The Nothing Phone 2a is blend to get a hatful of tending . First for its figure , then for the flashing Glyph luminosity on the back , and finally for the damage . The looking and light will split persuasion , but there ’s no doubt that the earphone has a really competitive price , and it ’s all coiffe to be talked about alongside other great value hardware .
Nothing has already successfullymarketedthe Phone 2a then , but is the phone itself a success desirable of tending ? I ’ve populate with it , and I ’ll card you with this : Get ready to have your expectations surpass by this brilliant phone .
Nothing Phone 2a: design
It ’s average to say that the Nothing Phone 2a ’s pattern is controversial . The other Clarence Day , Digital Trends staff author Christine Romero - Chan aver that due to the cameras on the back of the Nothing Phone 2a , the looking reminded her of a pig ’s snout , and now I ca n’t recollect of anything else . It ’s for sure not a favorable comparison , but it ’s not inaccurate if you look at it a certain way . Thankfully , the conception is also reminiscent of a pair of eye , and once you force the pig comparison out of your mind , it make the fresh headphone come out considerably cuter .
I ’ve been using the black version , but there ’s also an attractive “ Milk ” rendering available , which has an off - white coloration dodging . The back follows Nothing’sestablished love of transparency , but as the phone does not have wireless charging , the visible ingredient are simpler than on theNothing Phone 2 , and the phone has a slightly less sci - fi look .
The surfaces are strong to the touch and at 190 gram and 8.5 mm deep , it ’s easy pocketed and accomplishable with one hired hand . The IP54 water and dust resistance is also welcome . The rear cover and chassis are polycarbonate , but the rear attracts a lot of fingerprint . Does this imply it feels cheap ? The chassis has a pleasing , grippy grain and a metal - like finish , but the polycarbonate rear board does have a empty , evidently pliant sound when you intercept it . I ’d call it example of the price , if not a step above what some may expect .
The affair to understand is , it ends up not mattering if it feels expensive . Since the conception is modern and unusual , it depend and feels dissimilar from anything else apart from the Nothing Phone 2 . Exclusivity like this forthwith nominate the uninitiate assume it cost more than it really does . However , you may have to work out to keep it looking its skillful .
The phone is rather slippery , despite the stabilisation render by the camera bulge , and it has slowly crept off many surfaces during my clip with it . I ’m a fiddling concerned about the lastingness , as even though I ’ve only used the phone for a short time , it has already picked up a pocket-sized ding / gouge on the side and a pair of scribble on the lower part of the screen . It has train a few tumbles due to the slipperiness , but not onto any voiceless surface , do this a worry .
You ’ll be proud to carry the Nothing Phone 2a around .
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Nothing has made a distinctive and strange - looking smartphone , just as gestate from the design - led make . And compared to almost all other phone available for a like price , it really stands out . It ’s a phone with character , especially when you also consider the depth of customization in the software , and squealer - equivalence away , that makes it rather particular . bring home the bacon the durability does n’t prove to be an ongoing problem , you ’ll be proud to carry the Nothing Phone 2a around .
Nothing Phone 2a: screen and performance
The Nothing Phone 2a has a 6.7 - inch AMOLED concealment with Gorilla Glass 5 over the top , a 30Hz to 120Hz refresh rate , and a maximal brightness of 1,300 nits . It ’s a substantial upgrade over theNothing Phone 1 , and in some area even better than the Nothing Phone 2 — it ’s brighter under normal use and has thin bezel — but the biggest computer hardware change is find inside the gadget .
It ’s Nothing ’s first phone with a MediaTek CPU , the Dimensity 7200 Pro , which has been particularly created by the two caller for this twist . Built using a 4 nm process , on newspaper publisher , it ’s a high - performance fleck than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ in the Nothing Phone 1 , plus it ’s backed up by 12 GB of RAM . The Nothing Phone 2a also has Virtual RAM , with 2 GB of internal computer storage set as RAM by default , but this is configurable up to 8 GB .
Nothing has excelled with the screen , which is really bright and colorful , It ’s matched with great stereophony speaker unit . All this makes it a joy to look on video and to play games on it . During normal manipulation — including apps , GPS , and world-wide system sailing — the Nothing Phone 2a ’s carrying out is faultless . It ’s smooth and antiphonal , assist by Nothing ’s slick computer software . I ’ve lived with multiple phones since the beginning of the year , and for everyday use , the Nothing Phone 2a ’s performance rivals devices that cost a lot more .
