Review-of-the-Nothing-2-in-the-UAE
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History of Nothing Phone
Nothing Technology Limited (stylised as NOTHING) is a British consumer electronics manufacturer based in London. It was founded by Carl Pei, the co-founder of the Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus. Investors in the company include iPod inventor Tony Fadell, Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, and YouTuber Casey Neistat. On 25 February 2021, the company announced Teenage Engineering as a founding partner, mainly responsible for the brand’s design aesthetic and its products.
The Nothing 2 phone was launched in UAE on 17th July 2023 at a lavish event in Dubai, UAE. Let us talk more about the Nothing 2 phone.
Nothing 2 phone – Design & Specifications
The Nothing 2 phone comes with dimensions of 162.1 x 76.4 x 8.6 mm and weighs 201.2gram.which includes a non-removal battery. It has an LTPO OLED,120Hz, 1600 nits capacitive touchscreen and a size of 6.7 inches with a resolution of 1080 x 2412 pixels with a screen ~394ppi density. It has a ~87.2% screen-to-body ratio with 1600 nits. The body build has a Glass front (Gorilla Glass)and matt Dark Gray aluminum frame with the front OLED display which is very tough and the back panel comes with a transparent glass back (Gorilla Glass) by which you can see the inside of the phone with the LED Glyph Interface.
Nothing Hardware
The Nothing 2 smartphone has Android 13 as the operating system with the Nothing OS 2. It uses Qualcomm SM8475 Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 (4 nm) + GPU – Adreno 730 with 12GB RAM and 256 GB ROM internal storage for the UAE market.
It comes with dual cameras on the rear 50 MP + 50 MP. The front round in-screen camera has a 32 MP lens embedded into the display. The main cameras t are arranged vertically on the top left side that jute out of the body frame of the back panel. Besides the cameras, you have the dual LED light and focus sensor embedded in the back panel.
Nothing Cameras
The main camera can shoot video at 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS, live HDR, and OIS. The front camera can shoot video at 1080p@30fps. Nothing 2 smartphone features LED flash, HDR, and panorama
Nothing Body
The Nothing 2 frame is a thick panel as the display is flat and the back panel curves a little towards the edges. The right side of the frame has the power button and volume rockers are on the left-hand side. The “Nothing” word is on the bottom-left side of the back panel. The fingerprint sensor is enabled in the LTPO OLED display. The phone has a Dual SIM (2 Nano SIMs) Card slot which has. The phone supports PS (L1+L5), GLONASS (L1), BDS (B1I+B1c), GALILEO (E1), QZSS (L1), and NavIC. The bottom side of the phone has the dual SIM Tray, USB Type- C super-charge (45W) input, speaker grills and mic and the top side is clean with a single mic and thin ear speaker.
The Review
The device which I have received for review is Dark Gray and the back panel is transparent glass back (Gorilla Glass) but it is smooth to the touch and the best part it doesn’t leave any finger smudges on the panel.
With the ~87.2% screen-to-body ratio, the bezel of the phone is thick and different from the other Android phones available in the market. The less curved back panel and the flat display make the phone look like a slab of block with rounded edges. The only thing you will notice is in the top area where it houses the single-lens camera in a punch-hole type embedded in the screen.
“Nothing 2 Phone is a flagship-range premium smartphone created for the audience who is looking for a stylish, different, good camera and work-horse phone.”
Nothing 2 phones – Cameras
Front Selfie Camera
The front camera is a single 32 MP, f/2.5, (wide), 1/2.74″ lens and the photo resolution is 4896 x 6528px at 96dpi. The camera comes with a sensor for instant Face detection & Auto tracking and the supports Bokeh effect. The camera in selfie photo mode also supports at least 2 face recognition with AI. In video mode too, the camera supports multiple face recognition and via face lock, the camera lens remains focused on the subject which is great for vloggers.
Some of the additional features of the front selfie camera under photo mode, in the AI setting, Auto Smile Capture and the palm gesture, so when you hold your open palm in front of the front camera, it gives you a 3-sec count and clicks a selfie. You can record videos at 1080p@30fps / 60fps. Under the photo and video option, you can shoot with Ai, FHD, and also HDR. During Selfie with Flash, where it uses the screen is full brightness white light as a flash or advanced AI light adjustment. You can also shoot selfies mode. Under the selfie portrait mode, you get a strong Bokeh effect with beautify. You can switch on retouch mode to change your appearance for creating the necessary style of image. You do the same under video mode – retouch and Filters.
Main Cameras
The back panel of the Nothing 2 phones houses dual cameras. The camera modules are designed on the back panel which little is jutting out of the body. The cameras are placed on the left top side of the smartphone. The 50MP + 50MP camera lens is placed in a vertical design and has the focus lens, dual LED light is placed on the side of the cameras. The dual cameras consist of 50 MP, f/1.9, 24mm (wide), 1/1.56″, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS and 50 MP, f/2.2, 114˚ (ultra wide), 1/2.76″, 0.64µm, AF.
Nothing Images
The main camera general setting can click images in 3072px X 4096px in 96dpi. In the video mode, the camera clicks 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS, live HDR and OIS
The autofocus is good, with half-second delays measured under even easy lighting conditions. It also has the Expert mode where you can do manual adjustment of exposure value (EV), white balance (WB), Focus (AF), Exposure (ISO), Shutter speed and also meter bracketing. The ISO works from 50 to 3200 and the shutter speed from 32 to 1/12000. You can shoot images under expert mode in 1x and 2x. Under photo mode, you can shoot 0.6 (wide angle), 1x and 2x and has a digital zoom of 10x.
