The Nothing Phone (2) will run a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 series chipset, Nothing CEO Carl Pei confirmed today at an event at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
This means the company’s second phone will put Nothing into premium Android competitive territory. Chipsets in the 8 series are Qualcomm’s most powerful mobile chips.
Pei took to the stage with Qualcomm president Cristiano Amon at the Qualcomm booth on the show floor at the industry trade show to announce the news, Pei having confirmed to Inverse earlier in the year that the Phone (2) would be “more premium” than Phone (1).
2022’s Nothing Phone (1) was a mid-range steal at £399/€469 but ran the mid-tier Snapdragon 778+ 5G chip to help hit that price point. Qualcomm also provided a custom build with more high-end features supported such as wireless charging.
We still don’t know the design or further specs of the Phone (2), or even which chipset the phone will specifically run. It could be the 8 Gen 2 we saw in the Galaxy S23 Ultra or OnePlus 11, or Nothing might opt to use a slightly older chip such as the 8+ Gen 1.
Realme announced its GT3 phone at MWC with the 8+ Gen 1, which helps keep the cost down at $649. Nothing might employ a similar tactic.
There’s even an outside chance it will run the rumoured next-gen 8+ Gen 2.
Though today’s announcement was something, Nothing is clearly employing the same gradual reveal of information to build hype about the Phone (2) as its first phone. As good as the Phone (1) was, the hype cycle around the device was undoubtedly long and drawn out.
Pei was the co-founder of OnePlus but left in 2020 to set up Nothing with Akis Evangelidis, also a former OnePlus exec.
Before Nothing released the Phone (1) it debuted on the tech scene with the impressive Nothing Ear (1) noise cancelling wireless earbuds – but that product recently suffered a price rise from the excellent $99/£99 launch price to OK-but-not-as-great $149/£99.
After the phone came out, the brand launched the Ear (Stick) open design earbuds at $99/£99.
The pricing wobble suggests Nothing is going through some teething issues as a young company, but Tech Advisor awarded each of its three products glowing reviews, so we have high hopes for the Phone (2).
We’ll have a full review of the phone later in the year.
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Author: Henry Burrell, Contributor, Tech Advisor
Previously Tech Advisor’s Phones Editor, Henry covers and reviews every smartphone worth knowing about. He spends a lot of time moving between different handsets and shouting at WhatsApp to support multiple devices at once.