Nothing Phone 2 hands-on: Designed for enthusiasts, priced for everyone
Nothing Phone 2 hands-on: Designed for enthusiasts, priced for everyone
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I spent a weekend with the $599 Nothing Phone 2, and it’s scary good
June Wan/ZDNET
Nothing has made quite a name for itself since its 2021 debut, launching a catalog of consumer products and just recently raising $96 million for further expansion. But no business decision may be more significant than what the company has done today.
Nothing is launching its first smartphone in the U.S., a move that’s been on everyone’s mind since the company was founded by Carl Pei, who previously led phone maker OnePlus to domestic (and global) success. It’s also a move that’s historically proven difficult for newer manufacturers outside of the country.
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But through a series of carrier network certifications, onboarding a U.S.-based communications team, and passing all the barriers in between, Carl Pei and Nothing are now positioned to dethrone market leaders, Apple, Samsung, and Google. Or, put a dent, to start. OnePlus, the company Pei once helped build, is also on the hit list.
Bearing the honor is the Nothing Phone 2, which is both the brand’s latest flagship phone and the device that my SIM card has been living in over the past weekend. While I can’t talk about my experience with the Phone 2’s cameras and battery life just yet, I can share my impressions of the new hardware, including the improved Glyph Interface, and Nothing OS 2.0 software — which, trust me, is more than enough substance to get you excited for the latest challenger brand.
Loved the Phone 1’s design? Good news…
From the unboxing experience to the hand feel, the Nothing Phone 2 is everything you’d expect the successor of the Phone 1 to be. It’s a similarly large 6.7-inch slab with rounded corners, flat edges, a flat display, and an intricate layout of LED strips underneath the transparent back cover.
Review: Nothing Phone 1: You ain’t seen Nothing yet
This time around, the display ramps up to 1,600 nits of peak brightness, which I’ve found very reliable for outdoor use and navigation when docked in my car. The 120Hz OLED panel gets impressively bright and remarkably dim when you need it to be, which is not something I can say about all modern-day phones. I often find adaptive brightness settings to be too aggressive or delayed, but the ambient sensor on the Phone 2 is both reactive and tunes things just right.
The Nothing Phone 2 (left) and Nothing Phone 1 (right)
June Wan/ZDNET
Nothing tells me that retaining most of Phone 1’s design was intentional, valuing brand identity over excessive innovation. That unfortunately means that, like the Phone 1, the Phone 2 is by no means a compact phone, let alone a mid-sized one. I’ve found myself babying the device more than most testers due to how slippery the smooth sides are. And you’ll want to think twice before setting the phone down on glossier surfaces.
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Babying the device also implies keeping the device free of significant water and dust exposure. The Phone 2 is rated IP54, meaning it can handle splashes and light drips, but nothing more. Then again, with all the pulsing light beams on the back of the phone, taking it out for a swim would not be the brightest decision.
Better, smarter Glyphs
The Glyph Interface, which is now assembled with 33 LEDs compared to last year’s 12, is the Nothing Phone’s killer feature, and I don’t see the company moving away from it any time soon. For the unacquainted, the lights on the back of the Phone 2 glow depending on the notifications you receive, from phone calls to text messages. It also flexes as a charging status indicator and fill light for photos and videos.
The bottommost arrangement (exclamation mark design) serves as a battery and voice assistant indicator.
June Wan/ZDNET
This year’s version sees key improvements that make the Glyph Interface even more functional. For example, you can now customize your own Glyph patterns via Glyph Composer, where Teenage Engineering’s influence is most prevalent. With more LEDs on the back, one of the longer strands of light serves as a progress bar for timers and volume levels. Personally, I found the more granular lighting system to be the perfect Pomodoro timer, a productivity technique that encourages incremental breaks every 25 minutes.
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Nothing has opened up its Glyph system to app developers so that the progress bar effect can also represent incoming Uber rides and other services. It’s very neat, whether you see yourself using it or not.
Ultimately, my perception of the Glyph Interface remains neutral. I love that I can get a sense of what’s happening without flipping to my phone screen, but that also requires me to pay attention to what pattern is pulsating on the back, which I often find myself missing by the time I glance over. I’m also used to docking my phones on a wireless charger when I’m home, so the always-on display is more practical during those times.
Software is king
Over the past few years, Android manufacturers have slowly but surely retreated from heavily-skinned user interfaces to more neutral appearances, giving up uniqueness for broader appeal. With Nothing OS 2.0 (layered over Android 13), the company strikes the perfect balance of customizability and burdenlessness. I’d go as far as to say that this is my new favorite approach to Android.
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For one, most software elements like settings menus and quick panel toggles remind me of Google’s Pixel phones, and bloatware is pretty much non-existent. Where Nothing really flexes its software muscles is through lock screen and home screen customizations.
This dark-themed home screen with Nothing app icons was achieved without any third-party services.
June Wan/ZDNET
See, many Android enthusiasts will live and die by third-party widget services like KWGT and Overdrop. It’s basically second nature to download such apps, along with a home launcher like Nova, when setting up a new Android phone. With Nothing OS 2.0, I never felt the urge to do the same.
The native widgets for weather, clock, and quick settings are surprisingly adequate, the ability to revisualize app folders makes them easier to discern, and the latest Nothing Icon Pack ties everything together with both light and dark color schemes.
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The most impressive thing to me is how virtually every app that I downloaded, including the more niche ones, was automatically treated with Nothing’s monochromatic look and feel.
Bottom line (for now)
The Phone 2 will officially go on sale on Friday, July 17, starting at $599 for the 8GB of RAM and 128GB variant, and going up to $799 for the 12GB of RAM and 512GB configuration. No matter which end of that spectrum you look at, the device is clearly priced to compete, and I’m curious to see how the market reacts.
For camera samples, battery stats, and how well the Phone 2 handles day-to-day tasks with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, stay tuned for ZDNET’s full review coming soon.
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