Release date, rumors, specs, price, and all leaks so far

Update, January 30, 2023 (10:24 AM ET): The Nothing Phone 2 will launch in 2023 and be “more premium” than the Nothing Phone 1, as confirmed by Carl Pei. There could also be a US launch for the product.

The Nothing Phone 1 was one of the most unique smartphones we saw in 2022. OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei started Nothing with the goal of breathing some new life into the stagnant mobile market. Now that the company has declared its intentions with the Phone 1, what can we expect from the Nothing Phone 2?

In this rumor round-up, we’ll review everything we know about the Phone 2. We’ll also discuss some things we can glean not from rumors but from Nothing’s short history, the Phone 1, and things Carl Pei has said.

Carl Pei has confirmed that there will be a follow-up to the Phone 1, and it will be called the Phone 2. We know this from a tweet Pei posted in December 2022. Unfortunately, that tweet’s main purpose was to shoot down the idea that there would be a Phone 2 in the near future. Pei explained that Phone 1 remains the brand’s main focus, at least for now.

However, Pei later confirmed on January 30 that the Phone 2 is coming in 2023. He held back on most specifics of the phone, but we are certain there will be a Phone 1 follow-up this year.

• Nothing Phone 1: July 12, 2022

As mentioned in the previous section, we are not certain when a new phone from Nothing could land, other than in 2023 sometime. However, we can look at the brief history of Nothing and get an idea of what we could possibly expect.

In late February 2022, Pei brought a Nothing Phone 1 prototype to Mobile World Congress. He was spotted showing this prototype to Qualcomm’s CEO. It is very possible Pei could repeat this in 2023 and bring a Nothing Phone 2 prototype to this year’s MWC.

In March 2022, Pei announced the Phone 1 by telling us its name and teasing its design and some of its features. Nothing then spent the next few months slowly doling out information on the phone until it finally formally launched the device on July 12.

It is very possible, and even very likely that we would see Nothing repeat this strategy for the Phone 2 this year.

Will you be able to buy the Nothing Phone 2 in the US?

While Pei didn’t 100{5376dfc28cf0a7990a1dde1ec4d231557d3d9e6448247a9e5e61bb9e48b1de73} confirm a US launch for the Phone 2, he did say it’s the company’s “number one priority.” We know that he has been in talks with US carriers. We also know that the Phone 1 has a temporary beta program for US-based buyers. Therefore, it is incredibly likely the Phone 2 would see a launch in the United States. It might not be sold at carriers or even see full support on all carriers, but we’d be surprised if it weren’t at least available for US shipments.

The Nothing Phone 1 has a distinct look that immediately sets it apart from any competitors. This is thanks mostly to “The Glyph” — the lights on the back of the phone. We don’t know much about the Nothing Phone 2, but we can be assured that it will also have The Glyph.

The Glyph could see some changes, however. It’s possible Nothing could make the lights brighter or more power-efficient. They could have new capabilities, too. One thing The Glyph almost certainly won’t have, though, is RGB lighting (the Phone 1 is only capable of producing white light from The Glyph). Although RGB would be an obvious upgrade for the Nothing Phone 2, Pei has continuously shot down this idea, even going so far as to describe it as “cringe.”

See also: Download the Nothing Phone 1 wallpapers here

As for the internals of the phone, we expect some upgrades here. Pei confirmed that Phone 2 would be a “more premium” experience over the Phone 1. While that’s vague, it strongly suggests some beefed-up internals for the 2023 smartphone. The camera, processor, and other specs of the Phone 1 were all firmly in the mid-range, which was a calculated move to keep pricing low.

Now, keep in mind that it is not likely that Nothing would make a huge jump from the mid-range into premium territory after just one generation. In other words, expect some upgrades with the Nothing Phone 2, but don’t expect a competitor to the Pixel 7 Pro or Galaxy S23 Ultra.

The Nothing Phone 1 is a budget phone. It starts at just £399 / €469, which equates to around $500. As mentioned earlier, we do not expect Nothing to wildly upgrade the internals of the Nothing Phone 2, which would mean the price shouldn’t jump up that much.

However, do keep in mind that Carl Pei started OnePlus. That company’s early strategy was to release a phone that made almost no money in an effort to build a fan base and then slowly increase the price for its future models. We would be incredibly surprised if Pei doesn’t repeat this strategy with Nothing since he’s already cribbing heavily from the OnePlus playbook. Pei has already admitted that the Phone 1 is being sold with almost no profit margin, which can’t continue forever. In other words, you can go ahead and plan for the Phone 2 to be at least slightly more expensive than the Phone 1.

Have any Nothing Phone 2 leaks to share with us? Send us a tip, and we’ll be sure to check it out.