The Nothing Phone 2 is making headlines just like the Phone 1 did a year ago. While the company still has a long way to go before it can reach the scale of some of its rivals, there’s no denying that its products are hard to ignore. The naming of Phone 2 makes it seem as though it should succeed the Phone 1, but it’s really meant to expand Nothing’s smartphone lineup, and you’ll see why later in this review. We’ve gone over some of the aspects of Phone 2 in our first impressions article, and now after more than a week of using it and receiving a software update, it’s time to see if it’s indeed something.
Nothing Phone 2 price in India
The Nothing Phone 1 was a mid-range smartphone and it launched with an appropriate pricing. The Nothing Phone 2 is positioned more as a ‘value flagship’ and is priced higher. It starts at Rs. 44,999 in India for 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, followed by a Rs. 49,999 variant with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. There’s a third variant this time with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, priced at Rs. 54,999. It’s rare to see this much storage outside of premium flagships which tend to cost over a lakh rupees, with the only other exception being the Realme Narzo 60 Pro 5G which has a 1TB storage variant for Rs. 30,000.
The Nothing Phone 2 comes in just two colors, white and a dark grey (instead of black).
Nothing Phone 2 design
I’ve been using the 512GB variant of the Nothing Phone 2 in dark grey, which I think looks just as nice as the black variant of Phone 1. The Phone 2 is a bit thicker (8.6mm) and heavier (201.2g) than Phone 1 but feels every bit as premium. In fact, it’s roughly the same dimensions as an iPhone 13 Pro Max (Review), only lighter. This does make it a bit challenging to use with one hand, especially when compared to the Phone 1, but you can get used to it.
The glass back of the Nothing Phone 2 features rounded edges which make it feels a bit nicer to hold. All the components and wiring beneath the transparent back are neatly hidden away by panels, with only a few Torx screws visible. Pulling off a transparent body isn’t easy, and once again Nothing has outdone itself.
Call it a gimmick or utility, but the Glyph light notification system is still a big selling point for the Nothing Phone 2. This time, some of the longer strips (around the camera and wireless charging coil) have been broken up into smaller segments. The LED lights themselves are a crisper white, compared to the slightly off-white LEDs on the Phone 1. Nothing has kept the red recording LED light too, except that it’s a horizontal bar instead of a dot.
The Nothing Phone 2 features a 120Hz LTPO AMOLED display
The display of the Nothing Phone 2 has similar specs as that of the Phone 1, apart from a few notable upgrades. It’s larger now at 6.7 inches and features an LTPO AMOLED panel which can vary the refresh rate from 1Hz to 120Hz, which in theory, should help squeeze out better battery life. The outdoor screen brightness is now 1,000 nits and in HDR video playback, it can reach up to 1,600 nits (1,200 nits on Phone 1). The display also has a centered cutout for the selfie camera and the bezels around it are slightly narrower compared to the Phone 1.
While there are many phones in this segment that look and feel premium, the Nothing Phone 2 stands out simply because it feels like an iPhone. This is true for the Phone 1 as well, and I think it’s an intentional design decision. Nothing hasn’t changed the design of the Phone 2 a lot and that does make sense, so there’s no mistaking this for any other smartphone. The Phone 2 also does not ship with a charger in the box, but you do get a fancy-looking USB cable with transparent moulding near the Type-C connectors.
Nothing Phone 2 specifications and software
The biggest change in the Nothing Phone 2 is the SoC. It’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 which is a big upgrade from the mid-range Snapdragon 778G+ in the Phone 1. The 8+ Gen 1 is a flagship SoC which was released as a mid-cycle refresh in 2022 with improved power efficiency and performance. We’ve had a lot of phones launch this year with this SoC, the most affordable currently being the iQoo Neo 7 Pro 5G.
The Nothing Phone 2 has slightly better water ingress protection so it has earned an IP54 rating, but it’s still behind other phones in even lower price segments. Thanks to the larger dimensions, there’s now a 4,700mAh battery with support for quicker 45W fast charging. The phone still supports 15W Qi wireless charging and 5W reverse wireless charging. The Phone 2 supports a tonne of 5G bands, along with dual-band Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, and NFC.
What really differentiates Nothing’s smartphones is
