Deal: Prices slashed on Nothing phones (2), Galaxy S23 and iPhone 15 Pro

CEO Carl Pei has confirmed that the Nothing Phone (3) is not coming this year. It seems the company is focusing on the CMF Phone 1 for now. So, we’ll take a look at the Nothing Phone (2) instead. It’s set to launch in mid-2023 with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and some features that keep it still 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 leave out. It also has 50MP main (1/1.56”) and 50MP ultra-wide cameras, as well as a 32MP selfie. And, of course, there are the unique glyph lights on the back.

You can pair this with the Nothing Ear (A), which are the company’s more affordable TWS buds (more so now than usual). These are rated IPX2, so should be sweatproof, and offer long battery life with ANC enabled (5.5 hours on a single charge, 24.5 hours total with the case). While they support LDAC, they don’t have LHDC 5.0 support like the more expensive Nothing Ear Buds.

Have you heard? Only the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max are getting the new Apple Intelligence features. They both have more RAM (8GB) and a faster NPU (35 TOPS) than any iPhone before them. Will the vanilla iPhone 16 and 16 Plus get Intelligence? It’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 priced at £450 for the 128GB model and £550 for the 256GB model. However, the Galaxy S23 still exists and there isn’t much of a difference in price, 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 might like, but the battery is smaller too. The Galaxy S23 is said to be much more efficient than the S23 FE and lasts longer (11:27h active use score vs 8:28h).

The Poco X6 Pro is an affordable phone with a lot of RAM and storage. It is powered by the Dimensity 8300 Ultra with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of built-in memory, along with 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 most phones in this category.

Some people are turning to “dumb” phones to avoid the distractions that modern smartphones cause. But smartwatches can be just as distracting – and yet the health and exercise tracking features are important.

The Withings ScanWatch has the look of an analog watch with real hands and dials and only a small OLED display to show important information. It has clinically validated ECG and SpO2 sensors and also does activity tracking to boot. The battery promises to last up to 30 days on a single charge and is waterproof up to 5 ATM (50 meters). The case is made of 316L stainless steel, while the glass is sapphire with an anti-reflective coating. The straps are the standard 22mm type, so they can be easily replaced.

Note that the model above is older, the current model is the Withings ScanWatch 2. It also has a body temperature sensor, but costs a lot more. Both can show notifications, but their small OLED displays aren’t ideal for that.