The Phone 2a Review – Nothing’s Best Bet Yet?
There’s only so much a brand can get right while making a product for the market. The things to work on are virtually endless. There is the design, the technology, the user interface, the service and the list goes on. When it comes to consumer tech, and more precisely, smartphones, the battle gets even tougher. One such brand that has been figuring its way out and finding its footing in the Indian markets these past few years is London-based tech (and lifestyle) company, Nothing.
The Carl Pei-led tech venture launched its first handset in 2022, two years after the inception of the company. This was followed by the Phone 2 in 2023. Now in 2024, the company’s latest bet to capture as much market as possible is the Phone 2a, a true mid-ranger that is gunning for the sub-30k price category.
Design
The design follows the brand language and resembles the previous smartphones from Nothing. It is minimalist, it is industrial, it is classy. Unlike the phone 2, this one has flat edges but retails the transparent glass back. The buttons are aptly placed within the reach of the fingers. The charging port and the speaker grill are at the bottom of the phone. There is another speaker output at the top of the smartphone.
Glyph interface
This will probably go down in history as one of the most out of box elements in the smartphone design of this decade. While giving users something new and refreshing, it also provides utility like the volume indicator, glyph countdown timer and a countdown timer for Uber and Zomato, calls, notifications.
This phone has only 3 LED strips that light up in a similar fashion. Like the Phone 2, the 2a can also use the glyphs for an interesting musical experience. They just light up while music is playing.
Camera
50MP Wide shot
50MP Wide shot
50MP Wide shot (35mm mode)
50MP Wide shot (35mm mode)
50MP Wide shot (35mm mode)
50MP Wide shot (35mm mode)
50MP Ultra-wide shot
The camera this time around is not from Sony. These Samsung 50MP Isocell sensors (wide and ultrawide). The camera is decent and takes good photos despite not using Sony sensors. Even the 2x in sensor zoom looks fine. The images show natural skin tones pretty well. In low light conditions, the camera does not over process the images and retains as many details as possible. While the primary 50MP shooter is able to capture 4K footage at 30fps, the 32MP front camera is impressive too offering 1080p at 30fps video recording capabilities.
Just note that there is a slight switch in colours when you switch from the 50MP wide to the 50MP ultra-wide.
Unlike the Nothing Phone 2 which used a Sony IMX890 sensor, the Nothing Phone 2a uses a Samsung ISOCELL GN9 (S5KGN9) for its main camera. The ultrawide sensor is a Samsung ISOCELL JN1 (S5KJN1), which the Phone 2a shares with its flagship elder sibling. On the front, the Phone 2a uses a Sony IMX615 sensor.
Display
The 6.7” flexible AMOLED display offers FHD+ resolution with Corning gorilla glass 5 as protection. With 1300 nits of peak brightness, a 30-120Hz adaptive refresh rate. The display is also home to the fingerprint sensor which works pretty well.
Chipset
Let's talk about the Dimensity 7200 Pro SoC. By SoC I mean, it has the CPU as well as the GPU all in one place. Falling a little short in terms of power compared to the 7200 ultra as seen in iqoo Neo7 pro, the company claims that the chip is more powerful and more efficient than its Snapdragon counterparts like the 7s Gen 2 as seen in the Realme 12 Pro+. However, when compared to the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 found in the Nord CE 4, the Dimensity 7200 Pro does appear to struggle to keep up. More on that later.
RAM and ROM
The top model of the smartphone offers a combined RAM of 20GB (12GB dedicated RAM + 8GB RAM booster) and 256GB of storage.
Gaming
For gamers out there, the phone 2a is a decent choice. The 7200 pro chip can handle games like BGMI, Call of Duty War Zone and Genshin impact depending on what level of settings you’re playing in. The phone does heat up a bit despite the 3200 square millimetre vapour chamber.
Operating system
Android 14 and Nothing OS 2 come out of the box which is pretty neat. The Nothing os especially is an advantage as it offers a very pleasant and clean user experience. There’s something very pleasing about a minimalist UI and the Nothing OS 2.5 proves it.
