Nothing Phone 2 a Good Phone: Elevating the Standard of Excellence

Step right up to the Nothing Phone 2, the technical aspects of mobile innovation. The Nothing Phone 2 continues its revolutionary legacy by setting new benchmarks for smartphone quality. This groundbreaking gadget raises the bar for smartphone capabilities with its stylish appearance, unrivaled performance, and state-of-the-art features. Come explore the fascinating realm of Nothing Phone 2, where the sky’s the limit and perfection reigns supreme, with us.

Nothing, Phone 2: Design

• Smoother and rougher than the first phone
• Feels and looks very distinctive.
• My only complaint is that glyphs are underused.

Whether you’re looking closely or are taken aback by its flashing glyph lights from a distance, the Nothing Phone 2 is easily identifiable. Its thickness is identical to that of the Pixel 7 and the OnePlus 11, although the phone seems heavier and larger than its rivals. Its massively rounded glass back gives it an air of permanence. Maybe it’s the depth perception that makes looking inside a phone so interesting. Compared to my expectations, it’s enormous, but not too big. 

Regrettably, the rounded back seems to have a secret desire to die. The curved glass wouldn’t stay put, no matter where I set it. While I was reviewing it, it became a practical joke. The desk or side table would make a clattering sound that I would hear fall to the floor. It was common for my child or my fiancée to inquire, “What was that?” So then we’d both be like, “Oh, right, nothing”—remembering, nodding out loud. 

I would consider the Nothing Phone 2 to be the least desirable of the four phones now resting on my desk. Its glossy, smooth surface and softly curved back make it more likely to tumble, particularly in environments where gravity may exert its force. Use caution while using this phone; it lacks grippyness and will not assist you with inertia. 

I found that this was less of an issue when I used the phone as intended—with the flashing glyph lights facing up—and left it with its flat face down. Intentional inactivity lies at the heart of the Nothing phone’s design. Or, you may make the phone more difficult to operate in the hopes that you will use it less often. To be honest, I’m still not quite clear on the philosophy behind Nothing Design, although I do like how it touts the trendy concepts of mindfulness and minimization of distraction.

Nothing, Phone 2: Glyph lights

The Nothing’s Glyph lighting array is housed behind the see-through, padded glass. The Glyph lights on the Nothing Phone 1, which were unjustly written off as a gimmick when it was first released, really have a function, and the Nothing Phone 2 has even more capabilities added to it. Nothing has been possible to increase the functionality by dividing the light bars into separate pieces. For instance, one of the Glyph bars may double as a visual timer—not only for your phone’s built-in timer but also for use with ridesharing applications like Uber, which can display the expected arrival time of your journey.

Additionally, I love how one bar can be set to display charging status while the phone is plugged in and face down, as well as a personalized priority notification alert that stays lit up when an essential app has a message waiting. The Glyph lights serve as a camera fill light and activate when a call is received. You have the option to modify the pattern to one of Nothing’s entertaining preset patterns or create your composition. A similarly wild sound effect, like with the rest of the phone, is available to go along with the light show and may be adjusted to your liking.

You can always count on Nothing’s Glyph lights and anything else with so much flashing and lighting to be a gimmick. Although this is largely accurate, they also provide a surprising amount of utility, are entertaining, and contribute to the uniqueness of the Nothing Phone 2. From a design standpoint, I don’t believe the Nothing Phone 2 would be as appealing without them, and after some time using the Phone 1, they started to blend in rather than be a distraction.

Nothing Phone 2: Camera

In comparison to the Nothing Phone 1, the Nothing Phone 2’s camera doesn’t have many hardware upgrades. The device is equipped with a 50MP Sony IMX890 and a 50MP Samsung JN1 114-degree wide-angle, both of which come with electronic image stabilization. An improved 32MP front-facing camera is also available, but no one has paid any attention to the software that powers these cameras, which is a shame since it makes a difference.

Taking pictures with the Nothing Phone 2 has been fun. Unlike the Galaxy A54, which may go crazy with HDR and saturation, these phones are colorful, lively, and full of life. They aren’t as good as the Pixel 7’s camera in terms of raw, natural light, but they’re more entertaining. You may not even need to modify them before posting them on social media. Although there is no telephoto zoom, the 2x mode does a good job, and the primary and wide-angle cameras are quite consistent with one another.

In dim lighting, the camera falls short. Even in moderate illumination, there is a lot of noise and very little detail; as night falls, the pictures are even worse. Even though the Nothing Phone 2 camera works well during the day, it’s a shame that all of its rivals can shoot better photographs in low light or at night. As a consequence, the Nothing Phone 2’s camera isn’t the greatest you can buy for the money, but it’s an upgrade over the Phone 1, and the results are great until you’re shooting in low light.

Nothing, Phone 2: Software

What I anticipate to be the most contentious feature of Nothing OS 2.0—the Nothing icon pack—will be the center of my discussion of the program. No one has yet figured out how to make all of the app icons on a phone appear like Nothing’s monochromatic design.

