Introducing the Nothing Phone 2, the newest addition to the company’s lineup of value flagship smartphones. With its sleek design, impressive performance, and affordability, it seeks to set a new standard for budget-friendly devices. This eagerly awaited smartphone showcases a striking semi-transparent look and boasts powerful specifications. In our review of the Nothing Phone 2, we delve into its design principles, meticulously assessing its construction and analyzing its hardware process. We investigate its performance, camera quality, battery longevity, and software interface, comparing it to other contenders in the budget and mid-range categories.

Design and Build Quality

The Nothing Phone 2 boasts a premium design and build quality that sets it apart from other budget smartphones. 

Materials and Construction

The Nothing Phone 2 boasts a sleek and modern look, sporting a glass front (Corning Gorilla Glass) and a cool transparent back that lets you peek at what’s inside. Its mid-frame is crafted from 100% recycled aluminum, ensuring it’s both strong and eco-friendly. Plus, the phone incorporates recycled materials like tin, copper, and steel, showing its dedication to sustainability. With an IP54 rating, it can handle splashes and light rain, though it’s not quite up to the level of more premium devices with higher IP ratings.

Dimensions and Weight

Measuring at 162.1 x 76.4 x 8.6 mm (6.38 x 3.01 x 0.34 in) and weighing in at 201.2 g (7.09 oz), the Nothing Phone 2 exhibits a slight increase in thickness and weight compared to its previous model. However, this adjustment doesn’t compromise its usability. In fact, the device still offers a comfortable grip, owing to its rounded edges and evenly distributed weight, making it easy to hold for extended periods without causing strain on your hand.

Display

The Nothing Phone 2 showcases a generous 6.7-inch LTPO AMOLED display, boasting a resolution of 2412 x 1080 pixels (394 ppi density) and a sleek 20:9 aspect ratio. This display is a feast for the eyes, supporting both HDR10+ and SGS Low Blue Light technologies, ensuring vivid colors and captivating visuals. What’s more, its LTPO technology enables an adaptive refresh rate ranging from 1Hz to 120Hz, intelligently adjusting to conserve battery power without sacrificing smoothness.

Brightness is not an issue with this display, as it offers outstanding levels: a remarkable outdoor full screen brightness of 1000 nits and an HDR peak pixel brightness of 1600 nits. These features guarantee excellent visibility even under direct sunlight, enhancing your HDR viewing experience. Adding to its allure, the display boasts a 10-bit color depth, providing a wide spectrum of colors and seamless gradients.

The Nothing Phone 2 doesn’t compromise on responsiveness either, featuring a swift 240Hz touch sampling rate and a haptic touch motor, delivering an immersive user experience that feels just right. Convenience and functionality are further enhanced by an in-display fingerprint sensor, as well as front and rear ambient light sensors, ensuring seamless interaction and ease of use.

Performance and Software

The Nothing Phone 2 packs a powerful punch with its top-tier hardware and software optimization, delivering a smooth and efficient performance across various tasks.

Processor and RAM

Powering the Nothing Phone 2 is the state-of-the-art Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, engineered on a cutting-edge 4nm TSMC process. This octa-core powerhouse boasts a high-performance Cortex-X2 core clocked at 3.0GHz, along with three Cortex-A710 cores ticking at 2.5GHz, and four Cortex-A510 cores running at 1.8GHz. Coupled with the Adreno 730 GPU and a 2nd Gen HTP V69 4xHVX processor, this chipset delivers unparalleled performance.

You won’t be short on memory either, as the device offers configurations with up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM, ensuring smooth multitasking and flawless app operation.

Benchmark results speak volumes about the Nothing Phone 2’s capabilities, with an impressive AnTuTu overall score of 1,195,555, placing it 4th among similarly priced smartphones. Its CPU score of 301,914 ranks 3rd, while the GPU score of 457,970 secures a 4th position within the same category. Moreover, in the Geekbench tests, the device achieves a commendable single-core score of 1,735 and a multi-core score of 4,589, both placing it 3rd among its competitors.

Storage Options

The Nothing Phone 2 provides plentiful storage choices, ranging from 128GB to 512GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage across its variants. Although it doesn’t support expandable storage, the ample built-in capacity should meet the needs of most users.

Operating System and UI

Running on the latest Android 13 operating system, the Nothing Phone 2 introduces Nothing OS 2.0, a refreshingly simple and customizable user interface. Inspired by the phone’s iconic hardware design, Nothing OS 2.0 emphasizes functional customization, allowing users to tailor their smartphone experience to their preferences. One of the standout features of Nothing OS 2.0 is the ability to access information from various apps directly from the home screen and lock screen using widgets. Users can create widgets for quick settings, weather updates, and even the Nothing X app, eliminating the need to unlock the phone for certain tasks.

