Nothing Phone 2 to get a summer release

This summer's biggest sequel won’t be found in cinemas. That’s because London-based firm Nothing has announced its highly-anticipated Nothing Phone (2) will launch sooner than we first thought. When? "Summer 2023" according to the brand.

The unique design of the Nothing Phone (1) was a striking departure from most of the best Android phones on the market today. That's because the company's founder, Carl Pei, who is formerly of OnePlus, hit on something that sticks out amongst the best cheap phones and beyond: a phone that has built-in lighting on the rear for unique effects. 

Although without lighting, a similar striking yet minimalist design can be found in the company’s headphones with its Nothing Ear (2) particularly impressing us. Hopefully, the Nothing Phone (2) will show similar improvements in its second-generation form. 

Despite its standout design, the Nothing Phone (1) did not come with a flagship price, coming in at £399/€470 when launched. There have been rumours that its successor may come in at around $599 – which, while a sizeable increase, is still on the cheaper side of the market.

This price will be matched in the product, however, with Nothing promising a more “premium” phone. The handset has been confirmed to come equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, giving it a much-needed performance bump from the Snapdragon 778 platform in the original phone.

Another big change for the Nothing Phone (2) is that this edition is confirmed to be arriving on US shores for the first time. It's world domination time, so here's hoping Nothing can succeed where others dare not go.

Right now there's not much information on the design of the phone, save for a glimpse of part of the design (image embedded below). The image up top of this page isn't official, so we don't yet know exactly how this device will look. Will Nothing stick to something similar to the original phone, or will the company push the boat out again?

Most strikingly, the original Nothing Phone (1) featured four lights on the rear of the phone called ‘Glyphs’, which while certainly cool-looking, my colleague dismissed as a gimmick and eventually disabled. If they are to return, increased functionality for these is a must. There was also a striking amount of battery drain from the phone’s own Nothing Launcher Android skin, so here’s hoping that's been improved too – noting that the company has been keen upgrading its software in recent months. 

The announcement of the Nothing Phone (2)'s arrival is somewhat of a surprise, as it's sooner than we first thought. Comments made previously by Carl Pei suggested that Nothing might be adopting a two-year release cycle. Perhaps because the US missed out last time, this new phone could be an exception to that rule.