Nothing Phone (2) review: LED effects in a fairly priced high-end smartphone

Nothing achieved respectable success with the Phone (1) and now the manufacturer intends to expand its lineup with the new Phone (2). Thanks to a real high-end SoC and even faster charging, the new model is expected to give competing flagship devices a run for their money. Although the Phone (2) is significantly more expensive than its predecessor, the decision to create a higher-quality device this year makes sense, as the Phone (1) can remain in the lineup and buyers have more choice.

Of course, the iconic Glyph interface made of numerous LEDs on the rear side is back and it has even been refined in some areas. Whether you should invest up to US$750 for the Nothing Phone (2) is something we examine in detail in our review. The Nothing Phone (2) is somewhat heavier and slightly longer than its predecessor, but it also offers a larger screen and significantly more performance.

Once again, the Nothing phone is protected by Gorilla Glass 5 on both sides, with the transparent back revealing the cable channels and wireless charging spiral. The rear glass is now curved so that the Nothing Phone (2) fits comfortably in the hand. The sides are made of an aluminum frame that is reminiscent of current iPhones with its angular design and pill-shaped buttons.

The Phone (2) comes in either Dark Grey or White . The workmanship is pleasing: clean material transitions and small gaps create a high-quality look. However, we noticed in the course of our review that the smartphone can warp after prolonged exposure to the sun and the gaps then become larger.

The warping subsides once it cools down, but previous reports about water and dust under the back of the predecessor make us wonder. The housing is protected according to IP54, so the protection against splash water has been slightly improved compared to the predecessor. You shouldn’t go swimming with Nothing Phone (2) though.

We like the fact that Nothing prints the device’s CO2 footprint on the package and attempts to keep the environmental impact of the smartphone as low as possible via various measures, such as recycling materials in the device and plastic-free packaging. A detailed sustainability report on the Phone (2) can be found on the website . The glyph interface is the design highlight of the smartphone.

Underneath the transparent glass back there is a pattern of white LEDs that can simulate a count-down timer and display notifications, of which the number and function has been significantly expanded in the Phone (2). You can now use the Glyph Composer to create your own ringtones, and some third-party providers such as Uber are now using the function, for example, to display the time until the driver reaches their desired location. The Nothing Phone (2) is available in three memory variants: A microSD reader is missing, but there are 2 slots for nano-SIMs.

Unfortunately, eSIMs are not supported. The USB-C port is still only connected internally via USB 2. 0, so data transfers are slower and image output via USB cable is not possible.

Nothing OS 2. 0 is based on Android 13 and is very stylish with its pixelated black and white design, but you have to get used to the icons without labels. Those who prefer the classic Android look can select this option during the setup or easily restore it afterwards, since Nothing implements its design mainly via icon packs and widgets that you can remove or change at any time.

No third-party advertising apps are preinstalled. The security patches on our device were from June 2023 and thus still reasonably up to date at the time of review. Nothing also released a number of minor updates with detailed patch notes during our review to improve the smartphone’s features.

Overall, the smartphone is expected to get security updates every 2 months for 4 years. In addition, 3 new Android versions are intended for the smartphone. The Nothing Phone (2) comes with WiFi 6E, so it can take advantage of the less-used 6 GHz band.

Under testing with our Asus ROG Rapture AXE11000 reference router, the WLAN connection proved to be quite stable after initial difficulties, but it is very unevenly fast when sending and receiving data, just like the Phone (1). Overall, the speeds are clearly above those of the predecessor. Thanks to the many supported 4G and 5G frequencies, the Nothing Phone (2) can be used worldwide.

The signal quality was consistently good during our 2-week review period and on par with other high-end smartphones. As soon as you step outside with the Nothing Phone (2), you are immediately pinpointed at an accuracy of 3 meters. All major satellite networks are supported, but not the SBAS system for even greater accuracy.

Satellite positioning also takes place indoors, but this is not quite as accurate. The smartphone’s localization capabilities also have to undergo real-world testing, so we jumped on our bikes and took the Garmin Venu 2 smartwatch for comparison. The Nothing Phone (2) is very accurate; we observed only minimal deviations from the route taken in two places.

