In summary
Nothing Phone (2) is a good device, a lot of attention has been paid to the software. This is seen not only in the appearance of the GUI, but also in the user interface elements and how the system interacts with third-party applications. It is one of the few bloatware-free smartphones out there. Software support is average; The device will receive updates until 2027. The device is also good. This device is packed with more powerful components than its predecessor and you will notice it. The screen is above average. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 may be a chip from last year, but it’s still fast and efficient, which makes the device feel smooth and premium. Plus, it has good battery life. The lights on the back of the phone have been enlarged. Since they contain more segments, they can be used as pointers. In addition, they can work better with third-party apps. The camera takes nice pictures, but it doesn’t perform well when you’re out with the device at night, and you miss a telephoto camera, which many other devices at this price have.
The Nothing startup led by Carl Pei, the former founder of OnePlus, caused a real stir in the smartphone market last year with Nothing Phone (1). When the smartphone finally came out, the hype seemed to have died down, but not because it was a bad device. On the contrary, this mid-range smartphone has performed above average and has also been recommended in our Best Buy smartphone guide for quite some time. Pei created quite a stir last year by being vague and only intermittently lifting small ends of the veil, a strategy he’s also used on OnePlus in the past. Once the device was introduced to the market, all the mystery ended and the hype died a quiet death. Now that there is nothing more unknown in the world of smartphones, this tactic no longer works and that was also evident from the amount of information about the phone (2), which was already known before the device was launched.
Another year has passed, and where the company focused on the mid-range market last year, this year it has taken it a notch higher and set its sights on the high-end market. So we should look at Nothing Phone (2) not as a successor, but more as a more luxurious alternative. Phone (1) will continue to be sold as normal. Phone (2) is a high-end smartphone with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor and, according to the manufacturer, a better display, better cameras – at least: the main camera sensor has been revamped – and more streamlined software. With all these extras, of course, the price also goes up. The device costs 230 euros more than its predecessor, and its price reaches 699 euros. This puts the smartphone in the water of (semi) high-end smartphones. This raises expectations a bit. Is the phone (2) a device that can compete with the adults in the established order?
We compare the smartphone here and there with devices of the same category and with almost the same specifications. We ended up with the OnePlus 11 and the Samsung Galaxy S23, currently around the same price, but with a newer processor on board: the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. We also compare the phone (2) with the OPPO Find X5 Pro, a smartphone with very good cameras, which Scores highly for true-to-life colours. OPPO’s price has also dropped significantly.