Operating System and Software
The operating system of the Nothing 2 phone has the latest Android 13 operating system with the Nothing OS 2.0. So, with Android 13.0, the Nothing 2 has all the latest features like AI beautification, creamy Bokeh for portraits, and AI recognition of up to 500 scenes. It uses Qualcomm SM8475 Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 (4 nm) + GPU – Adreno 730 with 12GB RAM and 256 GB ROM internal storage for the UAE market. Android 13 also helps in better more accurate facial brightness, contrast for selfies on the front cameras and scene-by-scene optimizations for shots taken on the rear and enhancing the photography effects. There was no major lag between screens or scrolling the apps, it was quite smooth and fast.
Sound & Audio
Nothing 2 phone has a stereo speaker grill you can hear sound coming from the bottom side when you are holding the smartphone vertically and horizontally.
The trebles, mid-level was clear and the bass was decent for the value of the smartphone. The volume is quite clear. The device comes with two mics – on top and bottom and on the bottom beside the USB Type C charging port.
Nothing 2 was tested with various types of videos played and different genres of music and it passed above average compared to other competitors in a similar price range.
During the Stereo test, I found the sound quite loud and good only when it came to the balance of sound while holding the device in landscape mode.
(Please note: The smartphone was held at a distance of 1- 2 feet while testing the audio quality)
Nothing 2 for Gaming
The performance while playing Asphalt 9 was really good. With 12GB RAM and 120Hz refresh rate screen and good audio, my experience while playing was satisfying. The smartphone speakers are good and loud. And you have the option to take screenshots while playing the game and a lot more.
Connectivity & Battery
The smartphone has a fingerprint sensor, face detection, pattern and pin for accessing the smartphone. The Smartphone supports Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct and Bluetooth which supports 5.3, A2DP, and LE. The smartphone comes with a non-removable Li-Po 4700 mAh battery which can last more than 2+ days with average usage. The smartphone comes with USB Type- C charging input which can charge the phone at 45W fast charging and I could get 40% charge in 20mins
Standout Feature of Nothing 2 phone – Glyph Interface
This Glyph Interface makes the Nothing 2 phone stand out different from other smartphones. The Glyph Interface consists of a number of LED strips that pulse, strobe and glow. Nothing 2 phone has more than doubled the number of lights from five to 11, while also adding support for addressable zones, which allows for gradient effects. Unfortunately, there’s still only one colour to choose from white.
Assign different light and sound sequences for each contact and notification type and be one step ahead of who’s getting in touch. Key information, in a flash. Refer to individual Glyph segments for key information and progress tracking. Use the lights as a countdown timer, a battery meter indicator, a volume checker and your very own portable ring light.
New Essential Glyph Notifications lets you focus whilst still being available to those who matter most. When selected contacts or apps send you a notification, a light will shine persistently until you’ve opened it. You can create your own Glyph ringtone by tapping each pad to trigger a different light and sound combination. Nothing has tied up with the Swedish House Mafia to provide a distinct sound for the tap pads. Once you’ve found your rhythm, press record and create your very own Glyph Ringtones. We are expecting more things to come our way with the Glyph Interface.
Nothing 2 phones – Benchmark
Nothing 2 phones were tested on various benchmark apps. The PC Mark result is 13891. The result of the Geekbench is single core – 1734 and multi-core – 4322. The result of the 3DMark is 2653.
Conclusion
Nothing 2 is a good smartphone for the price, the phone is a Flagship-range with all the great features for gaming, and watching online entertainment. The built quality and colour make the phone very rich and stylish and perfect for people who love flashy and trendsetting looks. The display screen and body are very strong and reliable. It comes with LTPO OLED, 1B colours, 120Hz with 1600 nits Display. 50MP +50MP dual cameras with AI support make this smartphone one of the best in the competition. As for the selfies, the single 32MP lens can make a difference with the Ai function. When clicked on the screen for focus. It gives a very nice creamy Bokeh effect and focuses on your face with auto-tracking. It has a quick and sharp focus system.
With 256GB ROM is quite good enough for storage and with the Dual Card SIM Tray. It is a good smartphone for the price and can run for the money to its competitors.
The daylight shot was sharp and good and 32MP selfies were natural and the colour output was great. The zoom has 10x but would suggest that at its maximum started to distort.
Clicking under low light or night photography, the output was good with the colour saturated with the AI. The best part is the Glyph Interface. Overall, for the price and the Flagship-range phone, it is a good buy for the consumer.
Packaging of Nothing 2 & Price
The Nothing 2 smartphone comes in a Nothing-designed Mono-colour Gray glossy box with small white dotted text. Once you open the box you will find the White packing which has an embossed design. On opening the box, you will find the Nothing 2 phone wrapped in translucent paper. You will also find the charging cable and SIM Card removal tool in a circular design packing. The Quick Start guide and warranty are in a square sleeve with “Designed BY Nothing”. There is no 45Watt Wall adapter, or back-case cover in the package of the smartphone. So buyers have to buy separately from the Nothing Store.
The Nothing 2 launch price was AED 2499 and is available in various online and retail stores.
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