The aim of the Nothing phone (1) was to make tech interesting again and it launched following months of hype. Following in the footsteps of OnePlus, Nothing drip-fed information and built interest in its brand, which was essential given the extremely competitive market it launched its first smartphone – the Nothing phone (1) – into.
The Nothing phone (1) and its unique Glyph Interface is old news now though, with all the latest talk surrounding its successor instead. Here’s everything we have heard so far about the Nothing phone (2) including what has been confirmed so far, what the rumours are saying and when we expect it to appear
Nothing / Pocket-lint
Nothing Phone (1)
If you don’t want to wait for the Nothing phone (2) to come out, the Nothing phone (1) has a great display, fantastic build quality and there’s the Glyph Interface on the back which makes for a slightly different experience.
Nothing phone (2) release date and price
- Later in 2023
The Nothing phone (1) launched in July 2022 so if Nothing is planning on a yearly update cycle an educated guess would assume the Nothing phone (2) would appear around July 2023.
We know the Nothing phone (2) is coming as Carl Pei confirmed its existence at the beginning of 2023, and Pei also said it would be coming to the US.
Rumours have claimed the Nothing phone (2) will arrive in Q3 of 2023, though so far, there have been no concrete date rumours.
When it comes to price, the Nothing phone (1) costs £399 in the UK – it’s not available in the US as we mentioned. It’s possible the Nothing phone (2) could see a bump in that price point, especially given it will run on flagship hardware, but for now, we would hope to see it remain within that mid-range price bracket.
Nothing phone (2) design
- Glyph Interface?
- Aluminium frame
- IP53 at least
For now, there haven’t been a great deal of rumours surrounding the design of the Nothing phone (2), though we expect this to change within the next couple of months. If the first Nothing phone was anything to go by, the company itself will leak a number of teases and details for us to analyse in the run-up to the launch.
Whether the Nothing phone (2) will retain the transparent rear with the Glyph Interface remains to be seen, though we would expect some form of it and perhaps even an expansion of its functionality.
Elsewhere, we would expect at least an IP53 water and dust resistance, like the Nothing phone (1), as well as an aluminium frame. It’s possible the design won’t actually change much from the Nothing phone (1) as other phones really only change subtly each year – so Nothing could get away with doing the same. Some more colour options would be great to see though, even if just one more.
Nothing phone (2) display
- AMOLED
- 120Hz
Rumours so far have claimed we will see an AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, which is the same as the Nothing phone (1) so that’s not really all that surprising.
There’s been no mention of display size or resolution as yet for the Nothing phone (2). For reference, the phone (1) has a 6.55-inch OLED display with Full HD+ (2400 x 1080) resolution and HDR support. It was an excellent display so it’s possible the Nothing phone (2) will follow suit.
Nothing phone (2) specs and battery
- Snapdragon 8 series
- 12GB RAM?
- 5000mAh battery
This is one area we know a little bit more about – little being the key word though. Nothing’s founder Carl Pei, revealed at Mobile World Congress that the Nothing phone (2) would run on Snapdragon 8 series hardware. Pei didn’t reveal which specific 8 series chip, but it will still be a step-up from the Nothing -hone (1) which ran the Snapdragon 778+.
One of Qualcomm’s executives was reported to have outed the platform the Nothing phone (2) will have on his LinkedIn profile, with suggestions of the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, rather than the latest flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, though this has yet to be confirmed by Nothing.
Elsewhere, there have been reports of 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage and a 5000mAh battery, none of which is overly surprising. The Nothing phone (1) had 12GB of RAM as an option, as well as 256GB of storage. The reported battery is a bump though, with the Nothing phone (1) featuring a 4500mAh cell.
Nothing phone (2) cameras
- Dual rear camera?
While we’ve heard bits and pieces about the hardware expected for the Nothing phone (2), little has been said about the cameras for the 2023 device.
The Nothing phone (1) has a dual rear camera setup consisting of a 50-megapixel main camera and a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera. The main camera is good, though the ultrawide offering wasn’t leaps and bounds ahead of its competition, despite having big numbers on the spec sheet so that’s an area the Nothing phone (2) can improve in.
On the front, there’s a 16-megapixel snapper on the Nothing phone (1) and it performs well enough in good lighting, also allowing access to the portrait function and edge detection is pretty good for those perfect selfies. We didn’t think it was amazing in low light, so again, this is an area the Nothing phone (2) has the potential to improve.
Nothing phone (2) rumours: What’s happened so far?
Here’s everything we have heard so far about the Nothing phone (2).
7 March 2023: Nothing phone (2) will use a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, Qualcomm exec says
91mobiles reported that Qualcomm’s SVP and GM of its Mobile, Compute, and XR business unit, Alex Katouzian mentioned on his LinkedIn profile when congratulating the Nothing team on using a Qualcomm chip, name checking the actual silicon that will be used – the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1.
28 February 2023: Carl Pei confirms Nothing phone (2) to be Snapdragon 8 powered
Nothing confirmed that the Nothing phone (2) will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 hardware, with Carl Pei making a surprise visit to the Qualcomm booth at Mobile World Congress to make the announcement.
6 February 2023: The Nothing phone (2) has its first leak with specs and release window teased
Sources reportedly told MySmartPrice that the Nothing phone (2) will arrive “in the third quarter of 2023”. Some specs were also detailed, with suggestions of a Snapdragon 8 series chip, 12GB RAM and 256GB of storage. An AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate has been claimed, as well as a 5000mAh battery.
30 January 2023: Nothing phone (2) confirmed for a US launch in 2023
Nothing confirmed it intends to expand into the United States, including bringing its next smartphone to the market later in 2023. Nothing CEO and co-founder Carl Pei told Inverse that the company will make a big push into the US and that will include the phone (2). He said “the US is our No. 1 priority in terms of markets”.