App Experience

The Nothing Phone 2 ensures a smooth app experience, leveraging its robust hardware and optimized software. Benchmark tests highlight the device’s remarkable performance, with users noting minimal lag even during multitasking and intensive gaming sessions. Nothing OS 2.0 introduces a redesigned home and lock screen interface, enabling users to access apps effortlessly. Customization features allow adjustments to app labels, grid layout, widget size, and color themes, empowering users to personalize their usage. Moreover, the software introduces innovative folder layouts and illustrated covers, further enhancing the app experience.

Central to this user-friendly experience is Nothing OS 2.0, a feature-rich software layer that not only complements the powerful hardware but also introduces a fresh approach to interface design. With an emphasis on simplicity and accessibility, Nothing OS 2.0 reimagines the home and lock screen experience, providing users with intuitive pathways to their favorite applications without unnecessary distractions.

But the allure of Nothing OS 2.0 doesn’t end there. Users are afforded a wealth of customization options, empowering them to tailor their device to suit their unique preferences. From adjusting app labels and fine-tuning grid layouts to resizing widgets and selecting vibrant color themes, the level of personalization is truly extensive. Moreover, the software’s innovative folder layouts and visually appealing illustrated covers add an extra layer of charm, elevating the overall user experience to new heights.

Camera Capabilities

 Rear Camera Setup:

The Nothing Phone (2) boasts a dual rear camera system, comprising a 50MP wide-angle primary camera and a 50MP ultrawide secondary camera with macro capabilities. The primary camera utilizes the 50MP Sony IMX890 1/1.56″ sensor with 1.0μm pixels, paired with a 23mm f/1.88 optically stabilized lens and PDAF support. By default, it captures 12.5MP images. The ultrawide camera features a 50MP Samsung JN1 sensor with Tetracell color filter, sized at 1/2.76″ with 0.64μm pixels. It sports a 14mm f/2.2 lens with automatic distortion correction and PDAF, facilitating macro photography as close as 4cm.

Both cameras are equipped with an automatic Night Mode, denoted by a moon icon in the viewfinder, typically employing 1-2 second exposure times. The rear camera setup further incorporates various lighting aids for low-light conditions, a video capture indicator, and three microphones.

Front-Facing Camera

The front-facing camera of the Nothing Phone (2) is equipped with either a 32MP Sony IMX615 or a 32MP Samsung S5KJD1 sensor featuring a Quad-Bayer color filter. It is combined with a wide-angle 19mm f/2.45 lens with fixed focus. Despite its high resolution, closely examining the photos may reveal compromises in quality attributable to the Quad-Bayer filter.

Camera Features and Modes

The default Camera app on the Nothing Phone (2) closely resembles those found on recent Realme and OnePlus smartphones, featuring accessible modes via swiping on the viewfinder or scrolling below. Additional modes can be found under the “More” sub-menu. The app provides various settings such as resolution (12MP/50MP), aspect ratio, Live Photo, and advanced settings, including flash and timer options.

Moreover, an Expert mode is available, granting users manual control over settings like shutter speed (up to 30s for the main camera and 20s for the ultrawide) and RAW capture for both cameras. While Night Mode can also be utilized for video recording, it’s limited to 1080p at 30fps on the main camera. Users have the option to choose between h.264 and h.265 codecs, with electronic stabilization consistently enabled across all resolutions and frame rates.

Image Quality Assessment

– The primary camera captures impressive 12.5MP images with ample detail, minimal noise, and suitable sharpness. Contrast is notably high, while the dynamic range, though good, isn’t exceptionally wide. Color rendition tends to be accurate, occasionally leaning towards slight saturation compared to reality.

– The 2x Super High Res zoom performs admirably, extracting from the 50MP output to deliver detailed and sharp images, albeit with some artificiality in complex areas. The 50MP output itself offers average detail, not significantly superior to 2x zoomed images.

– Portrait mode, relying solely on AI without a depth sensor, demonstrates decent subject separation for simple hairstyles but may struggle with complexity. Subjects are well-exposed, detailed, and noise-free, with pleasingly blurred backgrounds and HDR application where needed.

– Ultrawide photos at 12.5MP boast high quality, corrected corners, good detail, low noise, high contrast, and color rendition akin to the primary camera. However, per-pixel sharpness suffers due to the small 50MP sensor size. Autofocus and a 4cm minimum focusing distance enable superb macro shots with excellent detail, sharpness, contrast, dynamic range, and color rendition.

– 32MP selfies exhibit good contrast, wide dynamic range, accurate colors, and minimal noise. Though detail and sharpness may not meet expectations for the resolution, the “debayering” algorithm produces impressive results on various displays and social networks.

