"Nothing Phone 2 Review: A Detailed Analysis of Nothing's Semi-Flagship Smartphone"
In this evaluation, I'll delve into the innovations presented by the Nothing Phone 2, the sequel to the much-hyped smartphone of 2022. Given the towering expectations set by its predecessor, the Nothing Phone 1, I must admit that it has admirably lived up to the hype. While it may not reign as a budget champion, it stands proudly as a commendable midrange device, exuding a refreshingly distinct charm that sets it apart from the sea of smartphones on the market.
When Carl Pei, the CEO of Nothing, proclaimed that the Phone 2 (stylized as phone (2)) would offer a "more premium" experience, I found myself nurturing even loftier hopes.
My Phone 2 wish list was brimming with desires for swifter and more reliable performance, an improved display, versatile cameras, and enhanced battery life. However, it's important to note that the Phone 2 doesn't quite ascend to the status of a "full-fledged" flagship, as many of us had anticipated. Instead, it emerges as a sturdy semi-flagship device, boasting enhanced capabilities and refined features compared to its predecessor.
Moreover, it elevates Nothing's "anti-boring tech" ethos to the next level. But, as anticipated, these advancements come with a price tag. Quite literally. While the Phone 1 commenced at INR 33,000 in India (or INR 34,000 after a price revision), the Phone 2 starts at a heartier INR 45,000. This prompts the question of whether the Phone 2 genuinely justifies this price hike. After spending about a week with it, here's my assessment.
Nothing Phone 2 Specifications
Design:
- Dimensions: 76.4 x 162.1 x 8.6mm, Weight: 201.2gm
- Materials: Glass back, Aluminum frames, IP54 dust/splash resistance
- Display: 6.55-inch Flexible OLED LTPO panel, 120Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling rate, Gorilla Glass
- Other Display Features: HDR10+, 1600 nits peak brightness, 10-bit color depth
- Resolution: FHD+ (2412 x 1080 pixels), 394 PPI
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 5G (4nm mobile platform)
- Memory: 8/12GB LPDDR5 RAM, 128/256GB UFS 3.1 storage (fixed)
- Software & UI: Android 13 with Nothing OS 2.0 overlay
- Rear Camera: Dual (with LED flash)
- 50MP, f/1.88 Sony IMX890 primary sensor, OIS + EIS
- 50MP, f/2.2 Samsung JN1 ultrawide sensor, 114° FoV, 4cm macro
- Front Camera: 32MP, f/2.45 Sony IMX615 sensor (hole-punch cutout)
- Audio: Stereo speaker, 3 high-definition microphones, No headphone jack
- Security: In-display fingerprint sensor (Optical)
- Connectivity: Dual-SIM (Nano), WiFi 6 a/b/g/n/ac/ax (Dual-band), Bluetooth 5.3, GPS / AGPS / Galileo / Glonass / QZSS / BDS / NsvIC / SBAS, USB Type-C, NFC, 4G LTE (VoLTE), 5G
- Battery: 4700mAh with 45W PPS 3.3 charging, 15W Qi Wireless charging, 5W reverse charging
- Color Options: Black, White
Design:
Straight out of the gate, the Phone 2's design doesn't diverge significantly from its predecessor, the Phone 1. This continuity isn't necessarily a drawback, as I see it. Amid the internet's proliferation of memes and comparisons that poke fun at this similarity, I can't help but think that a youthful company like Nothing abandoning its distinctive visual identity prematurely would be quite disappointing.
I'm delighted that the Phone 2 still boasts that boxy finish with flat frames, crafted from 100% recycled aluminum. It feels undeniably premium in hand. Additionally, it now carries an IP54 rating, an improvement over the Phone 1's IP53 protection.
However, I'm a bit skeptical about the decision to make it even bulkier than its predecessor. The Phone 1 was already toeing the line of "unwieldy" for someone with petite hands, and regrettably, the Phone 2 pushes the envelope further in this regard.
Remarkably, its dimensions are almost identical to my iPhone 14 Pro Max! Nothing has attempted to ease this by introducing a slightly curved glass back and better weight distribution. Nevertheless, convenient one-handed usage remains elusive for me.
On a positive note, I'm thrilled to have secured the white variant of the Phone 2 this time around. That was my original intention with the Phone 1, but I had to settle for the black model due to stock constraints. I'm uncertain whether it's due to the phone's color option or if Nothing made some tweaks to the LED strips, but the Phone 2's Glyph Interface exhibits significantly less yellowish tint along its borders.
