When it comes to the best cheap phones, the Nothing Phone (1) has made a real name for itself. A fashionable take on the form, the handset fuses good specs with a sleek and unique design.
It's a good phone, but it doesn't quite have the firepower to compete with the best Android phones. That could all be about to change though. Recently, Nothing CEO Carl Pei confirmed that the Nothing Phone (2) was coming. Pei said it was set to offer a more premium experience than the current model – and now we have a little more detail about what that means.
At MWC 2023, Nothing announced that the Phone (2) will have a Snapdragon 8 Series processor. Currently, the 8 series flagship is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which features in top-end phones like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and the new Xiaomi 13 Pro. It's a fantastically capable chipset, offering more power efficiency and features like ray tracing which make it brilliant for mobile gaming.
There's no confirmation about whether that's the processor that will feature in the Phone (2), but it would certainly be a statement of intent if it was. A handset with a top of the line processor would surely give Nothing the best footing to compete with premium handsets from other manufacturers.
The other consideration will be pricing. The Phone (1) was a popular choice because it offered a good spec at a great price. And while a more premium handset will undoubtedly cost more, balancing price and performance will be crucial to the success of the Phone (2).
With release pegged for later this year, further announcements are expected soon.
