Nothing Phone (2)’s All About the Software Experience

Nothing has just released its second smartphone, the Nothing Phone (2). The phone almost looks, and fells a lot like the Phone (1) with the exception of a few design changes. The inside of the phone however, is a completely different story.

So, you know how on the Phone (1), the Glyph interface would be used to show notifications, battery level, and other information. Well, the Phone (2) takes that a notch further, with 11 separate LED strips, and 33 different lighting zones, all controlled from within the phone. Sadly, they’re not RGB.

Like we had already seen a week ago, on this phone, you can assign specific apps to the top left LED to display Essential Glyph notifications. These notifications will stay lit until you clear them from your notification menu. Nothing will now also allow developers to play around with the Glyph interface SDK and API, so we can expect to see even more clever use cases for this in the future.

On the hardware front, the Phone (2) now uses a much powerful flagship chipset, the Snapdragon 8 + Gen 1, which at this point is quite old, but is a major step up from the 778G+ on the Phone (1). We’ve talked about how flagship chipsets from older generations are still very capable for an average user.

Also, Carl talked about how the SD 8+ Gen 1 was more stable than the Gen2, but then again, this is something we haven’t heard of a lot. The main reason was probably the cutting down of the cost to stay in that mid-price point bracket.

The screen on the Phone (2) is also upgraded from a 6.5″ 700nits to 6.7″ with an impressive 1,600 nits, which is a really big jump in terms of brightness. It is an LTPO display, and can vary refresh rate from 1-120Hz.

For the cameras, there are no BIG changes, but the main sensor has been upgraded to a 50MP Sony IMX890. while the ultrawide is the same 50MP Samsung JN1 used in the Phone (1). Most of the work, in the camera department, has been done on the software front.

The Nothing Phone (2) runs on NothingOS 2.0, which runs on stock Android, with a Nothing skin on top. It feels more or less similar to the Pixel in a lot of areas. The Nothing OS 2.0 has these new widgets, both for the home screen, and the lock screen that in a lot of ways, complement the company’s overall aesthetic, and makes it feel less like a stock Android experience.

Here, you can basically take any Quick Tiles, and use them as widgets. Pretty cool, huh?

Keep in mind that you still have the option to go with Stock Android interface while setting up your phone.

There are other improvements too, with the likes of new themed icons, folder customization, app lock, cloned apps, and much more. You can check out this video from Beebom to learn more about the software.

From the details above, you can see how the phone doesn’t stand out in basically any aspect, but Carl has his reasons for this:

One of the reasons why we started this company, on the hardware side, we’re nearing a very mature state of the smartphone form factor. If we’re going to innovate, it has to happen in software services, and maybe an alternative form factor.

Carl Pei via Mrwhosetheboss

And, this is where we’re seeing the company head towards. The design hasn’t changed much, and the internals are nothing new. However, the software seems to have been carefully crafted to be smooth and visually appealing.

As for the pricing and color options, the Nothing Phone (2) is available in two colors: white and black. It starts at £579 for the 8/128 variant, and goes all the way up to £699 for the 12/512 model. You also have the option to go for the 12/256 for £629.