When Carl Pei, the founder and CEO of London-based company Nothing, launched Phone (1) last year, the glyph interface was nothing that we had seen earlier. The phone’s successor is here — simply called Phone (2) — and it proves two things. First, the glyph interface is not a one-hit wonder. Second, the glyph can be versatile.

Glyph can be powerful. In mathematics, the little symbols are independent of language and culture, allowing glyphs to break down language barriers. Or consider the advanced hieroglyphic writing of the ancient Maya civilisation. In the hands of Pei and his team, the glyph interface acts as a communication interface unlike on any other phone.

The update from Phone (1) is obvious and the illumination is far more powerful than before. Maybe it has nothing to do with the brightness but all to do with how things are arranged. Nothing Phone (1) had five strips of LED covering a certain pattern. The new phone has an almost similar shape but the big strip that was there earlier has now been broken down into six pieces. All of them are still white LEDs and none of that mind-numbing colourful light patterns.

What you will notice easily is that there are more LED zones inside each of the strips. Instead of a total of 12 LED lighting zones, the new phone has 33 across the back. What can you do with these LED strips? You already know what you can do with the bottom “exclamation mark”-like strip — charging progress indicator. It still looks pretty cool.

The other lighting zones are far more dense than before, especially the one on top of the main strip where a lot of the magic happens.

Consider Live Activities on the iPhone. You can now use it for so many applications. See where your Zomato delivery is, what are the apps you are working on at the moment (like Apple Music and Timer) and so on. Nothing has tried to come up with something unique. If you are using the timer on Phone (2), as the countdown begins, a part of the main strip first glows and then slowly darkens. The same can be done for Uber. It’s super helpful and if it is opened up to third-party services, there is unlimited potential. Or consider using this strip as a volume indicator and the progress that is displayed is spot on. It’s a great way to get third-party developers excited.

Nothing didn’t stop there. There is a glyph ringtone composer. Personally, I love it; it’s one of the coolest things I have been playing around with. More? One useful use of the glyph interface is Essential Notification. When you receive a notification from a certain app, it can light up a corner strip and it will stay that way until you are done with the notification. It’s particularly helpful for apps that are important to you.

There is a lot to talk about the design but we will keep that for the full review (coming soon) of the phone. For the time being it’s enough to say that the phone feels brilliant in the hands and the rounded edges are super comfortable.

I want to leave you with a thought. In ancient culture, the glyph had a special place and even today, deciphering each sign is cause for excitement. Carl Pei is trying to create a phone language that he wants to spread among a community of like-minded users. Nothing Phone (2) is not just another phone; it’s almost like art that’s compelling and energetic.

You can use glyphs to understand the progress of timers or an app like Uber

Make good use of the Swedish House Mafia-powered glyph ringtone composer