The second-generation Nothing Phone has been released in India. We have been using the Nothing Phone 2 as our main driver consistently for the past month. We were really pleased with the performance of its predecessor, which was a very good phone. We would also agree that the corporation is obviously attempting to do things differently with the design. The specs have gotten better significantly, yes. Its price begins at Rs 45,000, and compared to Phone 1, there has been a significant price increase. Now that its price screams premium let’s see what they deliver at this pricing in our Nothing Phone 2 Review.

Nothing Phone 2 Review: Design and Display

Let’s begin by saying, the Type A to Type C cable, the SIM ejector tool, and the phone are all transparent. Neat.

The Nothing Phone 2 seems a tad larger in our hands this time. Additionally, we have the Nothing Phone 1, which allows us to see exactly what changes have been made to the current phone. They are hence almost identical in appearance.

In terms of size, the Phone 2 is a little larger than the earlier model. In terms of width, it is also wider. The glass at the back is curved but the corners are flat. This time, the glyph lighting has also seen a little adjustment. When comparing them side by side, you can see that this generation has 11 glyphs overall compared to the prior generation’s five.

We received the white colour option last year, which improved the appearance and made the glyph interface more appealing. We received the grey version this time, but we think the white version is more appealing.

The antenna lines are clearly visible on the frames because they are made of metal.
Given that it has a glass back, the box does not contain any case. You should purchase one to protect your phone from drops and scratches; otherwise, the joy of the glyph illumination will be lost. Here, we should also point out that the glyph lighting also serves as a warning when the phone is dropped accidentally.

Speaking of buttons and ports, there is a speaker grille, a USB Type C connector for charging, and a SIM card tray at the bottom that supports two nano SIM cards. On the right side of the frame is a power button, and on the left is a volume rocker up and down. A microphone with noise cancellation is located on top.

As we already stated, Nothing phone 2 is larger than its predecessor, and as a result, it boasts an even bigger 6.7-inch display. The display of the Nothing Phone 1 was 6.5 inches. Its LTPO OLED display has a Full-HD+ resolution of 2,412 x 1,080 pixels, an adjustable refresh rate of 120Hz, and a touch sampling rate of 240Hz. The device has SGS Low Blue Light and HDR10+ certifications.

Because it is an LTPO display, the refresh rate can vary from 1Hz to 120Hz. The maximum brightness supported by the phone is 1,600 nits, and the average brightness is 1,000 nits. In terms of brightness, it is undoubtedly superior to its older sibling. If you take it outside, visibility in the sunlight is no problem. Yes, this is a 10-bit panel, and HDR10+ capability is also included.

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The HDR performance is excellent as well, with vibrant hues. Netflix, however, does not support HDR, which is totally unacceptable for a 45K phone. HDR is supported by YouTube though. No ghost touches will occur because of the flat display, which is very beneficial if you game.

Dolby Atmos compatibility is available for the speakers on the audio front. Although it isn’t the best audio performance available out there, we did like it. Therefore, the audio quality is better than normal.

Nothing Phone 2 Review: Performance and Cameras

When it comes to the performance, there is a significant jump. Qualcomm’s 4nm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor powers the Nothing Phone 2. The CPU used in the previous iteration was 778G. The chipset is undoubtedly well-optimized for the NothingOS. It has 512GB UFS 3.1 ROM and up to 12GB LPDDR5 RAM.

While typing, the tactile feedback is pleasant and satisfying. The calls are of excellent quality. The earpiece is of excellent quality as well. This phone comes with three microphones in total, which is also a plus. The fingerprint sensor is flawlessly functioning and has no known difficulties.

The smoothness and fluidity of the Phone 2 are excellent. It fared exceptionally well for routine use, which includes daily activities like browsing the internet, scrolling through social media feeds, watching videos, and listening to music.

Nothing Phone 2 won’t let you down in terms of games either. Games can be played at their highest settings. Unbelievable, it doesn’t even get warm when you play a lot of games. Yes, the thermals are excellent as well.

Phone 2 comes with Nothing OS 2.0, based on Android 13. Along with 3 years of Android updates, the company has also announced that the phone would receive 4 years of security updates.

When comparing the Nothing Phone 2 with the Nothing Phone 1 (Review), it is clear that Nothing has worked very hard on the OS. This time, it contains a number of features that are not available on other devices. The home screen has been updated and now appears more aesthetically pleasing and distinctively different from before.

There are multiple widgets, and the icon set is all black and white, giving it a unique and exciting appearance. However, there are numerous apps, including Netflix, BGMI, Instagram and more, that aren’t supported by the black-and-white icons set when you install third-party apps. They also paid close attention to the little details, like the ability to customise folders and give each folder a unique design and feel.

There are many wonderful customisation features available for Glyph. For those who don’t know, the LED or glyph lights are located on the back panel. There were 5 glyphs in the Nothing Phone 1 from the previous year; this time, there are 11. The glyph interface has also been enhanced and made more useable, and many new functions have been introduced.

Similar to its predecessor, the Nothing Phone 2’s glyphs may be used to set ringtones, turn on a torch, and receive notifications. In addition, you can do a lot by using this feature’s settings alone. There, you can look for the Glyph interface, which has a wide range of options for customisations.

The level of glyph lighting can be changed in the settings. There are three options available: automatic, disable automatic, and choose different lighting levels. You may also add customised contacts and create ringtones. Even if the phone is on mute, this feature can be useful.

Additionally, there are other notification settings accessible, but the most intriguing one is the ability to use the glyph composer. You see a pad for creating a new phone ringtone.