They may be stored in either square or circular folders, and their design remains the same, save for the size and color. In Nothing, you’ll find widgets that display the time and weather, a few shortcuts to Quick Settings, and controls for your headphones. The color pattern is pixelated and black and white. The majority of the wallpapers that come with Nothing are abstract monochrome graphics.

Adopting the icon set and theme from Nothing OS completely yields an on-brand appearance, though at the cost of aesthetically pleasing design. Navigation is sluggish at first since you have to get used to the appearance of the app icons. The design is perfect for the lock screen, where little color is expected, but it almost reaches the bottom of the home screen’s depression. I understand that not everyone shares my opinion; in fact, I sometimes prefer monochromatic themes to the bright ones featured on Xiaomi phones. However, I long for the vibrant, colorful, unorganized, yet instantly identifiable look of “normal” Android.

If you’d rather not utilize the Nothing Phone 2’s monochromatic theme, you can always revert to the default Android theme. I don’t mind if the monochromatic style isn’t my thing since this is true of Nothing OS in general. There isn’t even a trace of forced features or applications, which was a concern after the debut of the Nothing Phone 1. What’s more, as you explore new capabilities, you’ll find that some are fantastic and worth using. In my review of the Amazon Fire Max 11, I rated the ability to add shortcuts to Quick Settings to the lock screen highly, and I also liked how the Hotspot control was always within easy reach.

Putting aesthetics aside, nothing in OS 2.0 is as dependable, quick, and easy to use as Android on a Pixel phone. It takes me back to the days of OxygenOS before Oppo acquired it. Call quality is top-notch, and connectivity is reliable across all networks (4G/5G, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth). Even on a really hot day, with a particularly hot automobile, there is no sign of significant heat buildup while using Google Maps.

With little in the way of assurances, you may expect bimonthly security patches for four years and three significant Android version upgrades. The software update pledges of OnePlus and Samsung are longer than Google’s, but they’re still not horrible. Even though Android 14 and Nothing OS 2.5 are still in development as of December 2023, a definitive version is surely on the horizon.

If you want your phone to last as long as possible, it’s best to acquire one from a company that updates its software often and permanently. Before fretting about “only” three years of significant version upgrades, consider if you would choose to retain a device such as the Nothing Phone 2 for more than three years.

Nothing Phone 2 Review: Battery

• Extended battery life of almost 24 hours
• An enormous leap forward from the first Nothing Phone
• I like charging glyphs. Has it disappeared?

Perhaps as a result of being marginally larger overall, the Nothing Phone 2 receives a little larger battery compared to the previous phone. The Nothing Phone 2 easily lasts me a whole day on a single charge; I’m sure several features contribute to this. 

To start, a black-and-white interface may save electricity, but it would likely be minimal. Another idea that might help preserve power is to use the glyph system instead of the phone screen. The problem is that it doesn’t work very well. Maybe I’ll use the phone less when more app developers adopt the glyph system, but it’s not helpful at the moment, so I can’t say it’s saving power. 

Because it uses more power than most other functions, turning off the camera is a great help. Not to be snarky, but when my phone has a great camera, the battery dies quicker.

I used an Anker charger, which can handle 65W of power, significantly more than the 45W of power that Nothing Phone 2 offers. There is no indication that this phone can be fully charged in 55 minutes, and I can confirm that. Within less than an hour, my battery was fully charged. 

Plugging in the phone displays a charging glyph, which serves as a symbol for the overall issue with the glyph system. My phone is charging, and the remaining time is shown by the glyphs in a multitude of ways. The glyphs might be gradually illuminated or filled one by one. Anyone could think of a better alternative than nothing, even if I’m not a designer. 

Shortly, while the phone is charging, a little light bar will appear at the base of the device, next to the charging port. The phone is plugged in, but you still can’t choose to keep the light on, even if it’s a low-power LED. Wriggling the phone will bring the light back on. Give it a little wiggle. 

I’d want a bright light that stays on all the time and a bigger bar than the one at the bottom of the glyph. We should go all in on the glyph. The phone’s charging and battery systems saw the glyph as more of a nuisance than a benefit, much like the rest of the device. 

Conclusion

The Nothing Phone 2 is a revolutionary smartphone that redefines the standards of excellence in the industry. Its sleek design, unparalleled performance, and cutting-edge features set a new benchmark for what a smartphone can achieve. The phone’s unique design, featuring a rounded and textured glass back, promotes mindfulness and reduces distraction. The Glyph lighting array, hidden beneath the transparent pillowed glass, serves a purpose, including acting as a visual timer, custom priority notification alert, and fill-light for the camera.

The phone also has an upgraded 32MP selfie camera, but the camera has been improved through software improvements. The phone’s photos are vibrant and full of life and color, but they lack the brilliance of the Pixel 7’s camera. The camera is not the best at this price, but it is an improvement over the Phone 1, as long as it’s not taken at night.

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