Wide-angleAndy Boxall / Digital Trends
What about games ? The slight curvature of the rear jury and the categoric sides make the Phone 2a comfortable to hold in landscape orientation , and playingAsphalt 9 : Legendsis fun and immersive , with no obvious slowdown or jitter . But do recall that if you push it severely with more graphically intensive games , it wo n’t do like a flagship speech sound . Regarding efficiency , the 20 - moment 3DMark Wild Life Stress Test , which did n’t render much heat , reduced the battery animation by only 5 % , propose it should easily handle extended casual gaming Roger Sessions . Nothing ’s decisiveness to forge with MediaTek to tune the mainframe , and its choice of screen , makes the Nothing Phone 2a a splendid abject - monetary value all - arounder .
Nothing Phone 2a: Glyph Lights
Just because the Nothing Phone 2a is Nothing ’s crummy phone does n’t mean it ’s forgoing the make ’s key signature feature — the Glyph Lights . The light raiment on the back of the phone has been scaled down liken to the Nothing Phone 2 , but it ’s still fun , eye - catching , and effective at grabbing aid . There are three lights fence the camera module , which flash and beat when the phone rings or a apprisal come in , while one light bar can also stand for time remaining on a timekeeper and the loudness level too .
The Glyph integrates with Uber , Zomato , and your calendar to provide prison term - based alert and syncs to medicine play through your phone You do n’t get the battery charge indicator , and the lights are n’t quite so intense or intricate as the Nothing Phone 2 ’s , but they still get the problem done . I bonk the unlike ringtones and notification alerts , each with its own ignition successiveness , and it ’s potential to draw up your own timbre ( if you ’re musically prepared ) using the built - in editor .
There ’s no interrogative sentence about it : The Glyph Lights are fun , even if they are a tiny bit gimmicky sometimes . But if you want an countenance about the Nothing Phone 2a ’s extravagant sound and wanton show , how about this : The Phone 2a ( and Phone 2 ) is one of the few phones on which I ever give the strait up for alerts when I ’m using it . I can take or give the lights , as my phone is commonly front up , but the unique sounds only add to the Nothing Phone 2a ’s persona .
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Nothing Phone 2a: camera
The two cameras hide inside the pig ’s snout ( sorry , eye ) on the back of the Nothing Phone 2a are a 50 - megapixel principal camera and a 50MP wide - angle television camera with optical image stabilization ( OIS ) and autofocus . There ’s also a 32MP selfie tv camera just like on the Nothing Phone 2 . The hardware has been upgrade over the Nothing Phone 1 , plus the C.P.U. and ikon signal processor ( ISP ) are different due to the MediTek processor at heart .
The Nothing Phone 2a ’s camera is enjoyable to practice .
Photos take with the Nothing Phone 2a are vibrant , colorful , and exciting to look at , with amped - up saturation and stiff HDR on display in most . If the full HDR expression is n’t for you , the Phone 2a ’s Ultra HDR feature can be turned off under the camera configurations where it ’s on by default , but do n’t expect photo to be dull and lifeless after . In fact , I do n’t consider the Nothing Phone 2a can capture boring and lifeless imagesat all .
Wide-angleAndy Boxall / Digital Trends
Anyone craving Platonism may not like the Phone 2a ’s camera , but anyone wanting to apportion visually arrest pic online will likely love it . The good thing is , there ’s still plenty of detail and texture in effigy , and it has no problem focalise when you get closemouthed to your matter . Selfies are also great , with lots of sharp item and pleasing colour , and the portrayal impression look dependable , with accurate edge detection . Lowlight is n’t its strong point with a deficiency of colour and sharpness , as well as a slew of blur when it scram very drab .
The Nothing Phone 2a ’s tv camera is gratifying to expend , I ’ve been positive in its ability , and there ’s plenty of eubstance between the master and wide - slant television camera . The disappointing lowlight performance is intelligible at this price . However , outside of that and regard this is Nothing ’s “ tinny ” earpiece , the camera does n’t disappoint at all and is often as fun as the speech sound ’s coolheaded design .
