Nothing Phone 2 to launch in late 2023: Here’s everything we know so far

Carl Pei stated in a recent interview that the Nothing Phone 2 will launch in late 2023 and will be "more premium" than its predecessor. Here's everything we know about the upcoming handset.

Nothing's next phone is launching soon (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)

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Carl Pei recently revealed that the Nothing Phone 2 will be launched later this year adding that it will be a “more premium” smartphone with more focus on the software experience. Nothing will also be targeting the US with the new phone as part of its expansion plan for its upcoming products. While the company CEO refrained from sharing details about the upcoming phone, new leaks seem to have provided more information. We’ve curated everything at hand below so that you don’t have to go digging around the web.

Design

The design element has been Nothing’s biggest selling points so far, with transparency single-handedly playing a major role in helping the new company stand out from the sea of smartphone brands. It’s only fair to assume that Nothing will be sticking to the same winning formula that has propelled it to success. We’ve already seen leaked renders of the upcoming Nothing Ear 2 earbuds carrying forward more or less the same design from the Nothing Ear 1, and it’s very likely that the Nothing Phone 2 will pull off something similar.

It remains to be seen whether Pei was also referring to design upgrades when he spoke of the Nothing Phone 2 being “more premium.” The Nothing Phone 1 already sported a flagship-worthy design even as it carried a midrange price tag, so upgrades in the design department, if any, should be interesting. Regardless, we should still expect the Glyph Interface to be inherited from the predecessor, hopefully with a proper API this time allowing third-party developers to tap into its goodness.

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Specifications

According to a MySmartPrice report which quoted a “reputed tipster,” the Nothing Phone 2 carries the model number A065. The tipster also suggested that the upcoming device will be powered by an “unannounced” Snapdragon 8 series SoC.

Also Read | Nothing CEO Carl Pei says Phone (2) isn’t launching anytime soon, will focus on Phone (1) instead

It isn’t clear what “unannounced” means here considering the Snapdragon 8 is Qualcomm’s flagship offering, which usually sees only two launches per year. If the recently launched Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is to not power the Phone 2, then it could be the chip’s plus variant. But there’s no indication as of yet to suggest the existence of a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 2, so we are just shooting in the dark here.

The report also says that there will be “12GB of RAM at least on offer.” This sounds dubious considering even the likes of the Galaxy S23 Ultra and the OnePlus 10 Pro are sold in 8GB RAM variants. The battery will have a 5,000mAh capacity – a step up from last year’s 4,500mAh unit.

The AMOLED display will have a 120Hz refresh rate that will be dynamically adjusted per on-screen content to utilise power more efficiently.

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These specs have been corroborated by any other source as of writing, so take them with a pinch of salt.

Price

There’s no word on pricing yet, unfortunately. But we can still make some educated guesses based on the information above.

Also Read | Nothing Phone (1) review: A new take on smartphones

The US smartphone market is unique in that it leans heavily toward the more premium end of the spectrum. And since Nothing’s especially targeting that very market this year, both premium specs and a premium price tag can be expected. A price bump can be especially expected if Nothing indeed opts for a Snapdragon 8 series chip. To think that the brand would jump to a flagship chip from a mid-range one (Snapdragon 778G+) without a proportional increase in price would be a stretch.

Release date

There’s no definite release date but Carl Pei did confirm that the Nothing Phone 2 will launch in “late 2023.” Late 2023 is typically used for the fourth quarter of a year, which could mean any day from October to December.