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Nothing suggests its latest product – the Phone 2a – is a mid-range mobile. And merely going by its specs, which include a 6.5-inch 120Hz OLED screen, up to 12GB of RAM and a large 5,000 mAh battery, it seems right. But starting at $349, it’s positioned more as a cheap product which makes it even more tempting. That’s because in a market where device makers sometimes take shortcuts to meet a specified price, the Phone 2a combines excellent components with a novel design to offer a phone that looks beautiful and is large on value. So while there are a handful of snags for potential purchasers in the US, Nothing has developed an exciting choice in a sea of dull cheap phones.
Design And Display: Definitively Unique
Nothing’s aesthetic is clear. It’s inspired by ‘90s retro electronics with translucent plastic like old Gameboys but modified with a more contemporary and coherent finish. This enables you view a lot of its components including NFC antennae (which is the disk encircling the back cameras) without it being bothersome. That said, with the Phone 2a, Nothing shook things up by shifting its cameras to the middle and rearranging its Glyph lighting, which gives the back more of a face while a little red accent adds a flash of color. It’s available in black and white color schemes, with the former occasionally making me feel like I’m gazing at Wall-E’s emo relative.
Another variation from Nothing’s prior handsets is that the Phone 2a boasts a polycarbonate back instead of a glass one. Now this would sound like a terrible thing, but this item is a reminder of how beautiful plastic can be when it’s done right. Nothing says the phone’s softly rounded corners wouldn’t be viable to achieve with glass. While I’m not convinced that it is a bona fide selling point, it does feel fantastic. Additionally, the choice of material results in something that feels a lot lighter than it looks, which is excellent compared to standard glass bricks. The Phone 2a weighs just 6.7 ounces (190 grams), which is less than a Pixel 7a (6.82 ounces/193.5 grams) despite the latter featuring a slightly smaller 6.1-inch display.
Performance: More Than Good Enough For The Money
Nothing is breaking common opinion by going for a Mediatek Dimensity 7200 Pro processor instead of anything from Qualcomm. Memory starts at 8GB, however in the US, the lone config has 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. And while its Geekbench 6 results (1,123 single-core and 2,603 multi-core) were a touch below what I received from a Pixel 7a (1,442 single-core and 3,639 multi-core), it felt quick and snappy during daily usage. The only little drawback is that occasionally scrolling across websites or social media wasn’t nearly as fluid compared to more costly rivals. But unless you’re wanting to perform some serious mobile gaming, the Phone 2a has more than enough oomph to go around.
Cameras: Better Than Your Usual Cheap Handset
A picture comparison between the Nothing Phone 2a and the Pixel 7a
A problem for both affordable phone producers and smaller firms like Nothing is keeping up with huge names like Samsung and Google. But unless you’re a true stickler for visual quality, the Phone 2a is decent enough. It performed an excellent job during the day of creating images that you won’t be embarrassed to publish on social media. Both the primary and ultra-wide cameras are based on 50-megapixel sensors that capture warm tones and provide color saturation that’s a bit richer than what I received from a Pixel 7a. That However, if you zoom in, you’ll discover that Google’s phone provides significantly better photographs with more distinct textures. At night, when cheap phones tend to suffer a bit more, the Phone 2a’s photographs were somewhat darker than identical shots taken with a Pixel 7a, as predicted, but they were still more than adequate. Sometimes, Nothing’s images were really less blurry than Google’s.
Battery Life: 5,000 Mah Goes A Long Way
Thanks to its huge 5,000 mAh battery, the Phone 2a turned in one of the finest times we’ve seen from a cheap device. On our video rundown test, it lasted 23 hours and 47 minutes, which is just shy of the Nothing Phone 2’s score of 24:25 and considerably better than similarly priced rivals like the Pixel 7a (17:41).
When it comes to charging, despite you don’t get support for wireless power (which is acceptable on a phone in this price bracket), the Phone 2a does allow cable charging at up to 45 watts, which is quicker than certain flagship phones like the Pixel 8.
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US Availability And Carrier Details
One of the greatest bummers about the Nothing Phone 2a is that while it will be freely accessible online in Europe, users in the US should know that there are a few more obstacles to leap through. The first is that in order to acquire one, buyers will need to join up for the company’s Developer program. Thankfully, this can be done for free and as soon as you do, you’ll get a link to purchase the Phone 2a straight from Nothing. Additionally, while the device does support 5G on T-Mobile via the N41 band, you won’t receive any 5G on AT&T or Verizon, which greatly restricts the attractiveness for consumers on those networks.
Wrap-up
On paper, the Phone 2a has pretty much everything I seek for in an excellent cheap handset. It’s got a robust construction incorporating IP54 water resistance, a brilliant screen and decent battery life. While its performance isn’t earth-shattering, it nonetheless seems quick even when compared to somewhat more costly competition. But what truly distinguishes the Phone 2a is that it does all this without destroying its charm in the name of cost-cutting. There just isn’t another handset in this pricing bracket that looks as beautiful. Nothing also pays attention to little things like the phone’s gritty pseudo-analog sound effects that help link its unusual look with its bespoke UX and dot-matrix-inspired widgets. I simply wish the Phone 2a was easier to acquire and had greater 5G support in the US.