Nothing Phone 2a: battery life
shroud behind the crystalline rear panel is a 5,000mAh stamp battery , which is recharged using only a wired charger at a level best of 45 W . The Nothing Phone 2a does not have wireless charging , and it does not derive with a charging block in the box seat . Nothing and MediaTek seem to have worked hard tuning the processor and software for reasonable efficiency , without going overboard with power management techniques . The Phone 2a does n’t aggressively adjust the screen ’s smartness , there ’s a proper always - on ambient mode on the lock silver screen , and apps seem to gayly sit in the background until called into action .
The result is a battery that will last two days on a single charge with around three hours of sieve sentence each day . Play games , and this does impact battery life a little more , but supply it ’s around 30 to 45 minute of play , the barrage will still easily make it partway through the 2d day . PlayingAsphalt 9 : Legendsfor 30 minutes concentrate the shelling life by about 8 % , while 30 minutes of YouTube streaming strike just 4 % .
To charge the Nothing Phone 2a , I used the 45W Anker 313 battery charger and a compatible USB - century cable , and the phone take 25 minute to reach 50 % and was fully bear down after an hour . It ’s rare to find very fast charging on a phone at this price , but this is basically the same performance you get from the Nothing Phone 2 , plus other gimmick like theGoogle Pixel 8aand theSamsung Galaxy A55 . To get quicker charging , take a flavor at the $ 500OnePlus 12R , which takes less than 30 instant to take its larger 5,500mAh cell , or theOnePlus Nord 4 .
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
I was hoping for a little more from the Nothing Phone 2a ’s battery . It ’s certainly not awful performance , and two days with average enjoyment will be ok for a lot of people . But yield the low power requirements and great capacitance mobile phone , I did bear to see it last even into a third day when I was n’t push the speech sound hard .
Nothing Phone 2a: software
Android 14 with Nothing oxygen 2.5 is installed on the Nothing Phone 2a , and is the same software campaign on the Nothing Phone 2 . It ’s hugely customizable , from using a variety of extra widgets created by Nothing to switching the app picture to a minimalist Nothing style . It ’s somewhat successful , although if you ’re used to recognizing app icons by colour , it takes some adjustment . I care the AI wallpaper choice where a full effigy is used on the ringlet screen and then blur on the home screen , as well as the decision to not mess up around with the telling spectre or the app drawer .
It ’s very easy to make Nothing OS reckon unique to you , and after a chronological succession ofusing phones at a similar pricewithout a true always - on screen , I ’m very proud of I can see the time and notification icon on the Phone 2a ’s ignition lock projection screen all the time . But not everything is a success . For example , it ’s far too gentle to activate the floating window lineament , and much too annoying to apace get rid of it once it ’s hang around on the screen .
But for all Nothing ’s talking of high levels of customization , widgets , and pixel artistic creation - style ikon blueprint , the fundamental software you really use is snug to the simplicity and logic observe in Android on aGoogle Pixel 8 , and it takes far less effort than Samsung ’s One UI on the Galaxy A54 to set up and get comfortable with . The telephone set ’s performance facilitate here , too , as it ’s never slow , making life history with the Nothing Phone 2a very comfortable .
Wide-angleAndy Boxall / Digital Trends
Nothing provides three years of adaptation updates and four years of security updates , which is less than Samsung and Google provide , but acceptable for a low - cost smartphone that many the great unwashed will not project to keep for so long anyway . I ’ve used the Nothing Phone 2a with Wi - Fi , 4 guanine , and 5 G connections , and it has behaved perfectly , plus phone call are well-defined for both party .
Nothing Phone 2a: price and availability
The Nothing Phone 2a is n’t being wide discharge in the U.S. , but there isa way to get oneif you ’re really motivated . It launch in the U.K. on March 12 . The received 8 GB RAM/128 GB storage Nothing Phone 2a costs 319 British pounds , or about $ 404 , while the 12 GB RAM/256 GB depot model ( which I have been testing ) cost 349 pounds , or about $ 442 .
Let ’s put this into context . TheGoogle Pixel 8alaunched at 499 pounds ( $ 499 ) , theSamsung Galaxy A55launched at 439 pounds ( $ 550 ) , and theOnePlus 12Ris 650 pounds , or a bargain $ 500 in the U.S. All three are swell smartphones , and although there are deals out there when compare launch Mary Leontyne Price only , the Nothing Phone 2a ’s time value is clear .
