The Nothing Phone (1) launched last year with a unique approach and design, packing the Glyph interface on the back of the phone that gave it an interesting look, while up front had uniformed bezels around the display. However, it was solidly upper midrange in performance with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ processor under the hood.
During MWC 2023 recently though, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon and Nothing founder Carl Pei would reveal that the Nothing Phone (2) would be making the step up to the their Snapdragon 8 series of processors, complete with a jersey to commemorate the reveal. That being said, the two curiously did not confirm whether or not it’ll be the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, Qualcomm’s latest and greatest mobile chipset offering.
Snapdragon 8 Series LFG! 🔥 https://t.co/WShuoycQty
— Carl Pei (@getpeid) February 28, 2023
However, Alex Katouzian, Qualcomm’s Senior Vice President and GM of Mobile, Compute and XR, might’ve accidentally let the cat out of the bag. In a post on his LinkedIn congratulating Carl Pei and Nothing over the upcoming Phone (2), he apparently had accidentally revealed that Nothing’s upcoming smartphone will be coming with last generation’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 system-on-chip, rather than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Katouzian has since edited the post to remove mention of the chip, but 91Mobiles had still managed to get a screenshot before it was changed.
Even though it won’t be the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the Nothing Phone (2) should still be significantly more powerful than the Phone (1) even if it comes with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. It remains one of the best mobile processors from last generation, and also doesn’t have the heat and power consumption issues that plagued the original Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. By using an older chipset, Nothing could also price the Phone (2) cheaper than its competition.
Incidentally, Nothing is also set to launch their successor to the Nothing Ear (1), their original in-ear true wireless earbuds. It claims it’ll have better sound and clarity along with its now iconic transparent design. You can find out more about it here.