A ‘more premium’ Nothing Phone (2) is coming this year. Here’s what we know so far

Nothing’s Phone (1) launched in the US in January and now it has been revealed that it will be succeeded by a premium Phone (2).

Nothing CEO, Carl Pei, who founded the OnePlus brand, told Inverse the Phone (2) would be “more premium” than the $299 Phone (1) it launched in a beta in the US. The global version of the Phone (1) launched in the UK last summer for £399. 

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“We’re developing a smartphone that’s more premium than the Nothing Phone (1) and software will be a big focus area for us,” Pei said. 

“here we come! Stay tuned,” the company later said on Twitter.

The London-based company’s Phone (1) received positive reviews and was deemed a solid overall phone for the price. It’s equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G Plus, a dual 50MP camera module, an OLED display, 128GB of storage, and 8GB of RAM. The Glyph Interface consists of 900 LEDs beneath a transparent glass back that lights up in patterns to indicate notifications, calls, battery level, and charging status. Nothing is currently testing Nothing OS 1.5, which is based on Android 13. 

Pei didn’t go into more details about Phone (2) features, specs or price, but said it would be a “more premium step up” from the Phone (1).

One of the big changes will be that the Phone (2) works on US carriers, and Pei said the two-year-old company now has the resources to support that effort. 

“When you make a smartphone for the U.S. you need to work with the carriers on certification and adapting some of their features into your OS,” Pei said. “We didn’t have the resources for that before and now we do.” 

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Pei thinks the time is right to enter the US with a more edgy smartphone design. He says Nothing’s research found US consumers are “quite bored and indifferent” with existing phones, and says the two largest brands in the US, Apple and Samsung, shouldn’t try anything “niche” to avoid alienating their customers.