Nothing Phone 2 will have a Snapdragon 8-series CPU

The Nothing Phone 1 was one of the most interesting phones of 2022. Its light-up back — known as The Glyph — immediately set it apart from the pack. However, its Snapdragon 7-series processor made the phone a mid-ranger, likely turning away some otherwise interested buyers.

Thankfully, folks interested in the Nothing Phone 2 won’t need to worry about this. At Mobile World Congress 2023, Nothing and Qualcomm announced that the Phone 2 will have a Snapdragon 8-series processor. This will make the 2023 smartphone a premium device with processing power comparable to flagships from major OEMs.

Of course, this being Nothing, the company didn’t divulge specific details about the processor. It’s possible the phone could come with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which is currently the top-of-the-line model. However, it could also come with last year’s Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 — or even the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. If Nothing went with either of those older processors, it would allow the Phone 2 to have plenty of power without ballooning its retail price.

It would actually make a lot of sense for Nothing to go that route. The Nothing Phone 1 was incredibly cheap for what it was — starting at £399 (~$483), you got a unique design, a good-but-not-great processor, wireless charging, and a decent-enough camera. If Nothing goes with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor in the Phone 2, it would need to increase that entry price by quite a lot, which might turn early adopters away.

Of course, regardless of which Snapdragon 8-series processor is included, today’s news virtually guarantees that the Phone 2 will be more expensive than the Phone 1. The question is, by how much?

Regardless, we’ll need to wait and see what Nothing ends up doing. For now, though, you can rest assured that the next phone from the brand will have plenty of processing power.