The Nothing Phone 2a is now official in India. In a scene where flagship smartphones often steal the limelight, it’s rare to see a mid-ranger spark as much curiosity and anticipation as the Nothing Phone 2a. The lighter version of Nothing Phone 2 piqued the interest of tech enthusiasts thanks to several prototype leaks, a unique marketing strategy, and the so-called rumors about the price point.
According to the company, the purpose of launching Phone 2a is to provide the optimal daily smartphone experience, doubling down on core user needs with all of Nothing’s expertise, engineering, and craftsmanship. A device for people who love to explore innovations and designs but also know what they want from their smartphone.
Now that it’s here, the question remains: can the Nothing Phone 2a bridge the gap between mid-range affordability and flagship-level performance?
Box Contents
- Nothing Phone 2a in Black
- USB Type-C to C cable
- SIM Ejector tool
- User manual and warranty information
Design
The Nothing Phone 2a looks ‘nothing’ like its predecessor, except for its transparent back. The upper part of Phone 2a has been designed with the camera at its epicentre, while carefully positioning the rest of the elements using a circular grid system.
The front is nearly all screen, measuring just 2.1 mm symmetrically on all four sides of the screen, and it has a flat plastic frame with a rubbery matte finish. The back is see-through glass, which the company calls an “anthropomorphic appearance.” This time, there are only three Glyph LEDs, however the utilities remain unchanged.
The Phone 2a feels light and easy to hold, thanks to the rubbery matte finish on the sides. The glass curves towards the frame on all sides. Even though the back is see-through, you can’t see the inside of the phone because they hid everything except the LEDs to keep it looking clean.
The transparent back looks cool, but it gets smudged easily! If you don’t like using cases and usually lay your phone on surfaces, you might have some trouble keeping it clean.
The Nothing Phone (2a) is IP54-rated for dust and splash resistance.
Display
The Nothing Phone (2a) features a large 6.7-inch flexible AMOLED display. It boasts a peak brightness of 1,300 nits, an adaptive refresh rate ranging from 30 to 120 Hz, and a touch sampling rate of 240 Hz. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
The display is bright enough, with punchy colors and good viewing angles. I’ve found no problem with the display during my usage to date, brightness was excellent, even when using the phone outdoors in bright sunlight. Additionally, the ambient light sensor effectively adjusts the screen brightness to ensure visibility in all lighting conditions.
Performance and Benchmarks
The Phone (2a) is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro. This phone is available in 8 GB RAM + 128 GB, 8 GB RAM + 256 GB, and 12 GB RAM + 256 GB. Overall system and app performance was excellent. During the time I used the Nothing Phone (2a) as my primary device, I did not face any slow-downs or lag with everyday tasks.
Juggling between WhatsApp, Chrome, and social apps was not an issue. However, we had frame drops during games, particularly the not-so-GPU-intensive Beach Buggy.
Check out some synthetic benchmark scores
Multimedia
Multimedia performance on the Nothing Phone (2a) is excellent. The stereo speakers can get sufficiently loud and produce rich sound with good bass even at full volume. Watching content on the Phone (2a) is an enjoyable experience thanks to the large display, bright and vivid colors, and great sound quality.
Camera
The Nothing Phone (2a) has two 50MP cameras on the back – a wide-angle primary and an ultrawide secondary. On the front, you have a 32MP selfie camera too. The rear cameras can record videos up to 4K at 30 fps and 1080p at 30 fps on the front.
The rear cameras work fine during the daytime, packing in a lot of details. The processing is more on the natural side with good dynamic range, low noise, and just the right amount of sharpness. No oversharpening or smoothening.
The Portrait mode in Phone 2a doesn’t have dedicated depth sensors and relies entirely on AI. While the subject separation is good, it may not be that great for those with complex haircuts. If you have messy hair, it could pose a challenge.
The macro shots are very good, much better than most phones can do these days. The selfie camera provides decent output — good contrast, and dynamic range, accurate colors, and less noise.
Nothing Phone (2a) falls apart when it comes to low light. The auto Night Mode is available across all three cameras. You cannot control its exposure time; you can just choose whether to use it or not. The photos at low lights are average to above average at the maximum, in both the rear cameras.
Check out some of the samples below:
Software
The Nothing Phone (2a) comes with Nothing OS 2.5.3 on top of Android 14. The company has promised 3 Android OS updates and 4 years of security patches every 2 months, the same as the Phone (1) and (2). Apart from the fonts and UI, it gives a stock Android experience without any bloatware.
Nothing OS lets you add customized grid design, widget size, and color themes and has new folder layouts and illustrated covers. You can control the Glyph lights from the software, and there are some useful integrations like Google Calendar, Zomato, Uber, Music Visualization, and the Glyph Timer.
Like in Phones (1) and (2), the Phone (2a) has a Flip to Glyph feature that lights up the LEDs for message and call notifications when you put the phone face down.
The phone has an in-display optical fingerprint sensor which immediately unlocks the phone just by keeping your finger on the sensor. You don’t get any animation options. The phone also has a face unlock that can unlock the phone in seconds, but it is not as secure as a fingerprint.
Battery Life
Coming to the battery life, the phone packs a 5000mAh (typical) built-in battery, bigger than Phone (1) and (2). With minimal use of Wi-Fi, it should last for a day easily. Similar to Phone (2), this also supports 45W fast charging. Nothing sells its own 45W PD power adapter, which is an additional cost to consider.
Pricing and availability
The Nothing Phone (2a) is priced at Rs. 23,999 for the 8GB + 128GB model, the 8GB + 256GB model costs Rs. 25,999 and the top-end 12GB + 256GB model costs Rs. 27,999. The phone will be available from Flipkart starting from March 12th. With all the offers, the phone will be available for Rs. 19,999 on March 12th.
Conclusion
Starting at a price of Rs. 23,999, the Nothing Phone (2a) is a compelling option if you value aesthetics in and out, lag-free performance, and super smooth software. Well, the camera is good too, but it has its own shortcomings in low light. All said and done, if you can look past a few minor flaws, the Phone 2a has its heart at the right place. To summarize, here are the pros and cons
Pros
- Excellent, lightweight build
- Top notch software experience
- Neatly implemented glyph lights
- Good battery life
- Good camera performance in daylight
Cons
- Average camera performance in low light
- Back panel attract smudges and gets scratched easily