Glyph Interface:
Beyond aesthetics, the Glyph Interface's layout has undergone some changes. It still resides in its customary location, but as you can see, there's a cutoff around the camera module's one and the "C" shaped pattern surrounding the charging coil. Notably, Nothing claims that the Phone 2 boasts 33 individually addressable LED lighting zones, a substantial increase from the Phone 1's 12, offering finer control and customization possibilities.
These updates elevate the Glyph Interface beyond a mere gimmick. It serves diverse purposes, from visualizing timers to volume levels. The Phone 2's Glyph Interface can even function as a progress bar for select third-party apps, such as Uber and Zomato, akin to the "Live Activities" on iPhones. However, it is positioned on the phone's back, lacking a graphical interface.
Additionally, a new feature called "Essential Notifications" has been introduced. It illuminates the top-right LED strip when notifications from specific apps are received, remaining lit until read or dismissed. Or at least, that's how it's supposed to function. However, for some reason, the notification light deactivates as soon as I unlock the phone, irrespective of whether I've read the notification or not. Hopefully, Nothing is actively addressing this issue.
Amidst these practical features, the Phone 2's "Glyph Interface" unveils a fresh feature named "Glyph Composer." This feature enables users to craft custom ringtones or notification tones by pairing different lighting patterns with sound designs. I appreciate Nothing's effort to unlock unique avenues for personalizing the phone, although this is one of those features that initially piques interest but often fades into obscurity after a short while. Notably, Nothing has confirmed that Glyph Composer will also make its way to the Phone 1.
Display:
The Phone 2's display undergoes substantial enhancements. It now sports a slightly larger 6.7-inch OLED panel with narrower bezels on all sides. However, the upgrade I'm most grateful for is its full-screen brightness, boasting 1,000 nits or even 1,600 nits for HDR content. In contrast, the Phone 1, while technically capable of reaching 1,200 nits, was capped at just 700 nits due to concerns over heat and battery consumption.
As a result, outdoor visibility on a bright, sunny day remains challenging on the Phone 1, while the Phone 2 excels even under the glaring sun. I also appreciate the Phone 2's balanced approach to color reproduction, avoiding excessive saturation levels. This subtle, close-to-natural color profile looks splendid, whether for watching movies or browsing the web.
The Phone 2's refresh rate optimization is also noteworthy. Unlike its predecessor, it employs a proper LTPO backplane, allowing it to drop as low as 1Hz to conserve power. Additionally, a new "Dynamic" refresh rate option is available, although it restricts most apps to a maximum of 90Hz. Hence, I've opted for the "High" mode, which ensures a fluid 120Hz for apps when needed while scaling it down for static content.
The Phone 2 also secures Widevine L1 and HDR10+ certifications. Nevertheless, similar to the Phone 1, HDR playback on platforms like Netflix remains elusive. It appears that Netflix only enables HDR playback on devices that preinstall its app, which is not the case with Nothing phones.
Strangely, unlike the Phone 1, the Phone 2 struggles with proper streaming of local and YouTube HDR videos. This is an issue that can be resolved with updates, so it doesn't raise significant concerns.
Stereo Speakers:
Regrettably, listening to the Phone 2's stereo speakers feels like a déjà vu moment, as Nothing has yet to deliver a compelling audio setup for its smartphones. For a company that embarked on its journey in the audio industry, this remains somewhat disappointing. While it performs adequately with podcasts and acoustic music, it falters when tasked with more complex audio compositions, losing clarity and suffering from distortion.
Moreover, Nothing persists in positioning the fingerprint reader lower on the screen, making unlocking the phone a recurring challenge. On a positive note, its haptic feedback is commendable, offering a more crisp and precise sensation compared to the Phone 1.
Performance:
This brings us to performance, where the Phone 2 offers its most substantial upgrade. While the Snapdragon 778G+ in the Phone 1 was decent, many of us had anticipated more from Nothing in the performance department.
Fortunately, the Phone 2's Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip delivers a flagship-like experience. It is a slightly underclocked variant of the 8+ Gen 1, akin to what we've seen on the OnePlus 11R and POCO F5 Pro. However, I encountered no significant performance hiccups. This chipset ranks among Qualcomm's finest offerings in recent years, and Nothing has effectively optimized its software to ensure seamless operation.
Surprisingly, Nothing OS 2.0 on the Phone 2 emerges as one of the most stable Android skins I've ever experienced. With a commitment to providing three major OS updates and four years of security updates, I'm eager to witness how Nothing continues to refine Nothing OS.
The user experience is characterized by fluid and logical system animations, swift app loading times, and responsive performance. Nothing's memory management is notably impressive, assuring that apps remain active in the background without unnecessary termination.
Regarding customization, Nothing has tailored its rendition of stock Android to prioritize user accessibility, primarily through widgets. Although I'm not a fervent fan of widgets and prefer a clean and orderly home screen, the Phone 2 allows users to configure various widgets, including swipeable information, even on the lock screen.
