Nothing Phone 2 Reveal Video Shows Off Redesigned LED Glyph Interface
Nothing has sent an early version of its new device to prolific YouTuber MKBHD, but we're not getting the full rundown yet. It would appear Nothing is only letting MKBHD demo the Glyph lights so far, but there have been some notable changes. Note, the video below contains several unrelated segments before we get to the Nothing Phone 2.
Nothing's Glyph lighting array loops around various components on the back of the phone, which has a transparent shell that has become Nothing's signature style—even its USB cable and earbuds are partially transparent. The light bars from the first phone have been broken up into smaller segments, but they still cover all the same areas. There's no RGB, but Nothing did improve the lighting in one important way. While the first-gen phone has 12 addressable LED locations, the Nothing Phone 2 has 33 LED locations.
Useful applications of the Glyph system were few and far between with the first phone, but Nothing is making better use of the added precision of the new Glyph lights. In the video, you can see the lower lightbar still works as a charging indicator. Higher up, the arching bar serves as a progress bar, volume meter, or a timer. Nothing also plans to make Glyphs addressable by third-party developers. It's nice to see Nothing is at least trying to make the Glyph lights useful. They add a little flash to what would otherwise be just another flat glass slab of a phone.
Nothing used a mid-range Snapdragon chip in its first phone, but the new one will take a step up to the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. It's a year old, but this chip is still one of the fastest smartphone processors available. Nothing has not confirmed pricing or availability, but we expect the Nothing Phone 2 will be fully revealed on July 11.
