5 ways Nothing Phone (2) is an upgrade over the Phone (1)

Nothing Phone (2) was announced globally on Tuesday, and the handset will be on sale in India starting July 21st. The Phone (2) is not a typical successor. While most second-gen iterations see minor upgrades and minor price changes, the latest Nothing smartphone comes with several hardware and design-level upgrades compared to the Phone (1). That’s why the device has also been launched with a much higher price tag.

Before we dive deeper into some of the major upgrades the Nothing Phone (2) brings over the Phone (1), let’s take a quick look at their specifications.

Some tweaks to the design language

At first glance, the Nothing Phone (2) and Phone (1) look similar at a distance. However, there are some minor tweaks here and there to make the newer device feel more premium. Firstly, the LED lights under the transparent rear panel have been further separated to offer more notification features. The 3D rear glass subtly curves at the sides to offer a more comfortable in-hand feel as well as a premium look. Additionally, the frame is also made from 100 percent recycled aluminium.

Improved performance with Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1

The biggest upgrade under the hood is the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor. To recall, the Phone (1) features the Snapdragon 778G+ chipset. Its successor uses a flagship processor that promises an 80 percent improvement in performance. The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is expected to not only enhance day-to-day usage but also bring significant upgrades in mobile gaming. Stay tuned to 91mobiles for our full review of the Phone (2) to understand the extent of the chipset’s upgrade.

Better front-facing camera

The Nothing Phone (2) gets a 32MP front-facing camera placed within the centred hole-punch cutout. This is an improvement over the 16MP sensor in the previous generation model. The 32MP sensor should deliver sharper selfies in various lighting conditions. We will have more to share about the front camera’s capabilities in our full review.

Larger battery, faster charging

Nothing has bumped up the battery from 4,500mAh to 4,700mAh in the Phone (2). The 200mAh increase might not lead to a drastic change in battery life, but you should see some difference, especially with a more efficient chipset and optimised software. Additionally, Phone (2) now supports 45W charging speeds and the company claims the device can fully charge within an hour. To recall, the Phone (1) supports 33W charging, which in our review took roughly 1 hour and 15 minutes to fully charge.

Newer OS with longer support

The Nothing Phone (2) ships with the latest Nothing OS 2.0 based on Android 13 which brings more customisation options, including the ability to label apps and tweak grid design as well as change the widget size and add colourful themes. The company has also expanded its widgets library and custom typefaces. Nothing is promising three major Android updates and four years of security updates for the Nothing Phone (2). In comparison, the Phone (1) shipped with the first iteration of Nothing OS and will get upgraded to Nothing OS 2.0. However, the phone may not get as many software versions and security updates as the newer Nothing phone.