We can thus highly recommended the smartphone as a navigation device. Nothing uses Android’s standard phone app, so users who switch from other brands should find their way around right away. The call quality is decent overall, but has a few weaknesses: the internal earpiece sounds a little muffled and neither the normal nor the hands-free microphone pick up quiet voices.

If you listen to the other party via loudspeaker, the conversation sounds much clearer. On paper, little seems to have changed in the cameras compared to the Nothing Phone (1) . There are still two 50 megapixel lenses, but the manufacturer now installs a more modern Sony IMX 890 sensor in the main camera.

The more powerful SoC also ensures that the camera functions more swiftly and can process photos faster. Photos appear well-lit and full of realistic colors at first glance. However, the camera tends to omit details for more distant objects.

The sensor takes sharp pictures in very low ambient light, but loses sharpness in very dark areas. The wide-angle lens, also 50 megapixels, takes decent pictures that can also be enlarged a little without much loss of detail. What is missing are real zoom capabilities as known from higher quality camera systems.

There is no periscope camera on the Nothing Phone (2); the best on offer here is a hybrid zoom, which is possible for both the wide-angle and main camera. Overall, the Nothing Phone (2) can take good photos, but what about videos? The smartphone is able to record in 4K at 60 fps. Both the autofocus and brightness adjustment respond very quickly and reliably.

The resulting films are pleasing, especially in bright lighting conditions. A 32-megapixel camera sits on the front. It takes detailed selfies, which you can also enlarge a little, but there could be more sharpness in dark areas.

Under full studio lighting in the lab, the main camera takes pleasing photos whose sharpness drops only slightly towards the edges. We very much like the contrast and level of detail. At just 1 lux illumination, the image is still clearly recognizable, but dark areas hardly offer any definition.

A charger is not included with the Nothing Phone (2). Instead, only a USB cable and a SIM tool are found in the box. The charger can be purchased in Nothing’s webstore, the price of which varies from region to region (EUR 35 in Germany, for example).

A protective case is also available for purchase. The manufacturer offers a 24-month warranty for devices purchased in the EU. Of course, this may differ in other regions, so buyers should double check before purchasing.

Thanks to its 120 Hz display, the smartphone can be operated very smoothly. The touchscreen is sensitive right up to the corners and also responds to very light touches. The screen’s query rate can be further increased via an experimental feature, so that the smartphone can cope with demanding touch frequent scenarios such as gaming.

The fingerprint sensor is hidden behind the display, but is placed quite far down in portrait format so that you have to reach around to access it. It unlocks the smartphone almost immediately and recognizes stored fingerprints very reliably. Biometric unlocking via facial recognition is also possible, but only 2D images are used here, making this function susceptible to manipulation.

The OLED screen in the Nothing Phone (2) is 6. 7 inches, has a resolution of 2,412 x 1,080 pixels and can display up to 120 frames per second. We really like the screen’s maximum brightness, which Nothing specifies as 1,000 cd/m².

We almost reached this value in our tests during full-screen playback, and even higher brightness levels are possible for HDR content in smaller screen sections. The screen uses DC dimming to adjust the flickering to the refresh rate, so it should be less bothersome. Nevertheless, sensitive people should test the screen at low brightness before buying.

In our measurements with the sepctrophotometer and CalMAN software, the screen reproduces colors very accurately. For this, you should select the color profile “Standard” in the settings. You can then be sure that video content is portrayed exactly as the makers intended.

Outdoors, the OLED display shows what it can do – the brightness sensor reacts reliably and, if necessary, increases the brightness to such an extent that users can still view the display well, even on very sunny days. The viewing angles also leave nothing to be desired. Our test device achieves 20 fps in the 4K benchmark of the GFXBench, so very high-resolution games are theoretically playable, but such games are few in the App Store.