Gaming:
While the Phone 2 excels in everyday performance, gaming remains an area where Nothing has room for improvement. A more energy-efficient chip combined with a larger chassis results in less overheating compared to the Phone 1. However, if gaming is a top priority, the Phone 2 may not rank at the forefront of your options.
For instance, when playing Genshin Impact at the highest settings, I initially achieved an average of around 55 fps for the first 5-6 minutes. Yet, after a while, this rate dropped to 45 fps, accompanied by noticeable heating.
Comparing it to other phones powered by the 8+ Gen 1, such as the OnePlus 11R, the Phone 2's gaming performance is middling. Despite similar temperatures, fps, and gameplay stability in other games I tested, the Phone 2 falls short of running high-fps optimized games like Injustice 2 and Mech Arena above 60 fps.
Camera:
Now, let's delve into the camera department. I was deeply impressed by the Phone 1's camera capabilities, naturally raising my expectations for a more premium device. Surprisingly, the Phone 2 adopts a somewhat mainstream approach to image tuning, incorporating punchy colors reminiscent of Samsung phones and a contrasty processing style akin to iPhones.
Rest assured, the new 50MP IMX890 sensor on the Phone 2 (the same sensor featured in numerous OnePlus and OPPO phones this year) excels in capturing photos in favorable lighting conditions. These images boast fine details and a commendable dynamic range. I briefly compared it to the Pixel 7a and found the Phone 2 to hold its ground well. However, in challenging conditions, Google's computational photography prowess remains unmatched.
One of the standout features of the Phone 1 was its consistency across both wide and ultrawide cameras. However, the Phone 2 doesn't maintain this level of consistency, despite using the same 50MP JN1 sensor for both. A noticeable color shift is apparent most of the time, and it tends to overemphasize contrast in wide-angle images. Fortunately, its macro shots are quite impressive.
As the sun sets, the Phone 2's lowlight photography comes to the fore. It handles lowlight conditions admirably, with minimal noise, sharp images, and a slightly warmer color tone that complements the overall shot. However, in decent lighting situations, images can appear overexposed unless Night Mode is activated.
Unfortunately, activating Night Mode is somewhat tricky, as there's no way to enable it at will. This was a concern I encountered with the Phone 1 as well, and its persistence in the Phone 2 is disappointing.
Regarding portraits, I had hoped that the Phone 2 would introduce a telephoto lens or, at the very least, a 2x mode. The latter has been added through an OTA update during my usage period. The Phone 2 captures decent portrait shots with a slightly brightened skin tone, which may appeal to many compared to the Pixel 7a.
The selfie camera has also received an upgrade, sporting a 32MP sensor this time. Selfies maintain sharpness and natural skin tones, although the HDR processing struggles with well-exposed backgrounds, a facet that Nothing could potentially address through software updates.
Video:
The Phone 2 enhances its video capabilities, enabling shooting at up to 4K 60 fps from both wide and ultrawide cameras. Footage is slightly contrasty, akin to photos, but remains steady. Lowering the resolution to 4K 30 fps permits switching between the two cameras while recording.
For the most stable footage, there's the new "Action Mode," combining OIS and EIS, available only for the primary camera at up to 1080p 60 fps. Selfie videos max out at 1080p 60 fps, but the overall video quality is commendable.
Battery:
Moving on to the battery, the Nothing Phone 2 features a slightly larger 4700mAh battery. However, the actual screen time I've experienced is not significantly different from the Phone 1, hovering around 6 to 6.5 hours. Additionally, the Phone 2 exhibits a notable overnight battery drain issue, with one instance witnessing a 9% drain. Addressing battery optimization should be a top priority for Nothing.
In terms of charging speed, it has been upgraded from 33W to 45W. Nonetheless, as with its predecessor, the Phone 2 does not include a compatible power brick in the box.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the Nothing Phone 2 impressively checks most boxes for a semi-flagship phone. It boasts a unique design with the Glyph Interface, a decent display, excellent performance, and dependable cameras. While there's room for camera improvement, it's still a commendable offering.
However, it's worth pondering whether the Phone 2 is the premium device it was envisioned to be. In essence, it represents more of an iterative upgrade, akin to a "Nothing Phone 1 Pro." Iterative upgrades are acceptable, but high expectations may have influenced this perspective. A stronger ingress protection rating and a telephoto camera would have further elevated the Phone 2's appeal, especially considering its price.
Pros:
Unique Design with Glyph Interface
Decent Display
Incredible software experience with Nothing OS 2.0
Dependable Cameras
Cons:
Pricing could have been better
Mediocre speakers
Cameras can be more optimized