Last year, British startup Nothing published a really classy smartphone which unfortunately US customers could not get their hands on. Things are different this time around.
Meet Nothing Phone (2), the second flagship phone from Carl Pei’s hip company (formerly OnePlus). It embraces the futuristic and nostalgic clear glass aesthetic of other Nothing products (such as the Ear (1) headphones) with improved specs over last year’s model. A few minor visual changes with the signature LED glyph panel on the back of the phone add to an overall theme of trying to make you look less at your phone.
Good news/bad news: The bad news is that the Nothing (2) phone is hard to take your eyes off when you’re using it, which sort of destroys its stated purpose. The good news, however, is that you want to keep watching it because it’s a quality Android phone at a very nice starting price of $600.
Plus, it’s good that there’s another solid alternative to the typical Google and Samsung options for Android enthusiasts.
These specifications are not nothing
Credit: Molly Flores/Mashable
For starters, here’s what you get for the starting price of $600 (which naturally rises to $800 with the most RAM and storage):
The main thing you’ll notice about the phone (2) right away is that it looks premium despite a premium price tag. Its screen is huge with 1,000 nits of peak brightness and a 2412 x 1080 resolution that keeps things crisp enough. I officially declare that I’m not a big fan of phones this size, as it requires two-handed use most of the time, but at least the phone (2) is very light and easy to hold.
Visually, Phone (2) follows the same path as Phone (1), with a clear glass back that features a ‘glyph’ pattern of LEDs that serve various purposes. More on that in a moment. This year’s Glyph model is slightly different, with more individual LED strips making up a similar model. Still, if you’ve seen last year’s phone, you’ve pretty much seen this one. If you haven’t, congratulations! It’s really cool.
Other bits and bobs include a power button on the right side and a volume rocker on the left. A USB-C port for charging adorns the bottom of the phone, while an in-screen fingerprint reader is used for biometric unlocking by default. There’s also a face unlock option if you prefer, but the fingerprint scanner worked perfectly for me.
glamor glyph
The glyph looks awesome, at least.
Credit: Molly Flores/Mashable
Obviously, the main point of interest with Phone(2) is the Glyph interface. It’s the one thing Nothing offers that you can’t get on any other phone I know of, and at least in theory, it’s pretty cool.
The basic idea is that you’re supposed to place the phone (2) face down and let the Glyph lights tell you what’s going on. This can range from notification lights that glow until you open said notification to a physical light-based progress bar for your Uber ride (I didn’t get to try this one). There’s a “Glyph Composer” that even lets you create custom ring light shows.
Combine that with the new features and general vibe of Nothing OS 2.0 (which really is just a fancy version of Android) and you’ve got a phone that’s a bit oddly designed so you don’t look at it much. The new operating system brings an optional monochromatic look so that individual app icons are less shiny and attractive, as well as an abundant display of widget options for your home screens and lock screen.
There are even Glyph lights around the cameras.
Credit: Molly Flores/Mashable
In other words, you’re supposed to use Glyph lights as beacons when the screen is laying face down. In more active phone usage scenarios, you’re meant to be quick and intentional with what you’re doing, rather than lazily scrolling between all the apps you have.
This…didn’t quite work for me, but I would be hesitant to criticize Phone(2) on these grounds. I’ve been using smartphones in a certain way for over a decade now, and a week with a phone trying to do things a little differently isn’t going to change my brain wiring. I recommend Nothing for trying something.
That said, it’s not a perfect effort. Ringtones and Light Show notifications are nice, but ultimately I prefer to have my phone face up at all times so I can actually, you know, see notifications or who’s calling me at a glance. Leaving the phone face down adds a little extra effort to this process, while leaving it face up means you’ll almost never see the Glyph lights to begin with.
Overall, the entire Glyph interface and its ripple effects with the phone’s UI design feel more like gimmicks than transformative new features. But the good news is that you can totally ignore all of this.
Chasing Snapdragon
The real reason to get Phone(2) over Phone(1), besides the fact that it’s now available in the US, is that its performance profile should be significantly improved.
Indeed, the old Snapdragon 778G+ chipset has been replaced by the new (but still not quite top of the line) Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset. Without getting into the weeds too much, this basically means that the phone (2) runs faster than its predecessor. Apps load very quickly, nothing freezes or noticeably slows down, and generally speaking it’s as easy to use as other recent Android handsets like the Pixel 7 Pro.
The real gem on the performance side of things though is the 4,700mAh battery. This suction cup can work under full load for at least 24 hours. I can’t complain about that.
Good camera, but not good enough
If there is a “weak link” with the Phone (2), it would be the camera. To be clear, this mobile matrix with two 50 MP rear lenses is perfectly suited to take beautiful photos with a smartphone. It’s just not as good as other similarly priced Android phones.
Still, I’ll show you what it is can do first. Photos taken on the phone (2) are vibrant and colorful, almost hyper-realistic compared to what your eyes sometimes see. This graffiti certainly looked good in person, but on Phone (2) it really popped.
Magic.
Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable
Portrait mode also adds a nice bokeh effect to your subjects and can work with smaller objects like this plant without too much trouble.
Portrait mode works.
Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable
It’s not an impressive photo on its own, but I like to show it off Pokemon art in my neighborhood as often as possible.
My friends are here.
Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable
As for the “problems” with the Phone (2) camera, I wasn’t very impressed with its night photography software. It might have been a product of the environment (night shots can be tricky on any phone), but the closest thing to a pronounced effect I’ve been able to create came with these two photos, which don’t look so different at a glance.
No night mode.
Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable
Night mode.
Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable
The zoom lens is also fine compared to what phone cameras have offered over the past few years, but sadly it can’t compete with Google’s 30x zoom on the Pixel 7 Pro. The phone (2) only zooms up to 10x, and the results at those zoom levels are blurry and not really useful.
Yeah, that could be better.
Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable
That said, lower zoom levels still produce clear photos. This was taken at 6x zoom.
It’s better.
Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable
As I said, the phone (2) can create great photos for your social feeds. It’s just not the Pixel 7 Pro or even the Pixel 7awhich benefits from Google software features such as Photo Unblur and Magic Eraser.
It’s not a Pixel, but at least it has its own vibe
How I feel about Nothing Phone (2) is how I feel about most Android phones: you probably won’t be disappointed if you buy one, but I’d still recommend a Pixel over it.
None of the unique approach to UI design is anything to praise, of course, even if it didn’t have the desired effect on me during my time with the phone. It’s admirable to want people to be more careful about using their phones. And even if you choose to ignore this side of the phone (2), you end up with a fast and sleek Android phone that almost certainly looks cooler than anything your friends have.
Nothing’s the smartphone’s second attempt at fame isn’t a total slam dunk, but it does at least belong on the highlight reel.
