The rear light glyph has plenty more to do, like custom blinks for ringtones and timer countdowns.
We’re weeks away from the release of the Nothing Phone 2, and its design has finally been revealed — to show a very similar phone with some distinct changes.
YouTuber Marques Brownlee exclusively unveiled the design in a video earlier today with a helpful side-by-side comparison to the original Nothing Phone 1 released in June 2022. The sneak peek didn’t reveal any changes in the software, and concerned the look of the upcoming phone — which inherited the flat-sided iPhone-esque look of the original Nothing Phone 1 — and an update on the light-up glyph design on the back.
Aside from swapping out the old phone’s black rear cover for a gray one, the biggest change to the Nothing Phone 2’s design is in the LEDs, which are still in the same general glyph shape as the original, but split apart into many smaller ones. To wit, the Nothing Phone 1 had 12 LEDS on the back, while the new one has 33, which can still be programmed using the phone’s software, Brownlee said.
Nothing seems to have focused on these LEDs, as 16 of the 33 are located in one long arc near the top of the back cover, which can be programmed as a progress bar — for instance, if you turn the volume up and down using the buttons on the phone’s side, the bar fills and depletes, respectively. You can also set a timer and watch the arc darken bit by bit. Nothing plans to open this functionality up for notifications by third parties, Brownlee said, with signups from ride-sharing app Uber and India-based restaurant app Zomato so far.
You can do more with other parts of the glyph, like keeping one strip lit until you address notifications or programming a sequential light-up pattern as your own custom ringtone.
And that’s it for reveals about the Nothing Phone 2, but fans won’t have long to wait to discover the rest, as Nothing set a July 11 launch date for its next big smartphone — which has already been confirmed to be getting a US release.
If you’re looking to buy a new phone, here’s CNET’s advice on the best phones this year and the best cellphone carrier plans (though you may want to consider waiting for Amazon Prime Day before getting that new phone).