After months of lapping up the slow trickle of leaks, we finally got our hands on the Nothing Phone 2 in all its glory yesterday. This $600 mid-ranger has an iconic glyph design and a rather iPhone-like chiseled shape ready to woo lovers of Android. However, unique designs are no good if they come at the cost of the phone’s structural integrity. In the quest to answer this question, Zach Nelson of the JerryRigEverything YouTube channel took the Nothing Phone 2 through his classic durability test. The results of the test are exemplary, to say the least.
Nelson usually talks us through the tests he’s doing, but he stayed silent for the entire durability test for the Nothing Phone 2, cheekily titled “I have Nothing 2 say…” Eerily enough, we have watched so many of his tests that we hear his voice in our head inferring conclusions.
The 6.7-inch FHD+ screen has a pre-applied plastic protector on top, and Corning Gorilla Glass protects the display itself. It scratches at level 6 of the Mohs hardness scale, with deeper grooves at a level 7. It should protect the screen from scratches, but coins, keys, and other sharp objects better not share your pockets with the Nothing Phone 2. That said, the in-display fingerprint reader works admirably well even when the display above it is heavily scratched up.
The frame is completely made of metal with what appears to be an anodized finish instead of a painted or polished finish like many other phones. However, the buttons don’t seem to be made of metal and there are several antenna lines around the phone, which have often been the points of failure for devices like the Pixel 7 in Nelson’s bend test. We were also worried the frame would give way because the button cutouts are near the midpoint of the longer edges, on both sides of the phone.
The back panel separating from the frame is the only visible deformation during the bend test
The Nothing Phone 2 surprised us by holding up to Nelson’s bend test from the back with no squeaking, creaking, and deformation. The results when bending the screen to fold onto itself were equally impressive, with just a small segment of the back glass panel separating from the frame with a quiet creak. As soon as the force is removed, the phone returns to its original form with not even a single crack on either side.
The Nothing Phone 2 is built like a tank, and it clears Nelson’s grueling test with flying colors. Durability tests like this just remind us of how tough phones should actually be, and we sincerely wish Google’s Pixel Fold design team takes notes from this video.
Nothing Phone 2
The Nothing Phone 2 is the second phone from Carl Pei's brand since he left OnePlus. Refreshing the first-generation model's iconic design, the Phone 2 proves its mettle in JerryRigEverything's durability test, making it an option worth considering if you're in the market for a mid-range Android device built like a tank.