The Nothing Phone 2a Plus follows 2024’s worst tech trend

If you ’re already gruesome of new telephone that are barely any unlike from the last poser , we ’ve got some troubling news . Nothing ’s latest phone , the Nothing Phone 2a Plus , follow the trend set up by gadget like theMobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro , theSamsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 , and theGalaxy Z Flip 6by beingsort - ofnew .

It ’s a beneficial affair we think theNothing Phone 2awas really good and that the design is still a winner , because the Phone 2a Plus may make a few mass a bit annoyed .

Nothing Phone 2a Plus specs

It ’s going to be a tough game of spot - the - difference when examining the specification sheet , but here we go . bug out from the front , the Nothing Phone 2a Plus has a 6.7 - inch AMOLED screen with a 2412 by 1084 pixel declaration , a 120Hz adaptive screen refresh rate , and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protect it . There ’s a fingerprint sensing element under the display and a 50 - megapixel selfie camera at the top , which can also shoot 4 honey oil video at 30 frames per second .

flick the earpiece over , and you ’ll straightaway see the same Glyph Interface kindling arrangement precede with the Nothing Phone 2a . This system slims down the array compared to theNothing Phone 2but still provides clean feature of speech like the Glyph Timer . There are two more 50MP television camera on the back of the headphone , and the main camera has both ocular and electronic persona stabilisation ( OIS and EIS ) .

MediaTek has furnish a particular Dimensity 7350 Pro C.P.U. for the Phone 2a Plus , a buffalo chip not used in any other phoneat the moment , and it get along with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of depot space . Plus , there will be an 8GB/256 GB version of the speech sound free only in India . A 5,000mAh bombardment provides the power , and it can be recharged at up to 50W , although there is no charger included in the box . The software system is Android 14 with Nothing type O 2.6 onboard , and the companionship commits to indorse it with three long time of major updates and four old age of security update .

A photo taken with the Nothing Phone 2a Plus’s main camera.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The best-looking Nothing phone yet?

marvel where the specification remainder are between the Phone 2a and Phone 2a Plus ? There are n’t many , with the new , faster 4 nm MediaTek microchip and GPU , the 50MP selfie camera , a few tweaks on the software front for the rearward camera ’s portrait musical mode , and more or less faster charging being the master one . Nothing say the Phone 2a Plus is for exponent users , and the scrap fall in a 10 % public presentation upgrade for app shipment over the 2a , while the GPU is apparently 30 % faster when playing game .

leave aside these changes , Nothing also loves to blend up the intent of its phones , even when they ’re only variations of inherently the same manikin , and I think this one is the effective interpretation yet . I ’ve been trying the gray version of the Nothing Phone 2a Plus ( it ’s also available in black ) , and it ’s perfectly magnificent looking . Nothing has used a metal finish for the design under the transparent rearward panel , showing off the NFC coil behind the cameras and in the “ racetrack ” design that course down the back of the headphone . It ’s a destiny more eye - catch than the black Phone 2a I reexamine , and it ’s definitely the color to get if you want to make a statement .

Aluminum has been used for the mid - physique , and the edge of the earphone has a smoother flavour compare to the textured Phone 2a . I enjoy the curve of the moldable rearward venire ’s sides and the way it avoids any sharpness when holding the phone . It ’s the same physical sizing and weight as the Phone 2a and has the same IP54 dust and water resistance rating , too . The Glyph lights and Nothing ’s fun tintinnabulation and notification sounds are still a highlight . No , it ’s not really much unlike , but it ’s still a superb - looking and feeling phone .

A photo taken with the Nothing Phone 2a Plus’s wide-angle camera.

Wide angleAndy Boxall / Digital Trends

What about the camera?

The main and extensive - angle camera appear to be the same as the I fit to the Nothing Phone 2a , but the selfie camera has been upgraded to a 50MP tv camera , so allow ’s talk about this one first . take a pair of selfies outdoors , shaded from strong sunlight , the Phone 2a Plus ’ photo definitely has more detail and more accurate skin tone , with greater control over the contrast , too . However , it is quite heavily - handed with the color , and I ’m not win over the portrait effect is any more exact than before .

I ca n’t fully assess the camera after just a pair of selfies , but there ’s obviously a difference , and it may come down to personal preference which phone takes the “ good ” selfie . you’re able to see the comparison between the Phone 2a and Phone 2a Plus ’ selfies in the art gallery below . I ’ve also taken a few photograph on an exceptionally cheery solar day to try out the Phone 2a Plus ’ main and panoptic - slant cameras , too .

The Phone 2a have fun , colorful photos that were idealistic for share online , and the Phone 2a Plus does n’t seem to deviate far from this formula . bolshy , blues , and greens pop off the screen as the camera amplifies the HDR effect , and the across-the-board - angle camera usually match the main camera for vibrancy , too . In the few photos I ’ve take , it seems to be a repetition of the Phone 2a , and that ’s not a bad thing .

A photo taken with the Nothing Phone 2a Plus’s selfie camera.

Nothing Phone 2a PlusAndy Boxall / Digital Trends

How to get a Nothing Phone 2a Plus

The Nothing Phone 2a Plus is available in the U.S. through the “ US Beta Program,”just like the Nothing Phone 1 . It be $ 399 for the 12GB/256 GB manakin . It ’s available to buy from August 7 , but you will need to put in a little effort to get one .

In the U.K. , the Nothing Phone 2a Plus costs 399 British Sudanese pound and will first be available through Nothing ’s retail stock in London from August 3 . Nothing also states that further Phone 2a Plus availability will be foretell in September .

Is it a new Nothing phone?

In what ’s becoming a melodic theme this year , the Nothing Phone 2a Plus make us interrogate whether it ’s sincerely a new telephone . Nothing claims it ’s for those who need more top executive , but that ’s also what the Phone 2 is for , make this for those who want onlya bitmore mogul but are n’t certain they can handletoo muchextra . Nothing will continue selling the Phone 2a as well , which is slightly cheaper than the Plus , along with the Nothing Phone 2 and theCMF Phone 1 .

It ’s an remainder , as on paper , the Nothing Phone 2a Plus looks like a lightly refresh version of the Nothing Phone 2a rather than a new phone serving a novel section of vendee . That ’s okay , but the Phone 2a Plus tread a very fine line of credit between reinforce new buyer and angering exist client . The Phone 2a is just four months old , so anyone who bought one probably was n’t expecting a more or less better model to arrive so soon and for only a trivial more money . It may not give much self-confidence to immediately corrupt a new Nothing speech sound in the futurity .

At this stage , if you ’ve control off buying a Phone 2a , then you ’re being rewarded , but if you did piece one up , then it ’ll front like you ’re on the haywire side of the raft . Luckily , the ascent are n’t likely to dramatically change the phone , so do n’t be too disappointed . We really liked the Phone 2a already , so you ’ve set out a salutary sound . But this just have us wonder why the Nothing Phone 2a Plus has been crowd out in such a hurry . It ’s a confusing sound that ’s very much on trend for 2024 .

A photo taken with the Nothing Phone 2a’s selfie camera.