The aim of the Nothing phone (1) was to make tech interesting again and it launched following months of hype. Following in the footsteps of OnePlus, Nothing drip-fed information and built interest in its brand, which was essential given the extremely competitive market it launched its first smartphone – the Nothing phone (1) – into.
The Nothing phone (1) and its unique Glyph Interface is old news now though, with all the latest talk surrounding its successor instead. Here’s everything we have heard so far about the Nothing phone (2) including what has been confirmed so far, what the rumours are saying and when we expect it to appear.
Nothing / Pocket-lint
Nothing Phone (1)
If you don’t want to wait for the Nothing phone (2) to come out, the Nothing phone (1) has a great display, fantastic build quality and there’s the Glyph Interface on the back which makes for a slightly different experience.
Nothing phone (2) release date and price
Carl Pei first confirmed in an interview with Forbes that the Nothing Phone (2) will launch globally in July, and that includes the US this time around, too. The Nothing Phone (1) launched in July 2022 so we’re right on schedule for a yearly update cycle.
Now, Nothing has announced that the official launch date is July 11 2023, at 4 pm BST (11 am EST). So we don’t have too long to wait at all.
When it comes to price, the Nothing phone (1) costs £399 in the UK – and it’s not available in the US. It’s possible the Nothing phone (2) could see a bump in that price point, especially given it will run on flagship hardware, but for now, we would hope to see it remain within that mid-range price bracket.
Nothing phone (2) design
- Glyph Interface
- Curved aluminium edges
- IP53 at least
- Nothing OS 2.0
The first renders showing the supposed design of the Nothing phone (2) have surfaced via the oft-reliable leaker OnLeaks, in partnership with SmartPrix. The renders show that the iconic transparent back and glyph interface will, indeed, be making a return on the new phone.
We think these renders could prove to be quite accurate as they match the styling seen on Nothing’s teaser imagery almost exactly.
SmartPrix x OnLeaks
The images show us a slightly more curvy design than we saw on the original, with a round-edged frame and a subtle curve to the front and rear panels. It reminds us of the iPhone 6, whereas the Nothing phone (1) clearly took some inspiration from the current iPhone models.
The flash has been split into two sections, which could be to improve flash photography but could also just be a stylistic choice. Elsewhere, other parts of the glyph interface have been chopped and changed slightly to keep the design looking fresh, too.
Another notable change is in the styling of the red LED recording indicator, which is a slit on the new model, compared to a small circular unit on the original phone.
SmartPrix x OnLeaks
We know that the phone has been designed with sustainability in mind, and it will have a significantly lower carbon footprint than its predecessor. the aluminium frame is said to be created with 100 per cent recycled material using renewable energy. Otherwise, we would expect at least an IP53 water and dust resistance, like the Nothing phone (1), but nothing has been confirmed at this stage.
All in all, that means quite a bit of refinement over the original model but that – seemingly – hasn’t stopped internet commenters from joking that it’s identical to the Nothing Phone (1). As Carl Pei alludes to in a tweet, there’s perhaps more to this change than meets the eye.
In the software department, Pei’s investment in staff may pay dividends yet. Nothing’s dot matrix design language advances an extra step with Nothing OS 2.0. Even the wallpapers – as obtained by Kamila Wojiechowska – can be considered as a natural extension from the Nothing phone (1)’s with different textured glass treatments of floral arrangements.
Nothing phone (2) display
- 6.7-inch @ 1080p+
- AMOLED, 1Hz to 120Hz
Rumours so far have claimed we will see an AMOLED display with, which is the same as the Nothing phone (1) so that’s not really all that surprising. Blogger Kamila Wojciechowska claims the panel will support various refrehs rates with a top of 120Hz and low-power levels of 30Hz, 24Hz, 10Hz, and 1Hz.
A Twitter thread about Nothing’s sustainability efforts said that the Nothing phone (2)’s display will be 0.15 inches bigger than the Nothing phone (1). That means we can expect a roughly 6.7-inch display on the new model.
For reference, the phone (1) has a 6.55-inch OLED display with Full HD+ (2400 x 1080) resolution and HDR support. It was an excellent display so it’s possible the Nothing phone (2) will follow suit.
Nothing phone (2) specs and battery
- Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
- 4,700mAh battery
- 12GB RAM?
This is one area we know a little bit more about. Nothing’s founder, Carl Pei, revealed at Mobile World Congress that the Nothing phone (2) would run on Snapdragon 8 series hardware. Pei didn’t reveal which specific 8 series chip, at the time, but said it will still be a step up from the Nothing phone (1) which ran the Snapdragon 778+.
One of Qualcomm’s executives was reported to have outed the platform the Nothing phone (2) will have on his LinkedIn profile, with suggestions of the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, rather than the latest flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, and while it took a couple of months, this has now been confirmed by Nothing’s Carl Pei on Twitter.
