its successor,
Phone (2) – which Nothing announced earlier this week – is coming to the
US and Canada. While overall, this new phone inherits the standout design
of its predecessor, it cranks the specs up into flagship territory with a
Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 under the hood. Fortunately, at just $599 it also
delivers the same value proposition as last year’s Phone (1).
We just spent two weeks testing Phone (2), so let’s find out what this
unusual handset has to offer. Is it any good? How does it stack up to the
competition? Is the Glyph Interface useful or is it just a gimmick? Read
our full review below to find out...
Nothing Phone (2) Hardware And Design
Close your eyes and imagine what it would be like if Apple had made a
larger iPhone 12, a “Plus” model if you will. Feel the slab-like aluminum frame, the
gently rounded corners, the perfectly flat front display, and the two
vertically stacked camera rings protruding from the rear glass. Now open
your eyes. That’s not an imaginary iPhone in your hand, but a real Android
handset – Nothing’s Phone (2). Imitation is the sincerest form of
flattery, right?
“But wait” we hear you protest, “this is no iPhone clone; check out the
back.” Here’s where things get interesting. Like its predecessor, Phone
(2)’s rear glass is home to the Glyph Interface – a series of white LED
strips under the transparent back that surround the wireless charging coil
and twin 50MP shooters, and form segments that line up vertically with the
charging port and at a 45-degree angle with the top right corner.
Nothing Phone (2) Front
These LED strips are surrounded by ribbon cables, screws, and other
parts that give the back some depth and texture. It reminds us a but of the
RedMagic 8 Pro, minus the wild stencils. Everything under the rear glass
is either a shade of dark gray or a shade of white, depending on the
colorway you chose. As such, Phone (2)’s back is completely different from
the iPhone’s, yet instantly recognizable as one of Nothing’s products.
Plus, unlike Phone (1)’s sharp edges, Phone (2)’s rear 2.5D glass curves
into the metal frame, making the handset more comfortable to hold. We’ll
dive into what the Glyph Interface brings to the table later on, but the
takeaway here is that Phone (2)’s aluminum and glass design looks and
feels extremely polished and refined. The attention to detail and build
quality are top notch, rivaling Apple and Samsung’s best.
Nothing Phone (2) Back
In front, the 6.7-inch LTPO OLED screen is covered in Gorilla Glass 5
and bounded by iPhone-like bezels. These aren’t the slimmest, but are
perfectly even all around – a rare feat for an Android phone at this price
point. It’s only with the center punch hole for the 32 MP selfie camera
that the iPhone comparison ends. Obviously, there’s no notch or Dynamic
Island here. As for dust and splash resistance, Phone (2) is rated IP54.
The rest of Phone (2)’s layout is pretty familiar. You’ll find the
power/lock key on the right, volume rocker on the left, and secondary mic
on top. One of the two speakers, the USB Type-C port, primary mic, and SIM
tray are all located along the bottom edge. There’s also a third mic above
the dual-LED flash plus a red LED (a recording indicator) in the back, and
the earpiece lives in a slit above the display and doubles as the other
speaker.
If you want a premium handset that looks and feels special, Phone (2) is
exactly what the doctor ordered. Nothing nailed this design, and we’re big
fans.
Phone (2) packs a perfectly flat, 6.7-inch 10-bit FHD+ (2412x1080
pixels, 394ppi) LTPO OLED display with a 20:9 aspect ratio, a 1-120Hz
variable refresh rate, and HDR10+ support. As we previously mentioned, the
bezels aren’t the thinnest we’ve seen on a modern handset, but they are
completely uniform, which is aesthetically pleasing. There’s a center
punch hole at the top of the screen for the 32MP selfie camera.
Nothing Phone (2) Display
It’s a gorgeous display, with punchy colors, inky blacks, and wide
viewing angles. Plus, at 1600 nits peak brightness, it’s easy to read in
direct sunlight – except when using the camera app, which dims the
screen a little, making it more difficult to compose shots in bright
light. Hopefully, this can be fixed in a software update. Besides this
minor niggle, we have no complaints. This display is flagship worthy.
Nothing Phone (2) Camera Performance And Image Quality
Phone (2)’s flagship theme continues with a pair of 50MP rear shooters
– a f/1.9 1.0-micron main sensor (1/1.56-inch Sony IMX890) with
omni-directional PDAF and OIS, plus a f/2.2 0.64-micron 114-degree
ultrawide (1/2.76-inch Samsung Isocell JN1) with AF – that both use 4-to-1
pixel binning to output 12.5MP images. A 32MP f/2.5 0.8-micron selfie
camera (1/2.74-inch Sony IMX615) completes the package.
Nothing Phone (2) Camera Pod
This setup is very similar to what the OnePlus 11 5G offers, minus
the dedicated telephoto lens. And honestly, zooming is the only area
where Phone (2) falls a little short. Where 10x photos taken with the
OnePlus 11 5G and even Google's Pixel 7a (thanks to its Super Res Zoom
algorithm) are perfectly usable, 10x pictures shot with Phone (2) show a
noticeable loss of detail. That being said, anything up to 5x zoom is
fine.
Nothing Phone (2) Main Camera (2x Zoom)
For everything else – daytime images, night photos, videos, portraits,
selfies, and even macro shots (thanks to that ultrawide with autofocus)
– Phone (2) delivers excellent results. Of the current crop of
flagships, Nothing’s camera tuning most closely resembles the OnePlus 11
5G’s and even holds up against the Pixel 7a, which we’ve been using
side-by-side with Phone (2) during this entire review period.
Nothing Phone (2) Ultrawide
Nothing Phone (2) Main Camera (1x)
Nothing Phone (2) Main Camera (2x Zoom)
Nothing Phone (2) Main Camera (5x Zoom)
Nothing Phone (2) Main Camera (10x zoom)
This means you’ll enjoy beautiful, detailed pictures with accurate
colors and exposure, great dynamic range, and solid low-light
performance – thanks to a (defeatable) automatic night mode, and Phone
(2)’s ability to freeze moving subjects even better than the Pixel 7a.
Phone (2) also captures decent stabilized video with stereo audio at up
to 4K 60fps with the main and ultrawide shooters, but only 1080p
30/60fps with the selfie camera.
Nothing Phone (2) Ultrawide (Night Mode)
Nothing Phone (2) Main Camera (Night Mode)
Shooting modes include portrait, panorama, macro, expert (manual),
night (auto), motion photo, slow motion (4K/1080p 120fps, 1080p
240/480fps), HDR video (4K/1080p 30fps), action (1080p 30/60fps), and
time lapse (4K/1080p 30fps). We don’t usually care much about photo
filters, but Nothing’s lenticular filter is particularly fun. Another
cool feature is that in addition to the dual-LED flash, you can turn the
Glyph Interface into a ring light.
Nothing Phone (2) Ultrawide (Macro Mode)
Overall then, we’re satisfied with Phone (2)’s camera performance,
and we think you’ll be as well. The only features missing here are 4K selfie video recording and a telephoto shooter – though that’s a big ask
for a phone that costs $599.
