Nothing Phone (2) will have last-gen tech but won’t lack power, claims CEO

Carl Pei, CEO of Nothing, recently confirmed on Twitter the upcoming Nothing Phone (2) will run on the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 mobile platform.

This reveal comes a couple months after initial rumors hinting at the chipset’s inclusion, which raised some eyebrows at the time. Some questioned the decision to equip the company’s new flagship smartphone with last year’s tech instead of the latest advancements, which is what Samsung did with the Galaxy S23. Pei, seemingly aware of these concerns, followed up the announcement with a Twitter thread explaining the reasoning behind the company’s decision to go with the older hardware. He states “it’s not just about speed – it’s about the complete package.” 

Potential features

Pei states the camera on the Nothing Phone (2) will support Raw HDR image files and 4K video recording at 60 FPS. This is thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 sporting “an 18-bit Image Signal Processor (ISP) capable of capturing over 4,000 times more camera data” than the Nothing Phone (1). He’s also quite confident in the chipset’s efficient “power consumption and heat management”, calling it “best-in-class”.

It is interesting to point out Pei understands that the Phone (2) won’t be a powerhouse. The thread goes on to say the company is prioritizing the “user experience over being first in the specs race.” But at the very least, the flagship device will see an 80 percent boost in overall performance compared to the Phone (1) so improvements are indeed being made. Speed just isn’t a priority for them which is probably the smarter move.

Ol’ reliable

If Nothing were to install the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 into the Phone (2), the price tag would most likely shoot up a considerable amount – not to mention all the bugs the users will have to deal with. An expensive phone would also fly in the face of its consumer base. After all, the company has carved a niche for itself as an affordable option to high-tech smartphones like the aforementioned Galaxy S23.

And as Pei states, the Gen 1 platform “has been thoroughly tested and continuously optimized through numerous updates since its introduction”, so it’s not like people are getting the dog days or anything. You could even argue customers will be using the chipset in its prime.

We should mention a recent report from tech news site Inverse claims Nothing OS is getting a redesign in order to be more distinct. The system has been criticized in the past for being a “mostly stock Android experience with a few sprinkles of Nothing’s custom dot matrix font”. According to Inverse, the new user interface will break from the “established grid layout”. However, there weren’t any screenshots showing off the redesign nor could the report confirm that it’ll end up on the upcoming device.

The Nothing Phone (2) is set to launch later this summer.

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cesartechradar@gmail.com (Cesar Cadenas)

May 19, 2023 8:13 pm