The Nothing Phone (3) isn’t coming this year, CEO Carl Pei confirmed. It looks like the company is focusing on the CMF Phone 1 for now. So, we’ll have a look at the Nothing Phone (2) instead. This launched in mid-2023 with a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and some features that still keep it competitive.
The phone has an LTPO display, a 6.7” 120Hz 10-bit panel with FHD+ resolution, and 15W wireless charging (wired is 45W), things that some mid-rangers skip. There’s also the 50MP main (1/1.56”) and 50MP ultra wide cameras, plus a 32MP selfie. And, of course, the unique Glyph lights at the back.
You can pair that with the Nothing Ear (a), the company’s more affordable TWS buds (more so now than usual). These are rated IPX2, so they should be sweatproof and offer long battery life with ANC enabled (5.5 hours in one go, a total of 24.5 hours with the case). While they support LDAC, they don’t have LHDC 5.0 support like the pricier Nothing Ear buds.
Did you hear? Only the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max are getting the new Apple Intelligence features. These two have more RAM (8GB) and a faster NPU (35 TOPS) than any iPhone before. Will the vanilla iPhone 16 and 16 Plus get Intelligence? That’s unclear. Anyway, if you’re interested in Apple’s privacy-conscious take on AI, the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max are £100 off at the moment.
Last week we looked at the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE, which was down to £450 for the 128GB model and £550 for the 256GB one. However, the Galaxy S23 is still around and the price gap isn’t huge, especially when comparing 256GB phones. With the proper S23 you get a Snapdragon chipset (8 Gen 2) instead of Exynos and wireless charging. The display is smaller (6.1” vs. 6.4”), which some of you may prefer, but the battery is smaller too. That said, the Galaxy S23 is far more efficient than the S23 FE and lasts longer (11:27h Active Use score vs. 8:28h).
A cheaper phone with plenty of RAM and storage is the Poco X6 Pro. It’s powered by the Dimensity 8300 Ultra with 12GB of RAM and 512GB built-in memory, plus a 5,000mAh battery with 67W wired-only charging. The 64+8+2MP camera is nothing special, but the 6.67” 12-bit 120Hz display with 1,220 x 2,712px resolution and GG5 is better than what this class of phone normally offers.
Some people are turning to “dumb” phones to get away from the attention sink that are modern smartphones. But smartwatches can be just as distracting – and yet the health and exercise tracking features are important.
The Withings ScanWatch has the looks of an analog watch with real hands and dial and just a tiny OLED display to show vital information. It has clinically validated ECG and SpO2 sensors and does activity tracking to boot. The battery promises to last up to 30 days on a charge and is waterproof up to 5 ATM (50m). The case is made of 316L stainless steel, while the glass is sapphire with an anti-reflective coating. The straps are the standard 22mm kind, so they can be easily replaced.
Note that the above is an older model, the current one is the Withings ScanWatch 2. This one adds a body temperature sensor, but it costs quite a bit extra too. Both can show notifications, but their tiny OLED displays aren’t well-suited for it.
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Haslinda has worked with some of the largest telcos in North America and Asia. She loves tech and doesn’t like iPhone
