Some much-needed upgrades to the Nothing Phone (2) are apparently on the way when the phone arrives in a few months, says a leaker speaking to MySmartPrice.
The unnamed tipster claims the next Nothing handset will be arriving in Q3 of this year, with company CEO Carl Pei already confirming a U.S. launch (via MSP) and that the device will have a "premium edge."
The most interesting thing the tipster had to say was that the Phone (2) would run on an unannounced Snapdragon 8 series chip. That sounds like it could be the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 2 Plus, the assumed follow-up to the regular Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy that just arrived with the Galaxy S23.
The Nothing Phone (1) runs on a Snapdragon 778G Plus chipset, an SoC from the next rung down on the Qualcomm Snapdragon power ladder. It meant it didn't impress in the performance stakes compared to phones with flagship-grade chips like the Google Pixel 6a or iPhone SE 2022, but it sounds like the Phone (2) could rectify this, and even beat recent flagship Android phones if it uses an upgraded 8 Gen 2 chip.
Another alleged Phone (2) upgrade will come in the form of a 5,000 mAh battery. That would make for an increase of 500 mAh over the Phone (1), which would hopefully go some way to boosting the Phone (1)'s already strong battery life even further.
The Phone (2) is also supposed to get 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, the same as the top-spec version of the Phone (1). Nothing will also apparently add support for virtual RAM, a feature used on PCs and laptops and by other phone makers such as Samsung that uses a small portion of storage as bonus RAM when needed, helping with multitasking and juggling apps.
The last detail from the rumor is that the Phone (2) will feature a 120Hz display refresh rate like the Phone (1). The leaker gives no other details, although we'd expect Nothing to stick with the same 6.55-inch, FHD panel the Phone (1) has for the time being.
We found the Nothing Phone (1) to be a promising start for a company aiming to take on what it sees as a stale smartphone market, but for most users an equivalently-priced iPhone or Google Pixel is likely a better buy. If the rumored upgrades do come through for the Phone (2), perhaps Nothing will finally have a shot at having one of the best cheap phones or best Android phones on the market.
