One of my biggest pleasant surprises of 2023 was living with the Nothing Phone (2) – the second-gen handset from the UK upstart and one of my favourite phones of the year (I've certainly seen no better sub-flagship Android phone, if you can even call it that). Now there's even more good news: the Phone (2) has suddenly dropped in price as part of the best Black Friday deals.
So why is this such a good deal? For me, Nothing is onto Something as Not only does the Phone (2) deliver the Android basics really well, it adds additional fun features – primarily its Glyph lighting system on the rear of the phone, which can be used to show specific notifications in pre-programmed ways, or a decreasing light trail when tracking your Uber's progress.
As I wrote in my Nothing Phone (2) review from July of this year, which scored a rare 5-stars: "it impresses threefold: first it's so comfortable to hold and use, with a distinctive design; two, the improvements to everyday essentials (compared to Phone (1)), such as battery life and screen quality, are a real mark of quality; third, it adds a dollop of fun on top all of that, with features such as Glyph lights not just being a throwaway gimmick."
Take all that on board and what you've got here is ultimately a contender for one of the best Android phones on the market. Sure, its cameras can't quite compete with the top-tier models on the market, but then Nothing's handset is not nearly as pricey as the best flagships. In all other areas of performance, though, it holds its own.
If I was looking to buy a phone as part of the best Black Friday deals then this one would be a strong contender. There are others, from the half-price Google Pixel 7, to the £100-off Google Pixel 8, or if you're really creative (with trade-in) then you could nab a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra for £499. How about that for variety?
