Nothing Phone (2) vs Samsung Galaxy S23: Form or function?

With the announcement of the Nothing Phone (2), we wanted to see how it truly compares to one of the best Android handsets on the market.

The Nothing Phone (2) is now available to pre-order in the UK, America and across Europe with a starting price of £579/$599/€679. 

Any Android lovers will be familiar with the Samsung Galaxy S23, the vanilla model in the Galaxy S23 series. This handset has been on the market for a while now and has a higher starting price of £849/$799. 

Today, we’re going to be running through some of the key differences between these handsets so you can decide which device is best suited for you. 

Nothing Phone (2) comes with a Glyph Interface

One of the biggest features of the Nothing Phone (2) is the inclusion of a Glyph interface. This feature is currently exclusive to the Nothing Phone series and is a range of LEDs embedded into the transparent rear of the handset.

The lights can be customised to flash when you get a call or notification, can act as a fill light for the camera in low-light situations, and can even display countdown timers and app status updates from apps like Deliveroo and Uber. This feature is not available on the Samsung Galaxy S23 since it touts a more traditional block colour design.

Samsung Galaxy S23 has a larger camera array

Both handsets come with a great array of cameras, but the Galaxy S23 has more sensors. It comes with a 50-megapixel main sensor, 12MP 120-degree ultrawide sensor as well as a 10MP 3X telephoto sensor. We found these cameras to work very well, with the 50MP lens using pixel-binning tech that produced well-lit, detailed shots in both low and well-lit environments. 

The Nothing Phone (2) only has a dual-camera setup, using a 50-megapixel Sony IMX890 main sensor and a 50MP ultrawide lens. It comes equipped with an advanced 18-bit IPS (image signal processor) that allows the handset to process camera data up to 4,000 faster than its predecessor. We will have to wait and see how it performs in our full review. 

Nothing Phone (2) has a larger battery

The Samsung Galaxy S23 comes with a 3900mAh battery, with Samsung claiming that it can support up to 22 hours of video playback. We found that the Galaxy S23 was able to last the entire day during normal use, with the battery draining by just 6% after an hour of HDR playback on Netflix. It did not shine in terms of charge speeds though, with a full charge taking 1 hour and 20 minutes. 

We don’t have the battery test results of the Nothing Phone (2) just yet, but we do know that it comes with a 4700mAh battery. Nothing claims that it can be charged up fully in just 55 minutes and comes with support for 15W Qi wireless charging as well as 5W reverse charging. 

Samsung Galaxy S23 is more powerful

Samsung has fitted the Galaxy S23 with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, which is the latest generation you can find from Qualcomm’s range of smartphone processors.

The Nothing Phone (2) instead wields a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 from the preceding generation. This implies that Samsung will have the edge when it comes to performance power, but we’ll need to confirm that via benchmark tests in our upcoming review of the Nothing Phone (2).

Samsung Galaxy S23 comes in more colours

The Nothing Phone (2) comes in just two colours: Black or White. Thanks to the inclusion of the Glyph interface and its unconventional rear panel design, it does not look like a “boring” handset, but it is limited in terms of personalisation. 

Samsung kitted out the Galaxy S23 with a multitude of colour options, although it is worth noting that colour availability will depend on your region and mobile carrier. It can be found in Lavender, Cream, Phantom Black, Green, Lime and Graphite, so you should be able to find a colour that works for you.