Transparent gadgets are having a moment this year – and the Nothing Phone 2 takes it to the next level.
The smartphone – whose predecessor was dubbed a potential iPhone killer by many reviewers when it released last year – has a ‘minimalist design,’ a frame made from recycled aluminum and transparent glass on the back with patterned LED strips, and a transparent USB cable on the way.
Nothing Phone (2) is the first Nothing handset to go on sale in the U.S., but it’s the latest in a line of clear gadgets, including earbuds and the first Nothing phone, which has shifted 1.5 million units thus far.
It is the brainchild of Carl Pei, who founded smartphone upstart OnePlus and hopes to upset the giants of the cellphone industry using clear plastic and some out-there ideas. So is Nothing Phone (2) worth buying, or a lot of fuss about nothing?
There’s no denying it looks cool. you get a good view of the phone’s insides (Picture: Rob Waugh)
The LEDs are intense but cool (they’re mainly supposed to work when you have the phone face down, but I’m turning them on for show here) (Picture: Rob Waugh)
Pei is deadly serious about turning the industry upside down.
‘We are targeting people who are really interested in technology and really into design – that’s our tribe,’ according to Pei.
Pei is backed by serious investors, including Tony Fadell – a former Apple exec known as the ‘father of the iPod’ who co-founded Nest, the connected thermostat company.
In a world where every smartphone looks increasingly identical (barring the exact number of cameras on the back), Nothing Phone (2) makes a splash.
Not only can you see through the back to see components, the LEDs built into the panel flash in hieroglyphic patterns when you take calls, have notifications or set timers.
It’s a very cool effect and completely unique, and if you’re the sort of person who lives for the moment nearby people say, ‘Ooh, what’s that?’ this certainly turns heads.
You may be less enthused if you’re the sort of person who might be a bit mortified when your phone starts flashing like a mobile disco while you’re in a dimly lit bar.
When you flip it over, Cinderella’s fairy carriage turns back into a pumpkin, and you’re looking at a large, well-made, but fairly normal Android phone (albeit with a decent Snapdragon 8 + Gen 1 chipset and a sharp 6.7-inch OLED display).
The good thing is that, like Google’s Pixel phones, this runs a pretty ‘clean’ version of Android, devoid of unnecessary apps and bloatware, a formula that’s hard to find at this price.
There are a few nice extras that extend the look into the phone’s boring side – here’s the Weather app (Picture Rob Waugh)
There are also some nice extras, including snazzy widgets that carry over the rear’s monochrome aesthetic, with a stylized, minimalistic weather app and clocks.
But OnePlus is very much hoping you’ll keep the phone face down.
They describe the lights on the back as the ‘Glyph interface’ (hey, it wouldn’t be a smartphone launch without a few buzzwords) and hope you’ll use it to cut down some screen time.
I always find it bizarre when tech companies pitch features to cut down your screen time because the easiest way to cut people’s screen time is to stop selling phones altogether.
But there’s no denying Glyph looks pretty cool: you can set alerts so that important notifications light up the top-right LED strip on the back of your phone as a constant light.
The idea is that you (in theory) don’t look at your phone when it’s Clash of Clans reminding you to buy some crystals or whatever, but you can respond quickly to work emails or messages from friends (you decide which notifications.
This is what it looks like when it’s ringing (you can switch it to silent and still see the ringtone) (Picture Rob Waugh)
It obligingly lights up for notifications when it’s placed face down (Picture: Rob Waugh)
I always carry fond memories of an ancient BlackBerry with an LED that used to turn different colors for different notifications when facing down – this recaptures a bit of that.
You can also customize the ‘ringtones’ (flashing patterns) for different contacts, plus add noises from a palette of harsh and bleepy noises made by the Swedish House Mafia.
The flashing lights are fun: you can use them as a countdown timer with the Uber app, showing how long it is until your driver arrives, or as a kitchen timer.
Are they game-changing? Probably not, but they’re fun, very recognizable, and they’re at least something new in a market where most phones are deathly dull.
Novelty-hungry users can also, for some reason, turn all the app icons on the phone monochrome, which looks kind of cool for about four seconds before you change it back.
The hardware here is impressive: the panel offers dynamic 120Hz and an always-on screen (naturally including a bit of quirky, pixelated design, just to remind you that, yes, this is the ‘cool’ smartphone).
The SnapDragon 8 Gen 1 is responsive and quick, although it’s not quite as searingly fast as the second-generation chipset in Samsung and Sony’s top-end phones.
In use, the battery’s very solid, with the 4,700mAh easily lasting a day of moderate use (and leaving my usual Pixel 7 looking lightweight) – and the 45w rapid charge function is extremely fast, taking the phone from nothing to full in under an hour.
This camera has had a serious upgrade from its predecessor, with a 50-megapixel Sony sensor offering advanced HDR and AI gizmos to track moving objects in real-time, plus a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera.
Even in low light, it’s a serious performer but lacks the AI pizzazz of Google’s Pixel and the endless customizability of Sony, Samsung and Apple cameras.
It’s got the look and feel down pat (Picture Rob Waugh). Novelty-hungry users can also, for some reason, turn all the app icons on the phone monochrome, which looks kind of cool for about four seconds before you change it back
The fingerprint reader is embedded under the screen and works quickly and well (although it’s slightly more insistent on your finger being in the ‘right’ place than rivals).
The one real fly in the ointment is that it’s not properly waterproof – which for me is a problem as I have a young son prone to dropping electronics down the toilet.
It’s IP54 rated, which means it’s dustproof and proof against water splashes, but if you drop it into the water, it might give up the ghost.
But at this price – $599 – you’ll miss out on something when you get this much bang for your buck.
You usually have to fork out flagship phone money to get even a vaguely interesting feature, and here you’re paying slightly above mid-price money for a very unique device.
Price-wise, it leaves the Nothing (2) in a slightly weird position: you can get incredible phones like the Pixel 7a for less money.
But in a world of clone phones, it plows its own furrow – and if you want to be noticed, it’s hard to fault this quirky handset.