Battery
5,000mAh battery is a boon for users who want a day-long battery life.
Bloatware missing
There’s NO BLOATWARE in the Phone 2a. This becomes even more impressive when you take into consideration the fact that the Phone 2a is a mid-range phone and not a flagship like its predecessor, the Phone 2.
Software updates
The company ensures three years of major software updates as well as 4 years of security updates.
Connectivity
The Phone 2a has NFC while some of its contemporaries like the OnePlus Nord CE 4 do not. Despite the fact that NFC in phones is still not that widely used, this is a huge bonus.
No adapter in the box
This is turning into a sore spot in the case of Nothing smartphones. Every other brand that sells phones at this price point that Nothing is targeting offers an adapter. In the case of the Phone 2a, this is especially true because this is a mid-range device.
Plastic back
The back panel is transparent plastic, which is good in terms of design but you will always be worried about damaging it. Additionally, it will attract lots of fingerprints.
No wireless charging
While wireless charging in a 25,000-30,000 phone is wishful thinking, this feature would have put this phone way ahead of the competition.
Slower memory
UFS 2.2 memory – While the industry is moving towards UFS 4, Nothing chose to stick to UFS 2.2.
Poor protection against the elements
Only IP54-rated compared to the IP67 rating of some of its contemporaries.
Slower charging
Only 45W charging (compared to phones like redmi note 13 pro+ and realme 12 pro+ which have up to 67W and even 120W fast charging)
No optical image stabilisation
The Phone 2a only offers a 2x in-sensor zoom without any OIS (compared to the competition’s 2x and 4x in-sensor zoom WITH OIS and EIS in some phones and compared to a 64MP periscope portrait in some others.)
There’s a lot to not like about the Phone 2a and it is very easy to jump to wild conclusions. The fact of the matter, however, is that there’s nothing much to complain about in the Phone 2a.
As a phone in the sub-30k price category, the Phone 2a offers a holistic package of power, camera prowess, battery, display and seamless user interface. Last but not least, the Phone 2a's design is phenomenal. Be it the fact that the signature transparent design language of Nothing is seamlessly incorporated into the Phone 2a or the fact that the traditional and overused vertical camera alignment has been switched up into a horizontally centre-aligned position or the fact that the Phone 2a tries to introduce a fresh perspective to an industry that is largely doing the same thing over and over again, there is absolutely nothing that this phone doesn't do to stand out int he crowd.
The camera is a feature that grew up on me over time. The 35mm widget was a googly for me as it made me fall in love with the Phone 2a’s camera. The primary sensor is a Samsung one so, expecting the same quality as the Phone 2 would be foolish. However, the 50MP sensor manages to take decent shots in full HDR mode. The colours are a bit on the saturated side and the HDR does a good job of making the photographs look alive. I did experience a bit of processing lag after a few clicks, though.
The battery backup is something that stood out. Going through an entire day without needing to plug the phone in for charging is a very underrated feature. The 5,000 mAh battery keeps the power up for up to 12 to 15 hours depending on usage.
The processor did fall short of expectations. The MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro seems to lose its edge when it matters. After a few days of use, the phone began showing signs of lag. Be it trying to hang up a phone call, or switching between multiple apps or simply unlocking the smartphone via the fingerprint scanner, I noticed minor lags that did hinder my user experience.
This is NOT a gaming smartphone so expecting top-tier performance in gameplay would be a fool’s errand. However, it does give decent output while playing popular games such as Genshin Impact, BGMI and COD: War Zone. Don’t go expecting exceptional performance, though. You'd be disappointed.
Overall, the Nothing Phone 2a is a wonderful value-for-money deal. With a price tag of Rs 23,999 (base variant), the phone offers an attractive proposition to buyers who are looking for a phone with a unique character and specs that can hold their own. This smartphone gives you exactly what you pay for. This is an all-rounder product with enough firepower to keep your senses titillated.
