Leaked Nothing Phone (2) specs reveal why Carl Pei's photos looked so good

(Image credit: Nothing)

published 7 July 2023

If like us you were impressed by the Nothing Phone (2) photos shared by the firm's boss Carl Pei this week, a new leak helps explain why they look so good. The Nothing Phone (2) appears to have the same camera sensor as the OnePlus 11.

It’s always wise to treat officially released camera samples with a pinch of salt, because of course no smartphone firm is going to issue images that show its device in anything but the best possible light. But the Nothing Phone (2) is getting a pretty big camera upgrade.

According to Android Authority’s Kamila Wojciechowska, the Nothing Phone (2) camera setup includes a new primary sensor, the Sony IMX890, which delivers in-sensor zoom and optical image stabilisation. That’s the same sensor you’ll find in the OnePlus 11, and it’s teamed up with the same Samsung JN1 sensor on the ultrawide camera as the Nothing Phone (1). The sensor on the selfie camera is a 32MP Sony IMX615.

The Sony IMX890 is a very impressive sensor. In our OnePlus 11 review, we said that the main camera results were “stunning… each scene is vibrant and full of life without looking unrealistic”. And the images that 9to5Google have been sharing from their review phone (with permission from Nothing) have been impressive too, with a noticeable improvement in quality over the photos from the first Nothing Phone.

Nothing Phone (2): key features, specifications and launch date

According to Wojciechowska, the key specs also include a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor; a 120Hz, 1,080 x 2,412 AMOLED display that supports 1Hz, 10Hz, 24Hz and 30Hz low power modes; the same optical fingerprint sensor as before; and some new wallpapers. “Seems like a fairly boring upgrade otherwise,” they add.

We really rate the Nothing Phone 1. In our Nothing Phone 1 review we gave it four out of five stars and said it was good value for money. The cameras were good if not necessarily class-leading, and our only real niggle was the battery life. Hopefully the new Snapdragon will boost the battery life somewhat, and from what we’ve seen of the camera samples the new sensor delivers a welcome upgrade to the camera quality. We’ll find out more when the Nothing Phone (2) launches on 11 July.

Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).