All New Essential is a different new option. You can use this to enable essential notifications for applications. Flip to Glyph, which requires only a simple flip of the smartphone to switch to Silent mode, is another essential feature. 

A countdown timer can be set with the glyph using the Glyph Timer. When the timer expires, an alarm will ring to let you know that the set length of time has passed. Every time you change the volume, it will be visible on the phone’s back thanks to a volume indicator. Additionally, a charging metre that displays the charging status is also present.

Also Read: Redmi 12 5G Review: Delivers on every front

One very important point that we want to emphasise before moving on to the camera section is the fact that you cannot set it up unless you insert a working India SIM card. We haven’t seen this interesting feature on any smartphone before.

The smartphone has two rear cameras: a 1/2.76-inch 50-megapixel Samsung ISOCELL JN1 sensor with an ultra-wide lens (114-degree FoV and f/2.2 aperture) and a 1/1.56-inch 50-megapixel primary Sony IMX890 sensor with optical image stabilisation (OIS) and electronic image stabilisation (EIS) support. A 32-megapixel 1/2.74-inch Sony IMX615 sensor with an improved f/2.45 aperture is located up front and has been updated for selfies and video calling.

Regarding the images taken in daylight, the main camera captured quite a bit of details. Dynamic range is mostly done fine, and colours tend to be done accurately. However, the camera’s contrasty picture, which isn’t very brilliant even in the bright sun, is something we didn’t enjoy. As a result, the dynamic range occasionally didn’t appear to be that good. But when you zoom in, the details are excellent. Therefore, if you prefer brightly coloured excellent images, this might not be the greatest option available. The Nothing Phone 2 camera’s performance won’t let you down if you’re seeking natural colours and accurate colour reproduction.

In comparison to the primary camera, the ultrawide angle camera also produces photos that are quite comparable. Despite the fact that the photographs are well-detailed, the contrast is a little too strong, and shadows are buried. The ultra-wide-angle photographs are fairly well done in terms of clarity and colour.

The colours are really natural and wonderfully done here, and the close-up photos also have outstanding details and an impressive level of clarity. It is also possible to take macro pictures with the ultrawide angle camera. The high-resolution sensor produces truly excellent photos. The colour, details, clarity, and overall appearance are all good.

Moving on, you have the option of taking 2x zoom portraits in addition to the standard 1x. The edge detection on the 2X portraits is pretty accurate, however, the background blur seems a little strange. As a result, the portraits appear to be a little too out of place. Again, portraits are a little too stark here, and this needs refinement as it is not the greatest portrait available in this price range.

The primary sensor performed brilliantly in low-light situations. Images using artificial indoor lighting offer excellent detail and appear quite natural. The Nothing Phone 2’s low-light photographs are retained as dark images, which means they are not overexposed and the details and colours are fairly nicely done. The low-light ultra-wide angle pictures are also good.

The skin tones and selfie quality are both excellent. Despite the somewhat warmer tones in the selfies, we think this is unquestionably one of the best selfies because it has excellent sharpness levels and appears very real. Even selfies in portrait mode have improved greatly. The edge detection looks fantastic, and the skin tones are quite true. Even selfies in low light are beautiful.

Let’s get to the video recording now. The phone 2 can record videos at a resolution of 4K@60 frames per second. Although a little overly contrasty, the 4K video quality is pretty nice overall. We really enjoyed how fluid the video was, and the whole experience is very similar to that of the very high-end phones of Samsung (Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Review) and Apple (Apple iPhone 14 Pro Review). 

Even the 4K 30FPS footage supports OIS and is quite fluid. Both the resolution and the sharpness settings exhibit good detail. All formats, including 1080p 30FPS, provide excellent stability. In this price range, this stability is arguably the best that we have experienced.

Additionally, there has been a modest improvement in battery capacity. This time, the 4,700mAh battery in the Nothing Phone 2 supports 45W rapid charging. However, an adaptor is not included in the box, so you will need to purchase it separately. 

With intensive usage, we were able to achieve more than 7 hours of continuous screen time on this phone thanks to its battery-efficient 8+ Gen 1 processor. The glyph lighting does not use a lot of battery power, contrary to what you may think. The phone takes around an hour to fully charge at a 45W charging rate.

Verdict

Price-wise, Nothing Phone 2 is significantly more expensive than Phone 1, which debuted at roughly Rs 32K. This one price starts at Rs 45,000. This is the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 device with the finest tweaking, in our opinion. Yes, it offers that good of a performance. Compared to the Nothing Phone 1, the Glyph offers a wide range of options. The following version or software update will undoubtedly improve it, giving you more possibilities. 

Despite the price hike, the optics still have a twin 50-megapixel camera configuration without a telephoto lens. In terms of details and sharpness levels, the primary sensor performs pretty well. However, the dynamic range doesn’t appear to be all that good. Although it is not the best camera available, it won’t let you down. 

Another significant advancement and unquestionably one of this device’s best features is the selfie camera. The Nothing Phone 2 also has excellent video recording capabilities.

Should we recommend this phone to you?

No, if you already own a Nothing Phone 1. Yes, if you’re searching for a smartphone with good performance, but only if the price had been a little bit lower—say, around 40K—could it have been a good value for money phone. But hey the festive season is right around the corner you can get it at a discount then, from any of the e-tailers. 

Nothing Phone 2 Pros

• Excellent videography
• New customisation options for the glyph interface
• No lags seen
• Brilliant display
• Good for gaming

Nothing Phone 2 Cons

• Contrasty images
• The price could have been better
• No charger or phone cover provided

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