Initial Verdict: Our unboxing of the Nothing Phone (2) in the Philippines reveals that it is a worthwhile upgrade with the processor alone–despite looking very similar to its predecessor and being more expensive as well.

Pros

-Significantly better processor

-Flagship display

Cons

-Still no telephoto camera

-Charging speeds are not as fast vs the competition

Nothing finally unveils the successor to last year’s Phone (1) with the Phone (2)–with the Philippines being one of the few markets that will have the phone available for sale. We got our hands on a retail unit to give our first impressions on Nothing’s budget flagship offering.

Nothing Phone (2) Unboxing Philippines: Unboxing

Compared to the Phone (1), the unboxing experience on the Phone (2) is more exciting because of the additional white inner box on top of the outer tearaway packaging that previews a part of the Phone (2).

Nothing keeps things to a minimum when it comes to the contents. Aside from the Phone (2) itself, you get a SIM ejector tool, documentation, and a USB-C cable that has Nothing’s translucent design language on both connectors.

 

Nothing Phone (2) Unboxing Philippines: Design

Without any surprise, the Phone (2)’s design is almost similar to its predecessor, which is proof that Nothing does not need to make any major tweaks to its otherwise unique design. You still get the same premium aluminum and glass build, while the Glyph LED light interface has a few revisions.

The button and port layout is the same as its predecessor, and the same goes for the prominent antenna lines on the frame. This time around, the Phone (2) is offered in Grey, which we think looks better than the Black colorway on the Phone (1). While looking similar design-wise, the Phone (2) has slightly more pronounced curves on the back panel to make it more ergonomic to the hand than its predecessor.

Nothing Phone (2) Unboxing Philippines: Display and Speakers

Because the Phone (2) is slightly bigger, the same goes for the display, which is an LTPO AMOLED panel that measures 6.7 inches. It has a variable refresh rate and 1600nits peak brightness–and Nothing managed to make the bezels thinner while retaining its symmetrical design.

With the Phone (2) positioning itself as a budget flagship, the display is flagship-caliber with its support for Widevine L1 with HDR10 and a 240hz touch sampling rate. The same can be said with its stereo speakers, which sound fantastic upon our first impression.

 

Nothing Phone (2) Unboxing Philippines: Camera

Save for the upgraded 32-megapixel IMX615 selfie camera and 50-megapixel IMX890 main camera, Nothing retained the same dual rear camera setup used on its predecessor for the Phone (2). While we wished Nothing went for a triple rear camera setup–and perhaps add a telephoto shooter–the dual 50-megapixel setup is a solid one, and we expect the Phone (2) to rank high in DxOMark’s tests.

The main camera is now an IMX890 sensor–which is an incremental upgrade to the well-loved IMX766 used on a number of phones including its predecessor–while the ultra-wide camera is an ISOCELL JN1. The main camera has both OIS and EIS and can now shoot 4K60 video thanks to a significant processor upgrade–more on that in the next part.

 

Nothing Phone (2) Unboxing Philippines: Internals

The biggest upgrade on the Phone (2) is its use of a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, which offers significant performance improvements over the Snapdragon 778G+ used by its predecessor. It can be paired with up to 12GB RAM and 512GB internal storage, and our review unit is the 12GB/256GB variant.

While we have yet to benchmark the Phone (2), we expect a significant performance gap over its predecessor–and it should rank well against its rivals on the same price point.

The Phone (2) comes with Android 13-based NothingOS 2.0 out of the box, and Nothing commits to 3 major Android updates and 4 years of security updates. That’s a good commitment but is behind Samsung’s 4 major Android updates commitment on a number of its Galaxy phones.

The Phone (2) gets a bigger 4700mAh battery, and Nothing opted to go for Samsung’s route by offering 45w wired charging and 15w wireless charging. While it does not have a fast charging speed as a budget flagship, 45w should be fine for most people.

Nothing Phone (2) Unboxing Philippines: Wrap-up and Initial Conclusions

While it looks very similar to its predecessor, the Nothing Phone (2) is a significant upgrade with its shift to a flagship Snapdragon 8-series processor, along with spec bumps for the display and battery–which should justify its higher price tag in the Philippines.

Nothing Phone (2) Unboxing Philippines: Price

The Phone (2) is priced at Php 38,990 for the 12GB/256GB variant and Php 44,990 for the 12GB/512GB variant.