– Automatic Night Mode across all three cameras delivers remarkable low-light performance, yielding detailed, sharp images with excellent exposure, color rendition, noise reduction, and wide dynamic range, minimally affecting highlights. Disabling Night Mode results in noisier, less detailed images with a slight dynamic range decrease. The 2x zoom doesn’t trigger Night Mode but captures usable photos with good color saturation, exposure, and dynamic range via Super Res Zoom.

– The Nothing Phone (2) records videos up to 4K at 60fps on main and ultrawide cameras, with the selfie camera capped at 1080p/30fps. Generous bit rates are offered, with 4K footage at 50Mbps and 1080p/30fps at 25Mbps (h.264), along with stereo audio at 96Kbps.

– Main camera 4K videos exhibit high contrast, good dynamic range, faithful colors, and decent detail, although EIS can slightly impact sharpness. 2x zoomed videos appear soft and low in detail, being a crop and upscale from regular 4K output. Low-light 4K videos are acceptable, with sufficient detail, contrast, dynamic range, and colors, albeit with visible noise. Night Mode for video, limited to 1080p at 30fps, offers outstanding exposure, dynamic range, colors, detail, and noise control.

– Ultrawide camera records excellent 4K videos in daylight, with plenty of detail, balanced sharpness, great contrast, dynamic range, and accurate colors. At night, gentle noise reduction helps produce sharp, detailed, and colorful 4K videos, though slightly underexposed. Electronic stabilization is always active but may exhibit some jello effect.

– Selfie camera records pleasing 1080p videos with good stabilization, detail, dynamic range, contrast, and color accuracy.

Battery Life and Charging

Battery Life

The Nothing Phone (2) boasts an impressive battery life, thanks to its 4,700mAh battery capacity. This slightly larger battery, combined with the phone’s efficient display and chipset, contributes to its outstanding endurance.

Battery Capacity

With a 4,700mAh battery, the Nothing Phone (2) offers an improvement over its predecessor, the Phone (1), which had a 4,500mAh battery. This increased capacity, coupled with hardware optimizations, translates into excellent battery life across various usage scenarios.

Charging Speeds

The Nothing Phone (2) supports 45W fast wired charging, a significant upgrade from the 33W charging on the Phone (1). While the device does not include a charger in the box, users can utilize any USB-C Power Delivery (PD) or Programmable Power Supply (PPS) charger.

Testing with a compatible 45W UGREEN charger revealed impressive charging speeds. A 5-minute charge replenished 11% of the battery, while a 15-minute charge provided 32% of charge. At the 30-minute mark, the battery reached 58% charge. Nothing claims a full charge in 55 minutes with a compatible adapter, and tests closely aligned with this claim, showing 96% charge in 55 minutes and a full charge in 64 minutes.

Additionally, the Nothing Phone (2) supports 15W wireless charging and can wirelessly reverse charge other devices when the Battery Share feature is enabled. This feature is accompanied by a cool Glyph indicator for visual feedback.

Power Optimization Features

 The Nothing Phone (2) incorporates several power optimization features to enhance battery life further. One notable feature is the LTPO (Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide) AMOLED display, which can dynamically adjust its refresh rate between 1Hz and 120Hz based on the content being displayed. This adaptive refresh rate technology helps conserve power when the phone is not in active use, contributing to extended battery life.

Furthermore, the device exhibits low discharge currents across various use cases, such as streaming videos, gaming, and using GPS navigation. This optimization ensures efficient power consumption and contributes to the phone’s impressive battery life in these scenarios.

Weaknesses and Improvements

While excelling in many areas, the Nothing Phone (2) has weaknesses. For instance, its autonomy when listening to music or using the camera outdoors is relatively poor. Additionally, the standby power consumption with the screen off could be improved, as the device experiences a 1% battery drain approximately every 3 hours.

Conclusion

• In today’s competitive smartphone market, the Nothing Phone 2 emerges as a noteworthy contender within the budget-friendly segment, boasting a distinct design ethos and impressive hardware process.
• Its semi-transparent aesthetic and utilization of recycled materials underscore a commendable commitment to sustainability.
• Powered by the latest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset and offering an optimized software experience, the device delivers robust performance across various tasks.
• While the Nothing Phone 2 shines in several areas, including its captivating design, seamless performance, and notable camera capabilities, it does exhibit some room for enhancement, such as limited water resistance and average selfie camera quality.
• Nevertheless, it’s attractive pricing and compelling features position it as a compelling choice for consumers seeking value without sacrificing style and functionality.

Image Credits :The images used in this review are sourced from the official Nothing Website https://in.nothing.tech/pages/phone-2 . All rights reserved to their respective owners.

Do checkout review of Google Pixel 8 Pro : https://reviewandratings.com/review-of-google-pixel-8-pro