A few weeks after the launch of CMF Phone (1), Nothing launched the Phone (2a) Plus, the so-called “successor” to the Phone (2a). The Plus variant majorly looks like Phone (2a). However, in this case, “Plus” denotes not the bigger display, but a handful of minor upgrades.
Having said that, we are still figuring out the reason behind the move from Nothing to launch a slightly upgraded version of Phone (2a) in its mid-range line-up, which could sabotage the sales of its smartphones.
The design of Phone (2a) Plus remains similar, with the addition of new metallic color finishes. The Dimensity 7200 Pro in Phone (2a) has been replaced by an over-clocked Dimensity 7350 Pro 5G chipset, exclusively made for Nothing in collaboration with Mediatek.
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus has a new 50MP front camera with support for 4K video recording compared to 32MP in the Phone (2a) while retaining the dual 50MP sensors for the main camera and the ultra-wide camera.
The third change is the support for 50W PD charging, compared to 45W in the Phone (2a), which promises a day’s power in 20 minutes.
So how meaningful are these changes? Which one should you buy now? Let’s take a look!
Same design but a different approach
The Phone (2a) Plus looks stunningly similar to the Phone (2a), which the company calls an “anthropomorphic” design.
“We created an anthropomorphic appearance whereby the cameras inside the NFC coil represent two eyes sitting in front of a brain-like hub of intelligence and communication,” says the company.
The attraction for the Phone (2a) Plus remains at the back, similar to other Nothing line-ups. The device is available in two new metallic colours: metallic Grey and updated Black.
We got the metallic grey version, and it looks beautiful. Due to the color choices, I prefer the Phone (2a) Plus to its predecessor.
Besides the colour choices, it has a similar glyph interface on the back with three separations and 26 addressable LED lighting zones. However, no worthy utilities have been added lately except for the already existing Glyph Timer and Glyph Progress, which utilize third-party integrations.
The Phone (2a) Plus feels light but has a plasticky feel, in a good way. Due to its nature, the rear panel attracts a lot of fingerprints, smudges, dust, and, if it’s kept on the surface, scratches.
The rest, including the button placements and ports, remains identical to the Phone (2a). But we feel the company could have added an infrared sensor, which is present in most mid-range phones, and it could have been a genuinely worthwhile addition.
MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro 5G – An overclocked 7200 Pro
The Phone (2a) Plus is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro SoC, which offers up to a 3GHz clock speed compared to 2.8GHz in the 7200. This makes it 10% faster.
Additionally, it has a faster Mali-G610 MC4 GPU clocked up to 1.3 GHz, which is 30% faster than the GPU in the 7200 Pro, which is clocked up to 1GHz. It promises an AnTuTu score of 8.05 lakh or more. Check out the benchmark scores below.
The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus comes in two variants — 8GB / 12GB LPDD4X RAM and 256GB UFS 2.2 storage.
Brushing aside the benchmarks, the performance during our overall usage was good. Since I am a casual user (not much of a mobile gamer), I was very much satisfied with the power it offered.
To test its potential for the red line, I installed a few games, including Genshin Impact and Beach Buggy 2.
I experienced some lag while playing these games. It’s important to note that this is not a gaming phone, so it’s expected to encounter glitches or lag when playing demanding games like Genshin Impact on a mobile device in this price range.
Multimedia performance on the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus was excellent. The stereo speakers can get sufficiently loud and produce rich sound with good bass, even at full volume.
A 50MP front-facing camera
The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus has two 50MP cameras on the back—a wide-angle primary and an ultra-wide secondary. On the front, there is a 50MP selfie camera, which can record 4K video at 30 FPS.
Right from the Phone (1), the camera hasn’t been Nothing’s forte compared to other flagships that have a dedicated telephoto camera. If you are someone who heavily relies on the camera for day-to-day usage, you will neither be disappointed nor impressed.
The rear cameras work fine during the daytime, packing in a lot of details. The processing is more natural, with decent dynamic range, low noise, and just the right amount of sharpness—no oversharpening or smoothing.
The camera has two modes — natural and vivid.
The “natural” mode results in quite natural colours, although they might not be completely true to life. In the “vivid” mode, the saturation is increased slightly, but not excessively.
The 50MP front camera, which lacks “auto-focus,” is decent but not as great as it should be since it is one of the upgrades over the Phone (2a). However, it is not bad either.
The skin tone looks great, but it softens the texture in a few situations where there is a lack of bright light.
The dynamic range and contrast are also very decent. In low light, the struggle of the 50MP camera becomes evident. Check out the camera samples.
5000mAh battery with 50W charging
The Phone (2a) Plus retains the same 5000mAh battery but has support for 50W PD charging, which promises a day’s power in 20 minutes of charge.
The company claims that the phone can maintain over 90% of its maximum capacity after 1,000 charging cycles, which corresponds to over 3 years of daily charging.
The Phone (2a) Plus is rock solid when it comes to battery life! This device is a perfect companion for casual users like me. For instance, I charge the phone in the morning, and it lasts me the whole day. The next day, I still had around 25% charge left.
You also have the option to tweak battery health through two options: Smart Charging Mode (which charges steadily overnight to preserve long-term battery health) and Custom Charging Mode (which limits the charge between 70% and 90% to protect the battery life).
Besides, these upgrades remain specifications, and its performance is identical to the Phone (2a). You can read the review here.
Availability and pricing
The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is priced at Rs. 27,999 for the 8GB + 256GB model and the 12GB + 256GB model costs Rs. 29,999. The phone is available from Flipkart.