Earlier this year, at MWC, Nothing boss Carl Pei extended the partnership with Qualcomm, announcing that the next smartphone would come with a Snapdragon 8 Gen series chipset. Now after much speculation, Pei has confirmed that the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset will power the upcoming Phone (2).
Pei notes that this is a “clear upgrade” from the Nothing Phone (1), which is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 778G+ chipset. He said that the Phone (2) will be twice as fast as the Phone (1) in terms of app opening speed. Furthermore, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1-powered Phone (2) will offer 80 per cent overall performance gains over the Phone (1).

Speculations were that the Phone (2) would come with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset after a Geekbench listing surfaced online for an unknown Nothing smartphone. However, now it seems like the Phone (2) will instead be powered by an underclocked variant of the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, which will have the prime core clocked at 3GHz compared to 3.2GHz as found on the standard Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset.
“Opting for a Snapdragon 8 Series rather than 7 Series brings significant improvements across the board including battery life, network connectivity, and camera capabilities, among others. It’s not just about speed – it’s about the complete package,” said Carl Pei in a tweet.
Premium-tier powerhouse, promises CEO
Nothing has been emphasising a lot on the “premium” aspect of the Phone (2). Even in his tweet, Pei mentioned the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 as a “premium-tier powerhouse.” Previously, Pei has said that the Phone (2) will be “more premium” than its predecessor, saying that the upcoming phone will come with a “leap in power and performance” but at a premium.
The Phone (2) is scheduled to debut this summer between June and August. With the Phone (2), Nothing will step into the smartphone segment in the US, as the company did not launch the Phone (1) in North America.