Nothing Phone (2) to debut in the US and other markets as a "more premium" successor to the Phone (1) later this year
While Nothing chose not to release its debut smartphone, the Nothing Phone (1) in the US, the company has evidently set its sights on that market, with a recent beta membership program making the Phone (1) available in the US. According to a new report, though, it appears the Phone (2) will get a direct US release.
As revealed by Nothing CEO Carl Pei in an interview with Inverse, the Nothing Phone (2) will arrive in late 2023, and will launch in the US as well.
“We decided to make the U.S. our No. 1 priority in terms of markets. We couldn't do it earlier because we were only in our second year and our hands were tied building the team as we were building the products. Now as we're on a more solid footing, we can take a step forward."
“When you make a smartphone for the U.S. you need to work with the carriers on certification and adapting some of their features into your OS. We didn't have the resources for that before and now we do. We're really excited about the U.S. market because it's a big country. If you look at our earbuds sales, about one-third comes from the U.S. And by not launching our phone in the U.S., we're leaving potentially a third of the volume on the table.”
- Carl Pei via Inverse
Pei, OnePlus co-founder alongside Peter Lau, also confirmed the name of the device to be the Nothing Phone (2)—unsurprisingly. In addition, the upcoming phone is teased to be a more premium offering than 2021's Phone (1), albeit unlikely to be a flagship phone designed to rival Samsung's Galaxy S series and Apple's iPhones. More probably, the Phone (2) will feature a more premium build and a more powerful SoC than the Snapdragon 778G+ on the Phone (1), while also sporting upgraded camera hardware.