Nothing Phone 2 Review: A Rebel With A Cause
The year is not over yet and the Nothing Phone 2 is already ‘the coolest phone’ of the year, if not the best. Not only that, the smartphone is also a trendsetter that has compelled brands to take note of its popular ‘glyph interface’.
The Nothing Phone 2 offers a wide variety of standard top-shelf features like a capable Snapdragon processor, a better than decent GPU for gaming enthusiasts, a bright OLED display with 1600 nits peak brightness, and last but not least, the see-through back panel with the LED lights. This time around they are not only thicker but they have also been made functional.
The Nothing OS provides a unique user experience by getting rid of colours and offering a uniform colour code for apps and widgets. It’s still a work in progress as not all apps get Nothing OS icons but users can simply download icon packs to fix this issue.
Carl Pei, Nothing’s founder and the actual hype machine behind the phone claimed to ‘make tech fun again’ when he came up with the brand back in 2020. Two years later, he stood his ground firmly as he launched the Nothing Phone 1. Now, in 2023, the London-based tech company has introduced the world to yet another product, the Nothing Phone 2.
The Phone 2 is quick, snappy and effortless. The transition between apps is seamless. My review unit had 12GB RAM and it allowed me to glide through apps like a hot knife through butter. The new and improved battery (4,700 mAh) along with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset delivers a power-efficient performance. The phone easily lasts through the day after moderate to heavy usage.
The display reminded me of my iPhone 13. It has a 6.7-inch LTPO OLED display, meaning that it offers better battery life. However, the Nothing Phone 2 offers 1,600 nits of peak brightness which makes it superior to iPhone 13's 1,200 nits brightness. Not going into too much detail here, but the LTPO technology essentially allows for dynamic refresh rates. Hence, higher refresh rates of up to 120Hz for gaming and a refresh rate as low as 1Hz for reading notes.
The Phone 1 offered 1,200 nits of brightness whereas the Phone 2 offers 1,600 nits. It's more than enough for clearly viewing the screen in the sunlight. The Phone 2 has thinner bezels too. What I would like to highlight here is the symmetry in the bezels. There is no chin whatsoever and all-in-all the symmetry is just soothing to look at.
As mentioned above, Phone 2 is very meticulously built. The aluminium frame is finely crafted, the edges are smooth and there is Gorilla Glass 5 at the front and at the back. Unlike the Phone 1, the back panel has a curved glass this time, making it easier to hold.
The Nothing Phone 2 has an IP54 rating, which per se is better than the Phone 1’s IP53 rating. In simpler words, you cannot do underwater photography or videography with the Phone 2. An IP54 rating only protects against splashes. However, it fails to meet industry standards for its price range. Smartphones like Google’s Pixel 7A are cheaper and offer IP67-rated dust and water protection.
The phone does not come with a power adapter which is a big let-down. Wired charging supports up to 45W charging while wireless charging supports 15W charging. Yes, it does allow wireless charging.
A huge criterion for flagship phones is to have a good camera and the Nothing Phone 2 tried its best to do so. The device comes with a –
The primary Phone 2 camera can record up to 4K 60 fps video while the front camera can record 1080p at 60 fps video. Users also have the option to choose between a 50-megapixel output and a 12-megapixel output.
The phone has HDR capabilities that give the iPhone 14 Pro a good run for their money. It's more impressive when you realise that the average user won’t really be able to tell the difference between a Phone 2 photograph and an iPhone photograph. Despite the amazing photos, it's clear as day that the camera in the Nothing Phone 2 is a work in progress.
The photographs take a bit longer to process than other flagships like the S23, the iPhone 14 or the Pizel 7a. The camera gets rid of highlights a bit more than required. This was a major pain point for me when I wanted to take photos that were time-sensitive or had a moving subject. Furthermore, the contrast and HDR need to be dialled in more efficiently if Nothing is serious about taking on the Samsungs and the Apples.
The Phone 2 delivers great performance in low-low, if not the best. The software is configured to increase the shutter speed for capturing moving objects even in low light. This offers a great deal of relief to people who want to take pictures of their children or pets. This is also a great feature for content creators who want to shoot moving objects regardless of the light.
Additionally, features like slow-motion video, time-lapse, panorama mode, portrait mode, macro mode and expert mode make for an interesting photography/videography experience.
The star of the show for most people hyped up about the Nothing Phone 2 is the glyph interface. Nothing has tried hard to stay true to its mission statement of making smartphone usage more intentional. This time, the glyphs have been given utilities like making them act as a countdown timer. There's an experimental feature that allows users to time their Uber ride arrival.
There is a feature that falls in the lines of the traditional Focus Mode. It allows users to set certain apps as essential. When those essential apps have a notification, the top right corner glyph will stay lit until the notification is addressed. It’s a good feature if you want the isolation but at the same time, you want to get those few important notifications from your partner or your boss.
Is it as effective as Android’s or Apple’s conventional focus modes? Well, it depends on user to user. While the Phone 2 allows for a few select apps to send notifications that will alert you via the glyph interface, conventional focus modes let you block or unblock apps altogether. One thing that I did feel was lacking was the inability to choose different LED light strips for different apps. Currently, users only have the option of using one LED strip (the top right one).
Despite these interesting features, I feel that Nothing needs to do more in order to make these features more practical. When was the last time you flipped your smartphone to see the back panel for anything? The answer is most definitely never. This might be more practical if we had the option of choosing different LED lights for different apps. If anything, the essential glyph just adds to my curiosity to check the phone more often.
The funny thing is that the glyph notification feature seemed to be more of a distraction than the regular way of looking at notifications. I found Nothing's Always On Display feature more effective in reducing screentime. Users can choose widgets to place on the lock screen and use them without actually unlocking their phone. Furthermore, we live in the era of smartwatches. They already allow us to check notifications right on our wrists.
This phone is not for the spec sheet geeks and that is for sure. It is a phone that is made for risk-takers, pathfinders, for people who want a break from the monotonous barrage of smartphones that are available in the market. It is also for people who want a flagship device on their palm but do not want to pay the flagship price.
The Phone 2 offers a holistic smartphone experience. Nothing is tactfully pushing for a hardware-first approach as opposed to the usual screen-first approach. It will definitely not be easy for people to switch so quickly to using glyphs instead of their screens to track orders and cabs. However, we cannot deny that it is a great idea and a bold one too.
To be honest, this whole ‘revolutionising the smartphone experience’ mission would have been a hassle if the phone itself was not that great. Which is not at all the case. The Nothing Phone 2 is a powerful machine packaged in a flagship gift wrap. If uniqueness is what you’re after, go for this phone.
The only obstacle that lies ahead for the Phone 2 is the price. Given the specs of the smartphone, the price tag of INR 55,000 (top variant) seems a bit high. Given that the majority of Indian consumers are highly budget-sensitive, it'll be difficult for Nothing to establish itself at this price point.
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