I was really looking forward to the Nothing Phone (2) test, since its first version passed me by.Expectations were warmed up and raised by rave reviews from top foreign observers.In the first week of use, the gadget makes a wow impression due to its design and lighting.What happened next?
Thanks to the guys from big geek!
Equipment and design
The wow effect of Nophing Phone (2) is starting to evoke with its packaging.The smartphone comes in a thin and square white box that opens like a book.The package bundle is quite standard: a smartphone, a USB-C cable and a piece for removing the SIM card tray.However, accessories are very interestingly beaten in terms of design.The SIM tray eject tool and charging cable connectors continue the brand’s signature style – they are transparent.
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The appearance of the smartphone is very cool.Of course, the transparent back and backlight, aka glyphs, immediately catches the eye.But more on that a little later.
The silhouette of Nothing Phone (2) is very much reminiscent of the iPhone 12. The same chopped edges and the vertical layout of the main camera lenses are well guessed in it.
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Separate words of gratitude to the designers of the brand for the fact that they thought of placing the volume buttons and the screen lock key on different sides.In my opinion, this is the most convenient solution in terms of ergonomics.
On the bottom end, from left to right, there are: a SIM card slot, a USB-C port and a main speaker grille.Memory cards are not supported.Also, eSIM support was not delivered.
Despite the rather large screen with a diagonal of 6.7 inches, the smartphone lies well in the hand.It generally does not feel like a shovel.The case received an IP54 degree of protection, which means that it is not afraid of dust and water splashes.
The backlight, also known as glyphs, looks spectacular and is very impressive at first.Glyphs with the glow of individual segments can accompany various actions, such as changing the volume, charge level or timer.In the settings for calls and notifications, you can choose from 10 presets.Pulsation of the backlight and vibration occur in the tone of the soundtrack.
In addition to all of the above, it is possible to create your own alerts.To do this, right from the settings, you can go to download the application, in which you can independently “tap” various types of highlights.
Apparently, the creator of Nothing Carl Pei decided to make his own analogue of the iPhone’s Dynamic Island.Glyphs are able to show progress from different applications.So far, from what supports this feature, I came across only Uber.
Unfortunately, I played enough with glyphs in about a week.In my case, 99% of the time the smartphone is used, the screen is up, so I quickly scored on the fact that it has it behind it.
Screen
Nothing Phone (2) is equipped with a 6.7-inch AMOLED screen.The resolution is 2412×1080 and the refresh rate is 120Hz.The bezels around the display are very thin and uniform.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a tool to measure peak brightness, so everything said below will be my subjective perception.In the room, the brightness is enough, but on the street under the bright sun, I constantly lacked it.Moreover, even in cloudy weather, I regularly caught myself thinking that I was climbing into the settings to pull out the brightness slider, and it was already at maximum there.
Wallpaper download Nothing Phone (2)
As for the color reproduction, it is pleasant and natural.To customize the image to your individual preferences, you can use a couple of presets and a color temperature scale.
Performance and sound
Nothing Phone (2) received Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 as a hardware platform. The amount of RAM is 12 GB, and the drive is 256 GB.I launched AnTuTu, Geekbench and CPU Throttling Test on my smartphone – you can see the results in the screenshots below.
Despite the fact that Nothing Phone (2) again received a compromise chip by the standards of the flagship device in 2023, its performance reserve will last at least another couple of years.It runs top games at maximum speeds without any problems.
The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is quite a hot chip.It expectedly starts to drop performance after about 5 minutes at its peak.Over the course of an hour-long gaming session, heating appears, the case becomes noticeably warm.
Android 13 is used as a software platform with a proprietary Nothing OS shell.It has a lightweight and visually very pleasing interface.The designers have thought of many small details.Separately, I note branded widgets and application icons.
Nothing Phone (2) sounds very loud.At the bottom and top end is located on the speaker.At maximum volume, the sound turns out to be rather flat – there are not enough low frequencies.
Camera
Nothing Phone (2) got a dual camera.The resolution of the main module and width is 50 MP.Sensors from Samsung and Sony are used.The set of sensors can be called optimal: there is a wide angle and a 2x zoom.
The main camera is expectedly mediocre – in my opinion, this is the second main compromise of the device, which, according to the price list, enters the flagship segment.However, this is not surprising, given that behind the Nothing brand is the co-founder of One Plus, whose smartphones have never been distinguished by high-quality cameras.
Pictures come out with fairly natural colors and a good level of detail, but are generally unimpressive.In general, the picture is rather flat.For example, Huawei P60 Pro with 256 GB in retail will cost 70,000 rubles, but the quality of its pictures will be several orders of magnitude higher than Nothing Phone (2).The main camera allows you to shoot 4K video at 60 frames per second.In my opinion, here again, Carl Pei decided to spy on iPhones, since the quality of the recorded videos bypasses the photo capabilities of the device.
Download photos from the main camera in original resolution without compression
The resolution of the front camera is 32 MP.It uses a sensor from Sony.Selfies are obtained with a high level of detail and natural color reproduction.Portrait mode works out the background separation correctly in most cases.The maximum video resolution from the front camera is 1920 × 1080 at 60 frames per second.
autonomy
The smartphone received a 4700 mAh battery.In terms of battery life, there were no revelations.The gadget easily fits into my everyday scenario with charging once a day.
There is support for two fast charging protocols at once – Power Delivery 3.0 and Quick Charge 4.0.Wireless charging is also in place.
Impression
Everything spoils the price tag of the device.In network retail for Nothing Phone (2) you will have to pay from 80,000 rubles.If you dive deeper, then on Yandex Market you can find a smartphone for 67-68,000 rubles.Things aren’t much better on alik.
If you start from the official price list in retail, you get the flagship level.In my opinion, for such a price, the device has too many compromises, namely, a not very bright screen and a rather mediocre main camera.
The gadget is definitely trying to pull out its price with design, but is it worth it, given that most of the time you will be looking at the screen – it’s up to you.