CEO Carl Pei teased a more "premium" Nothing Phone back in early 2023 and this month the company behind one of 2022's most eye-catching smartphones made good on that promise.
The newly-unveiled Nothing Phone 2 boasts a similar look and profile to its predecessor, plus key performance and features upgrades that see it graduate from the best alternative to things like the Google Pixel 7a to a more like-for-like alternative to flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S23. In some respects, it's the phone that some vocal power users wanted the original Nothing Phone 1 to be.
Under the hood, the Nothing Phone 2 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 4700mAh battery. In terms of storage, the smartphone starts at 128GB but 256GB and 512GB models are available at a premium. Opting for those higher capacity models also revs the RAM inside the Nothing Phone 2 to 12GB.
Other improvements include support for faster 45W wired charging, an IP54 rating for dust and splash damage and a larger 6.7-inch OLED screen with a peak brightness of 1600 nits. That's more than double what the Nothing Phone 1 could manage.
Like that device though, those who jump on the bandwagon in 2023 can look forward to three years of software updates and four years of security updates.
While the most distinctive elements of last year's Nothing Phone 1 remain intact here, the company has added some additional nuance to the 'Glyph' lighting on the back of this year's Nothing Phone 2. There are more lighting zones, more ways to use those LEDs and the ability to create your own visual ringtones using a new Glyph Composer app.
Writ-large, Nothing's second smartphone looks to lean on the idea that less is more when it comes to changing things up and that's especially true when it comes to the portable photography side of things.
The front-facing selfie camera on the Nothing Phone 2 has gotten a major upgrade from 16MP to 32MP. Meanwhile, the two lenses on the back of the device boast the same 50MP found in the Nothing 1 Phone.
That said, additional improvements like a better image signal processor should pave the way for better results across the board. Where the Nothing Phone 1 capped out at 4K video at 30FPS, the follow-up raises the bar to 4K at 60FPS.
Unfortunately, the higher performance and improved features that the Nothing Phone 2 is bringing to bear comes at a cost.
In Australia, the Nothing Phone 2 starts at $1,049. That's $300 higher than the starting price that its predecessor commanded. Upgrading to the model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage bumps the price up to $1,149 while the top-of-the-line variant comes in at $1,249.
You can pre-order the device today via the Nothing website, with orders slated to ship on July 17. The Phone 2 isn't expected to be available on a mobile plan.
This story first appeared on our sister site Reviews.org/AU
Fergus Halliday
Digital Content Editor
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