In FullHD the screen’s native resolution, 60 fps, is achieved without issue. In sum, the smartphone has a lot of power compared to similarly expensive phones. Large websites load very quickly on the Nothing Phone (2) and pictures are usually available when scrolling smoothly.

In the browser benchmarks the test device is in first place ahead of competing smartphones. UFS 3. 1 memory is often found in smartphones around US$750, but the memory controller in the Nothing Phone (2) also does its job very well.

This results in short loading times and fast data transfers. Although the Nothing Phone (2) is not a designated gaming phone, it still manages 60 fps in all tested games, even at high settings. Since the frame rate is very stable, even more demanding gamers should be able to play on the smartphone.

Just a pity that the maximum 120 Hz of the screen can hardly ever be utilized. The frame rate was measured using GameBench software. Control via the touchscreen and the built-in position sensor worked perfectly in our tests.

We measured maximum case temperatures of 45. 8 °C under prolonged load. This is clearly noticeable, but not critical.

In everyday use, the temperatures will usually be lower, but prolonged gaming may certainly lead to noticeable increases in temperature. The processor also throttles significantly under prolonged load and can sometimes only provide 60% of the initial performance after 20 benchmark runs. The earpiece is used as a second speaker on the Nothing Phone (2) so that slight stereo effects are possible when positioned correctly and the overall sound is a little stronger.

The speakers get moderately loud and reproduce music quite clearly. However, the smartphone still sounds somewhat treble-heavy, which is why real audio enthusiasts are probably better off using headphones or external speakers. Almost everything you could wish for is available in terms of wireless audio codecs, ranging from SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, aptX TWS+, LDAC, LHDC up to V5.

The power consumption of the Nothing Phone (2) is quite good under no or low load, but then increases sharply and is very high under maximum load. If you have to plug the smartphone in, you can charge at up to 45 watts, but a suitable charger is not included. In our test lab the smartphone accepts most chargers without issue and fully recharges in a maximum of 1:30 hours at full charging capacity.

Wireless charging is possible at up to 15 watts and reverse charging from other devices at 5 watts. The Nothing Phone (2) has a 4,700 mAh strong battery, which ensures solid runtimes of up to 15:09 hours in our Wi-Fi test. A Xiaomi 12T lasts considerably longer and the Nothing Phone (1) can also surf the web for a few minutes longer, but the runtimes of the Phone (2) should easily suffice for everyday use.

The cheapest version of the Nothing Phone (2) is already available for US$749, which is definitely a good price for a smartphone with a high-end SoC. After all, it also has good battery life, an almost 1,000 cd/m² bright OLED screen with DC dimming and very good color reproduction, as well as fast charging technology and wireless charging. The operating system can also be run without the manufacturer’s design and is slated to receive security updates for 4 years.

The many cell phone frequencies mean that the smartphone can be used globally, and the cameras take good photos. The quality doesn’t quite match that of high-end cameras and optical zoom is missing, but if you just want to take sharp pictures with natural colors, the Nothing Phone (2) is a good choice. The translucent design remains eye-catching and the glyph interface is a nice gimmick that keeps finding more and more uses.

You may find it useful or unnecessary that Nothing doesn’t include a charger, but the lack of eSIM support is definitely annoying. The lame USB 2. 0 port, which prevents the forwarding of video via port, shouldn’t be in a high-end smartphone either.

The Nothing Phone (2) is fast and convinces with its unusual design and high-end features at a reasonable price. If mid-range performance suffices for you and if you like the Glyph interface, you can pay US$405 for the Nothing Phone (1) via Amazon USA . The OnePlus 10T is also very fast and available at cheap prices.

Of the three storage configurations of the Nothing Phone (2), only the 256 GB and 512 GB variants appear to be available at Amazon USA. The former (256 GB) is priced at $749. 00 in Dark Grey and White , while the latter (512 GB) is selling for $859.

00, also in Dark Grey and White . Amazon India, for its part, also has exactly the same storage configurations on offer as Amazon USA: 256GB ( Dark Grey and White ) for ₹54,999, 512 GB ( Dark Grey and White ) for ₹59,999. .