Nothing telephone (2) hands-on: A welcome second coming

Nothing desires to ascertain itself as a breakthrough model in a sea of sameness. It has the best character on the helm – Carl Pei – who was so instrumental in getting OnePlus observed on the world stage, with sights now set on the US.

The Nothing telephone (2) continues a lot of what the Nothing phone (1) began, however on the identical time, it is a step-change for this startup smartphone. I’ve had the Nothing telephone (2) for a while and earlier than I publish my full overview, these are my first impressions.

Design

• 162.1 x 76.4 x 8.6mm, 201.2g
• Recycled aluminium and glass design
• IP54 ranking
• Glyph Interface

Look on the Nothing telephone (2) and it is immediately recognisable. It seems to be lots just like the Nothing telephone (1) however there’s clearly been some refinement to reach at this level. The telephone is now bigger, increasing to supply a bigger show, whereas there’s an instantaneous sense of refinement.

The general design evolves the telephone. I believed that the Nothing telephone (1) appeared like an iPhone with a clear again and there is nonetheless a few of that feeling with the squared aluminium sides and the location of the buttons across the physique, however there is a new barely domed again on the telephone. This not solely reveals off inside elements and that distinctive design, but in addition permits the Glyph Interface – the Nothing telephone’s pièce de resistance, to shine via.

It is right here that the Nothing telephone (2) seems to be and feels higher than the Nothing telephone (1). It retains all the distinctiveness (and at this early stage in Nothing’s life that is nonetheless a design that draws consideration), but it surely refines it. Holding the telephone it feels higher – however I am unable to assist feeling that there is likely to be some fragility to the rear. I count on we’ll see plenty of smashed backs, however which may simply encourage you to make use of a case on your Nothing telephone.

Nothing can be eager to push its eco credentials, from the minimalist – and I’ve to say very cool – packaging, via to the 100 per cent recycled aluminium mid-frame. There are recycled supplies used throughout this telephone, that means the carbon footprint is decrease than the earlier gadget regardless of the elevated show and battery capability. It is also nice that Nothing has opted for an IP54 ranking. Positive, it isn’t fairly up there with the top IP68 specs, but it surely means there shall be safety when the rain comes, preserving your telephone protected from water splashes.

A big a part of the design, after all is concentrated on the Glyph Interface on the rear of the telephone. That sample of LEDs within the rear of the telephone has 33 separate zones, permitting extra customisation and a few intelligent features, like a countdown timer that may be graphically displayed on the rear of the telephone through a receding line. Nothing can be planning integration with third-party apps, so you may look behind your telephone to see how shut your Uber is – and sooner or later, hopefully your meals supply too. That is on high of customized mild patterns for contacts, indicators for and a complete lot extra.

Show and {hardware} specs

• 6.7in LTPO OLED, 2412 x 1080 (394ppi), 1-120Hz
• Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, 8/12GB, 128-512GB
• 4700mAh, 45W wired, 15W wi-fi, 5W reverse

The Nothing telephone (2) will get a bigger show than the Nothing telephone (1), increasing to six.7-inches. It is an LTPO OLED panel, that means it may possibly present adaptive refresh rates from 1-120Hz to optimise the show to the content material you are viewing. First impressions are of a vibrant show, however Nothing OS leans in the direction of minimalism.

The Nothing icon pack will strip all the color out of your app icons to present you a monochrome end (just a little like Android’s bedtime mode) and whereas that is totally different and provides the telephone a novel look, you may must open apps to get the color to pop. We will not touch upon the show efficiency but, however what’s necessary is that Nothing is providing 1000 nits, with 1600 nits peak, and supporting HDR.

Sitting on the coronary heart of the telephone (2) is the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. It is a barely older {hardware} platform from 2022, however the benefit it presents is that it’s flagship grade. Nothing instructed us that they needed to work with one thing established, and that it’ll unlock extra energy for the cameras – and we all know from 2022 flagship telephones that it performs properly.

On the identical time, it isn’t going to compete when it comes to pure energy with the most recent 2023 telephones just like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, however on the identical time, it is extra inexpensive, with Nothing asking US$599, CA$959, £579 within the UK and €679 in Europe for the entry-level 8/128GB mannequin. That is mid-range costs for flagship-grade {hardware}.

Importantly, it is a wholesome step ahead over the Snapdragon 778G+ of the Nothing telephone (1). That additionally applies to the battery, transferring to 4700mAh over 4500mAh. The 45W wired charging and 15W wi-fi charging will not break any information when it comes to velocity, but it surely’s as quick as the most important gamers out there, viz. Samsung and Apple.

We’ll be updating to touch upon the efficiency of this {hardware} within the close to future and at this stage we’re not in a position to make any judgements. You’ll be able to see how the Nothing phone (2) compares to the Nothing phone (1) intimately right here.

Cameras

• Principal: 50MP, 1/1.56in, 1µm, f/1.88
• UIltrawide: 50MP, 1/2.76in, 0.64µm, f/2.2
• Entrance: 32MP, 1/2.74in, 0.8µm, f/2.45

There is a twin digicam association on the rear of the Nothing telephone (1), with Nothing pointing to the upgraded Snapdragon {hardware} with extra energy for driving the cameras. It is an improve to a more recent sensor for the primary digicam – a Sony IMX890 over the IMX766 of the earlier telephone – however the thought stays the identical. The intention is to present you two respectable cameras, moderately than packing the telephone with duff sensors simply to brag about having extra cameras on the spec sheet.

The digicam of the Nothing telephone (1) wasn’t particularly sturdy – I might have picked the Google Pixel 6a over it any day of the week – and I have never had the prospect to research the efficiency of the telephone (2) digicam to any nice extent. There’s an “knowledgeable” handbook mode for individuals who need entry to extra exact controls – together with uncooked capturing – in addition to entry to all of the anticipated modes and options.

There’s a fairly large leap to 32-megapixel for the entrance digicam, over the 16-megapixels of the telephone (1). I will be placing the Nothing telephone (2) via its paces to completely entry the digicam as quickly as I can.

Software program

• Android 13 with Nothing OS 2.0
• 3 years of Android updates

In fact quite a lot of the main focus of this telephone is on software program. The Nothing telephone (2) comes with the most recent model of Nothing OS and as I discussed above, there’s the flexibility to show it monochrome, escaping the colors of all of your apps. In fact you do not have to do this, you may have any end you need, however minimalism and highlighting exact parts of the gadget is likely one of the issues I instantly like about Nothing OS.

There is a vary of fascinating widgets, with Nothing’s dot matrix design seeping via nearly every little thing and that once more helps this gadget look distinctive when in comparison with different Android telephones. Keep on with Nothing’s widgets and you will get a pleasant minimalist aesthetic. I nonetheless want time to discover the interface just a little extra and see what works and what does not, however first impressions are of a telephone that is just a little extra mature than the earlier Nothing outing.

First impressions

The factor that strikes us most in regards to the Nothing telephone (2) is the refinement of the design. For a telephone that is designed to draw consideration (regardless of the corporate ethos of constructing tech mix into the background), it is a telephone that appears nice. I’ve caught lots of people stealing a sideward look at it, not simply because I have been rocking an unreleased telephone, however as a result of it is distinctive. (Do not forget, there are people selling phone skins to make devices look like this.)

There’s nonetheless lots to discover on the Nothing telephone (2), however the elevated dimension and the bump in {hardware} justifies the brand new increased asking worth for this telephone. I am trying ahead to testing it some extra and delivering my full overview in the direction of the tip of the week.