There are some rivals at the trashy end of the scale , too . TheSamsung Galaxy A35is $ 400 or 340 quid and is a more sensible phone without the glitz of the Nothing devices . Plus , there are two more choice that total from Nothing itself . The first is theCMF by Nothing Phone 1 , which cost just 200 Egyptian pound in the U.K.and is a real steal if you do n’t care about the Glyph Lights but still want some playfulness customization . The second needs a destiny more discussion .
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
What about the Nothing Phone 2a Plus?
If you ’re search at the Nothing Phone 2a , you ’re probably wondering if it ’s worth purchase theNothing Phone 2a Plusinstead . It ’s an odd phone as it came out several months after the Phone 2a , but despite its name suggesting it may be bigger , it has the same dimensions and size screen as the Phone 2a . The overall look is almost identical , too , apart from a novel color and a young spirit to the design under the transparent rear panel .
So whatisnew ? It has a young central processor , and it ’s another exclusive chip made by MediaTek for the Phone 2a Plus . Nothing take a 10 % operation boost and that apps will open faster , while the fresh GPU is faster , too . The other major modification is that the Nothing Phone 2a Plus has swapped the 32 - megapixel selfie camera for a 50 - megapixel selfie photographic camera , but in a elementary comparison , the divergence between the photos are minimal . Aside from these ( quite little ) change , that ’s all there is .
After using the Nothing Phone 2a Plus for a poor metre , I did n’t immediately acknowledge any difference in performance . Nothing says the phone has been made for “ exponent users , ” but I ’d propose that if you really want a faster earpiece for multi - tasking and long play sessions , the Nothing Phone 2 would be the better leverage . Otherwise , search at model like the OnePlus 12R , which offer a substantial execution boost .
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
The Nothing Phone 2a Plus costs $ 399 or 399 pounds , and in the U.S. , it ’s only sold through the “ Beta Program . ” Nothing previously used a similar program for the Nothing Phone 1 . The Nothing Phone 2a Plus is a very strange earphone . If you want the Phone 2a , then the Phone 2a Plus only cost a small more but is slenderly upgraded , so it ’s in all likelihood deserving buying alternatively of it . But if cost is the driving divisor — as is likely for a phone like the 2a — then the steady Phone 2a is cheaper and basically the same . If you ’re a bit confused , then I do n’t blame you . The Nothing Phone 2a Plus does littlebutconfuse the purchasing process , and it make us wonder why it be at all .
Nothing Phone 2a: verdict
There ’s something about cheap earpiece . They almost always have at least one significant downside , whether it ’s a dissatisfactory camera , terrible package , or an all important feature missing . Sometimes , it ’s a combination of all this and more . We ’re discipline to require less when pay less and unremarkably gravitate toward a more expensive phone to avoid such irritation . astonishingly , the Nothing Phone 2a seems to have obviate these pitfall , and it may be one of the few bum phones that is n’t severely hobbled in one or more crucial aspects .
As much as I like the Nothing Phone 2 , the Nothing Phone 2a feels like the odorous spot .
Complaining there ’s no wireless charging , only an IP54 military rank , and that it does n’t feel as unspoiled in the hand as a sound made from glass and alloy miss the point in time . It ’s at least half the price of phones with all this in their favor , and the fundamental frequency — software package , performance , screenland , auditory sensation , and camera — are all very well judge and work really well . What really tips it over into “ must - have ” territory is the unequalled and eye - get design , both in terms of the computer hardware and the software . It does n’t follow the crowd , and neither will you if you bribe it .
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
As much as I like the Nothing Phone 2 , the Nothing Phone 2a feel like the sweet spot . The competition ca n’t get tightlipped to it , while there are a hatful of other great phones to choose from . Using the Nothing Phone 2a reminds me why I enjoyedspending metre with the Google Pixel 7a . It puzzle out cleanly , is honest in its ability , wait great , and delivers an excellent computer software and ownership experience without pad the price . Is it all the reasonably priced phone you need ? Unless you ’re a genuine power user or hardcore gamer ( beyond who Nothing take the Phone 2a Plus is for ) or a very bully wandering lensman , there ’s a good chance it is .
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
