Nothing CEO Carl Pei drew a crowd at Mobile World Congress 2023 when he took the stage to announce that his company’s next phone, the Nothing Phone 2, will feature a high-end Snapdragon 8-series chipset.
In reality, that wasn’t quite the reveal we were hoping for – the prospect of a preview of the phone itself was the real draw to the show – and new information suggests that Pei’s announcement may be even less significant than first thought.
First noticed by 91 mobiles (opens in new tab)Qualcomm CEO Alex Katouzian may have accidentally revealed in a now-edited LinkedIn post (opens in new tab) that the Nothing Phone 2 will use the first generation Snapdragon 8 chipset, rather than the top-notch Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
Specifically, the new phone will use the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset, which appeared in late 2022 on phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the OnePlus 10T, both admittedly excellent performers.
However, this also means the Nothing Phone 2 won’t boast a processor to match the very best Android phones of 2023, such as the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and OnePlus 11 (read our Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review and OnePlus 11 review for the low -down on those two handsets).
That said, from a performance point of view, the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset will still be a noticeable improvement over the Snapdragon 778G Plus in the Nothing Phone 1, and some of the best smartphones will continue to take great advantage of Qualcomm’s 2022 hardware. .
In practice, the Nothing Phone 2 should feel as powerful as the best Samsung phones of 2022, with vastly superior performance and imaging capabilities compared to its predecessor.
Moreover, the Nothing Phone 2’s adoption of Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 instead of Gen 2 will work in its favor in terms of price. By allowing Nothing to keep component costs down, the company may be able to offer its first bona fide premium phone at a price point that undercuts its top competitors.
Sure, the Nothing Phone 2 won’t be cheap – its price tag will almost certainly eclipse its predecessor’s £399 / €469 / AU$749 equivalent – but it’ll be exciting to see what Carl Pei and company can deliver with a little more power under the hood (even if that power can’t hold a candle to the latest and greatest of 2023).