Elsewhere, there have been reports of 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, none of which is overly surprising. The Nothing phone (1) had 12GB of RAM as an option, as well as 256GB of storage. The battery is a bump though, confirmed by Carl Pei as a 4,700mAh pack, compared to the Nothing phone (1)’s 4500mAh cell.
Nothing phone (2) cameras
- Rear cameras: 50MP main from Sony, 50MP ultrawide from Samsung (same as on phone (1))
- Front camera: 32MP Sony
Pei has said little about the Nothing phone (2)’s cameras, but Kamila Wojciechowska is keen to fill in the gaps. The star rear sensor will be Sony’s 50MP IMX890 with optical image stabilization and “in-sensor zoom” – it’s been on a wide variety of phones from Oppo, OnePlus, and realme – all under the BBK conglomerate umbrella. It will be paired with another 50MP sensor, Samsung’s ISOCELL JN1, under an ultrawide lens. Selfies will use a 32MP IMX615.
The Nothing phone (1) has a dual rear camera setup consisting of a 50-megapixel main camera and a pretty much identical 50-megapixel ultrawide camera. The main camera was good, but the ultrawide offering was middling in our judgment despite the big raw numbers on the spec sheet, so that might be an area the Nothing phone (2) can improve in.
The Nothing phone (2) is set to double up on the 16-megapixel snapper found on the Nothing phone (1). That older unit performed well enough in good lighting, also allowing access to the portrait function and edge detection is pretty good for those perfect selfies. We didn’t think it was amazing in low light, so again, this is an area the Nothing phone (2) has the potential to improve.
Nothing phone (2) rumours: What’s happened so far?
Here’s everything we have heard so far about the Nothing phone (2).
5 July 2023: Kamila Wojciechowska leaks
Venerable leaks blogger Kamila Wojciechowska lays out hard specs and even delivers a couple of Nothing OS wallpapers in a Twitter thread.
14 June 2023: Carl Pei teasing design changes
In response to tech fans joking about Nothing Phone (2) looking exactly like Nothing Phone (1), Carl Pei tweeted “just you wait and see”.
13 June 2023: Nothing Phone (2) launch date confirmed, and it’s soon
Nothing confirmed the move in an email to Pocket-lint alongside a new webpage that suggests that phone buyers should “come to the bright side” when the phone is finally unveiled.
5 June 2023: The first Nothing Phone (2) renders show a design you might recognise
The new renders come courtesy of SmartPrix in collaboration with leaker OnLeaks. They’re high resolution and give us a great look at what we’re told the new phone will look like – complete with that light show around the back.
1 June 2023: Nothing confirms screen size and 3 years of Android updates
Nothing shared some information about its sustainability efforts in a Twitter thread, and in the process revealed the screen size and update plans for the Nothing phone (2).
26 May 2023: The Nothing Phone (2) is weeks away from launching, CEO teases
Nothing has told Forbes that the Phone (2) will have a 4,700mAh battery and it will launch globally in July.
19 May 2023: Nothing phone (2) confirmed to run on Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
Carl Pei has confirmed on Twitter that the Nothing phone (2) will run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen chipset, as speculated.
3 May 2023: Nothing confirm phone (2) will be released in the “summer”, plus tease design
Nothing confirmed its phone (2) will be released in the summer, though did not offer any more details on what dates we are looking at. It did however tease an GIF of the design, though it’s difficult to distinguish too many details.
27 March 2023: Nothing phone (2) gets certified but when will it be announced?
The Nothing phone (2) was spotted under the model number AIN065 after going through the Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) certification process.
7 March 2023: Nothing phone (2) will use a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, Qualcomm exec says
91mobiles reported that Qualcomm’s SVP and GM of its Mobile, Compute, and XR business unit, Alex Katouzian mentioned on his LinkedIn profile when congratulating the Nothing team on using a Qualcomm chip, name checking the actual silicon that will be used – the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1.
28 February 2023: Carl Pei confirms Nothing phone (2) to be Snapdragon 8 powered
Nothing confirmed that the Nothing phone (2) will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 hardware, with Carl Pei making a surprise visit to the Qualcomm booth at Mobile World Congress to make the announcement.
6 February 2023: The Nothing phone (2) has its first leak with specs and release window teased
Sources reportedly told MySmartPrice that the Nothing phone (2) will arrive “in the third quarter of 2023”. Some specs were also detailed, with suggestions of a Snapdragon 8 series chip, 12GB RAM and 256GB of storage. An AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate has been claimed, as well as a 5000mAh battery.
30 January 2023: Nothing phone (2) confirmed for a US launch in 2023
Nothing confirmed it intends to expand into the United States, including bringing its next smartphone to the market later in 2023. Nothing CEO and co-founder Carl Pei told Inverse that the company will make a big push into the US and that will include the phone (2). He said “the US is our No. 1 priority in terms of markets”.
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