Nothing is a company that is somewhat different; they’re not only looking to make the newest and greatest gadget or smartphone. They attempt to produce items that are lovely, straightforward, and fun – always seeking a new era of innovation
Nothing Phone (1) was released last year, and a successor is very much anticipated. The hype surrounding its successor was enormous so let’s see if the expectations are justified.
For the unboxing and first impression article of the phone, click here. With that out of the way, let us move forward with the full review!
A Bolder Display
For its display, it is nothing sort of impressive – no pun intended. It is a 6.7-inch AMOLED panel with a FHD+ resolution (2142 x 1080) and a 120Hz refresh rate. It also supports HDR10+ and has a peak brightness of 1600 nits. This means that the display is very sharp, clear, and vibrant, and it can also handle bright outdoor conditions very well.
In addition, the Nothing Phone (2) display has a number of other features that make it a great choice for everyday use. For example, it has a dynamic refresh rate, which means that it can adjust the refresh rate depending on the content that is being displayed. This helps to save battery life when you are not using the phone at full brightness.
Camera Experience
The Nothing Phone 2 has a dual-camera system on the back, consisting of a 50MP main sensor and a 12MP ultrawide sensor. The main sensor has a 1/1.56″ sensor size and an f/1.8 aperture, while the ultrawide sensor has a 1/2.55″ sensor size and an f/2.2 aperture. Both sensors have optical image stabilization (OIS).
The Nothing Phone (2) delivers outstanding photos in the majority of circumstances. The colors are fantastic, and the visuals are sharp and detailed. In selfies, the bokeh effect and contrast are both excellent.
We are honestly quite surprised with the results, Nothing’s camera software certainly did a good job in processing the photos.
Video quality test
The video quality is great – they are of high contrast, good dynamic range, and faithful color presentation. The detail is good even if not as impressive as on other phones, probably because the always-on EIS took a minor toll. There is no noise and no over sharpening.
On the other hand, the selfie camera is capable of capturing 1080p videos that are very well stabilized, detailed enough, with good dynamic range, high contrast, and accurate colors.
Powerhouse Performance (Gaming + Battery)
The Nothing Phone 2 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor. As we all know, this is one of the most powerful processors on the market. It is based on the ARMv9 architecture and it has a octa-core CPU with one Cortex-X2 core clocked at up to 3.19 GHz, three Cortex-A710 cores clocked at up to 2.75 GHz, and four Cortex-A510 cores clocked at up to 1.8 GHz. It also has an Adreno 730 GPU.
The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is a very powerful processor, and it is capable of handling even the most demanding tasks. It is also very efficient, so it will not drain your battery too quickly.
Gaming
With a pretty impressive hardware, it is expected that the Nothing Phone (2)’s gaming performance would be pretty great but, there is a little problem. The phone is not capable gaming above 60 fps. As seen with the gameplay test above, Mobile Legends is running at highest graphics possible but the refresh rate is only in high, CODm only allows ultra refresh rate in low graphics settings, and Genshin Impact is self-explanatory.
This is very well be a software issue. Nothing will surely fix this in no time however, with a slew of patches and updates.
| Game | Graphics Quality | Refresh Rate |
| Mobile Legends: Bang Bang | Ultra | High(60 FPS) |
| Call of Duty: Mobile | Low | Ultra(120 FPS) |
| Genshin Impact | Highest | 60 FPS |
Battery
The Nothing Phone 2 has a 4700mAh battery, which is slightly larger than the 4500mAh battery found in the Nothing Phone (1). This larger battery should improve battery life, especially when combined with the phone’s support for 45W fast charging. The phone can be fully charged in about an hour, and it also supports wireless charging and reverse wireless charging.
User Interface
The user interface of the Nothing Phone 2 is called Nothing OS 2. It is a custom Android skin that is based on Android 13. Nothing OS 2 is designed to be simple, clean, and easy to use. It uses a light color scheme and a minimalist design. There are some bugs however, such as notifications being missed or delayed, and glitches but it isn’t really that much of an issue.
One of the most unique features of Nothing OS is the Glyph Interface. This is a system of LED lights that are located on the back of the phone.
At present, the Glyph Interface can be used primarily for notifications and alerts. The Glyph Menu contains Brightness, Ringtones, Notifications, Flip to Glyph, Glyph Timer, Composer shortcut for custom Glyph ringtones, and Visual Feedback for Volume control, Charging meter, Google Assistance and Third Party apps.
What we like:
- Top-of-the-line Snapdragon processor
- Robust phone design
- Great camera performance in most conditions
- The glyph interface is pretty cool
- 4 year software support
What we don’t like:
- Doesn’t support high frame rate gaming
- Not water resistant
- No charger in the box
- The Nothing OS 2.0 could need more improvements
Final Remarks
Nothing Phone (2) is a great successor and an enticing offer in a market that is somewhat saturated. The Phone (2) delivers a smart selection of features with a pinch of quality, and innovation. The Glyph UI is also pretty impressive and along with plenty of improvements, the Nothing Phone (2) doesn’t disappoint.
