Hands-On with Nothing Phone (2): Nameless yet Impressively Impactful

The Nothing Phone (2) emerges as a uniquely distinctive device with the Glyph design, accompanied by notable upgrades in battery, camera, and user interface compared to its predecessor, aiming to provide a more comprehensive user experience.

If you're weary of the uniform smartphone designs flooding the market, then join Mytour in exploring the Nothing Phone (2), a product daring to shatter many design norms prevailing in today's smartphone landscape!

The Nothing Phone (2) refines the familiar design, bringing substantial improvements. The intricate Glyph interface is more complex, with LED lights segmented into more sections. With larger overall dimensions - 162.1 x 76.4 x 8.6 mm and weighing 201 grams, the device delivers a superior user experience.

The rear panel remains made of transparent glass, though the exact glass type is yet to be disclosed. The back Glyph is complemented by black or white plastic, cables, or film to conceal internal components and contribute to the phone's unique design.

The gently curved rear glass provides a comfortable grip, housing dual 50MP cameras encircled by a protruding metal ring, creating a distinctive look, albeit potentially causing slight wobbling on flat surfaces. Adjacent to the cameras are the LED flash, color temperature sensor, and a small microphone.

The middle frame is crafted from recycled aluminum, featuring a matte surface with excellent grip.

Utilizing an in-display optical fingerprint sensor, the Nothing Phone (2) is lauded for its sensitivity and accuracy.

The phone incorporates separate volume and power buttons, conveniently placed on the left and right sides for easy access. The volume buttons are on the left edge, while the power button is on the right, providing a comfortable and tactile button press.

The top edge remains unoccupied, featuring only a small noise-canceling microphone.

Examining the bottom, you'll find the SIM tray, primary microphone, USB-C port, and bottom-firing speaker.

The Nothing Phone (2) sports a larger 6.7-inch display compared to its predecessor, maintaining a 20:9 aspect ratio and a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. Despite a slightly reduced resolution, the display offers sharp image quality with a pixel density of around 393 ppi.

Similar to the Nothing Phone (1), the Nothing Phone (2) features a 10-bit display supporting HDR10+. The HDR10+ support is enhanced, with a maximum brightness increased to 1600 nits, suitable for outdoor usage in bright sunlight.

The screen boasts a 120Hz refresh rate and a 240Hz touch sampling rate. Leveraging LTPO technology, the device can dynamically adjust the refresh rate from 1Hz to 120Hz for optimal energy efficiency.

Housing a 4700mAh battery, slightly larger than the Phone (1)'s 4500mAh capacity, the Nothing Phone (2) promises improved battery life with its efficient display and chipset.

Supporting 45W fast charging, the phone achieves a full charge in just 55 minutes. While the charging adapter isn't included in the box, any PPS PD charger can serve as a suitable replacement.

It also features 15W wireless charging and the capability of reverse wireless charging for other devices on its rear surface. Activate the Battery Share feature in the battery settings, and the Glyph LED lights will display visually appealing notifications.

The Nothing Phone (2) boasts a bottom speaker and an enhanced earpiece, forming a dual stereo speaker configuration. While some mid-range phones employ this structure, there may be a slight volume balance discrepancy.

The device delivers clear and loud audio, with initial feedback on sound quality being positive. Notably, akin to the Nothing Phone (1), the Nothing Phone (2) omits the 3.5mm audio jack.

Running on the Nothing OS 2.0 operating system, a refined iteration of Android 13, Nothing pledges three years of Android updates and four years of bi-monthly security patches.

The phone provides a Pixel-like experience with a familiar user interface, apps, and settings reminiscent of Google's OS. Additionally, Nothing OS 2.0 introduces custom utilities and the distinct Nothing typography.

The Nothing Phone (2) supports the Always-on Display feature, functioning similarly to the latest Apple version with a blurred wallpaper and a monochrome clock and widgets on the lock screen.

A noteworthy feature of Nothing OS is the Glyph Interface, enabling control of the rear LED lights. This feature can be deactivated or configured according to your preferences. The Glyph menu offers various options, including brightness, ringtone, notifications, switching to Glyph, scheduling Glyph, creating custom Glyph ringtones, and visual feedback for volume, battery level, Google Assistant, and third-party apps.

The device comes with ten custom ringtones for calls and ten notification sounds with individual LED effects. Users can also add or create custom ringtones and LED effects. The Glyph LED lights can indicate charging status and flash when using the Google Assistant wake word.

The Glyph process currently collaborates with Uber, with anticipation of expanded app support in the future. The Glyph LED lights can also serve as a fill light when recording videos or taking portraits. The device's Flip to Glyph feature enables activating the Glyph interface and muting sounds by flipping the phone.

The Nothing Phone (2) features dual rear cameras, comprising a 50MP main wide-angle camera and a 50MP ultra-wide camera with macro capability. The phone also integrates a diverse LED system to assist in low-light photography, a video recording indicator, and three microphones. On the front, there's a Quad-Bayer 32MP selfie camera.

Improvements are evident in both the software and hardware of the Nothing Phone (2) camera. With an 18-bit ISP and advanced algorithms, the main 50MP camera captures 4000 times more image data than the Phone (1). The main 50MP camera utilizes the Sony IMX890 sensor, measuring 1/1.56'', with an f/1.88 lens featuring optical stabilization and PDAF support. Refer to the images below for reference.

The ultra-wide camera employs the Samsung JN1 50MP sensor with Tetracell color technology. The 14mm f/2.2 lens is equipped with automatic distortion correction for high-quality wide-angle shots.

A fascinating aspect of the ultra-wide camera is its automatic focusing ability, allowing it to capture images from a mere 4cm distance, effectively doubling as a powerful macro lens.

The exact sensor manufacturer for the Nothing Phone (2)'s front camera is currently undisclosed. Speculations suggest it could be the Sony IMX615 32MP or Samsung S5KJD1 32MP sensor, paired with a fixed focal length 19mm f/2.45 lens. This selfie camera excels in sharpness, dynamic range, and brightness measurement.

In summary, the Nothing Phone (2) maintains its unique design, injecting a breath of fresh air into the increasingly saturated smartphone market. With manufacturer optimizations and upgrades, the phone is poised to meet user demands for a comfortable grip, content consumption, extended battery life, and camera performance.

Explore some images of the Nothing Phone (2):