Verdict
The Nothing Phone ( 2a ) Plus has a courteous filmdom , pleasant software , a great design , reliable cameras and excellent stamp battery living . That it also has power to spare , good speakers and a funky hardening of brightness level on the ass are only frost – but it is n’t without its fault .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Smartphones are wonderful things . They hold our liveliness , digital , societal and otherwise , in their metal and glass bodies , reserve a spirit level of connectivity not even woolgather about in years past .
But not everything about them is appliance and wonderment , there ’s a darker side too . Their bright gloss , insistent speech sound and gamified interface are precision - engineered to play false our millenary - honest-to-goodness monkey brain , plainly put they are just a bit too stimulant .
This is a problem which many maker do n’t really put much intellection into , after all , their job is to encourage you to buy more phone and use them longer , not the opposite . That is , except Nothing .
The curiously - named firm has gage out ground in a complex and saturated market by claim itself to be a counterpoint to the likes of the others . And its devices , to some extent , bear witness to that ambition , with filmy back and advertise monochrome interfaces . This is a society which is trying to sell the concept ofnothingthrough a smartphone .
That ’s a gamy conception , and whether it is enough against polished competition to really make a difference of opinion is yet to be seen . Regardless of how a smartphone is marketed , it is still a smartphone to be valuate and liken against the residual . So does it do enough to earn a place in your sac ?
Design
There ’s no belief quite so crucial as a first depression , and seemingly aware of this , Nothing has plump all out to make the ( 2a ) Plus suffer out from the competition . If others are generally garden - assortment copy of the stock iPhone , this is most emphatically not .
To lead off , we get to the very prominent rear . The entire rear panel is see - through , transparent plastic , show a curated view of the phone ’s insides with a metallic ending that separates it from the regular Phone ( 2a ) . There ’s an NFC reader and more , while the cameras sit on an island around four - fifths of the fashion up the equipment .
Putting it gently , it look like very footling else on the market . This is a rarified phone with a visual identity clearly its own , and sticks out nicely .
The slightly former noughties influence in the design extends to the frame too . Glossy charge plate is used in lieu of metal or glass , no doubt to keep cost down . With this kind of soft cloth follow some concerns , I did n’t feel that the ( 2a ) Plus would come in out well after a scuffle with some keys in a pant pocket . If you want to keep your sound pristine , you ’ll require a case .
There ’s one braggart benefit which comes from using charge plate ; exercising weight or lack thereof . Although the video display is large at 6.7 column inch , and the sound is relatively thick at 8.5 mm , it weigh a simple 190 g. compare to even the smaller iPhone Pro model it is a noticeable improvement and aids one - handed serviceability greatly .
On the left of the phone , there ’s a volume rocker , while on the right sits a power button . The bottom houses a USB - C port for charge and information transfer , along with the SIM tray and the first of two front - enkindle speaker , with the second being the earphone . Two colourways are offered , Black and Grey , which is a slight shame .
If Nothing had really require to encompass its style influences with the ( 2a ) Plus , it would have been squeamish to see some 1999 iMac - coloured translucent plastics , but there are none to be seen .
One real innovation is the inclusion of the ‘ Glyph ’ system , a series of lights underneath the translucent casing which light up in different orders according to your penchant . Key to them is that they are only visible when the gadget is screen - down on a Earth’s surface , so you are n’t looking at it . It ’s an extension of the notice light , and a fashionable , if inconsequential , summation .
In all , this is a memorable machine at a point where it feels collide to see something dissimilar in the mid - range blank . There ’s been such a sea of biscuit - cutter design for so long that something , anything , is a breath of novel air .
Screen
If the outer design of the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) Plus showcases some of the ambition that the house has to aid mass unplug , there are no such efforts made with the screen . As usual it has a truckload of selling terms bind to it , each of which is a signifier that a central dream here was at least to match the rival .
This is n’t to pick at the gadget , it ’s more recognition of the general state of smartphone screens . Like most others at the Mary Leontyne Price compass point , it is 1080p in resolution , boasts AMOLED blind tech , has a 120Hz refresh charge per unit and sports HDR capabilities . None of these are negative in any respectfulness , they are just so interchangeable to the competition as to almost not be worthy of citation .
The screen , like many others , is bright enough to continue legible in strong sunlight , as well as dim enough to form well for bedtime interpretation . It has vibrant colours , but not so much that things look cartoonish , and with HDR , supported content looks big .
What it would have been nice to see is something like TCL ’s paperlike display , a secondary hardware solution to the trouble defined by Nothing , rather than another good , but cookie - cutter jury . Instead of a concealment designed to serve cut eye fatigue , it ’s another effort which reinforces exist upshot .
amount to the refresh rate , it is varying but not in the same way as more premium machine . While they can freshen up dynamically depending on the content read , sometimes down to 1Hz , here we have three options : 60Hz , 90Hz and 120Hz . You have the option to put it always at the gamy setting or the modest setting , or to let the telephone set itself determine . For many people , the last option is likely to be the most reasonable .
In all , there ’s no disputing that the silver screen on the ( 2a ) Plus is objectively a good one , it is just miss a little of the thought so obviously put into the other areas of the twist .
Camera
Coming to the tv camera , on the surface we see something of a similar deficiency of ambition . There ’s a 50MP f1.9 main detector , flanked by a 50MP ultrawide on the rear , with a 50MP selfie sensor on the front , making the ( 2a ) Plus quite a adequate to cameraphone .
pop with the tv camera interface , it is a showcase for Nothing ’s figure work . There ’s no monumental cornucopia of modes , everything is stripped back and simple to access . Crucially , it ’s quick to launch too , meaning you are less likely to miss of import moment .
Image character , at least from the master sensor , is great for the cost class . exposure are sharp and detailed , displaying all-embracing active compass and there ’s enough saturation to offer pop without being over the top .
That read , these are exposure firmly on the ‘ Samsung ’ side of the saturation debate , which if you are n’t endow in the smartphone domain , mean colour produced be given towards lurid at time . If you are like me and enjoy your photos a little livelier than most , image acquire by the ( 2a ) Plus will be right up your street . Those preferring a more naturalistic mental representation would be good to look elsewhere .
Low - light carrying out is also pleasant , though image have a tendency to be over - clear . The tuning on the ( 2a ) Plus tends to make images look a little as though they were take during daytime , even later at Nox .
Performance on the ultrawide detector , as is to be carry , is a little less virile than on the main snapper . icon still have a pleasant degree of saturation , however there ’s less detail and sharpness , par for the course when it comes to smaller sensors .
The selfie sensing element was something of a revelation . More megapixels do not a better camera make , however here the new 50MP sensor results in image that have a great level of contingent , while still rest flattering .
Performance
If the ( 2a ) Plus lacks ambition with its screen , and does n’t make enceinte claims with its photographic camera , functioning is a playing field where it tries to make a mark .
Inside it start the MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro 5 G , a chip not used by any other mid - Texas Ranger focused on power and efficiency . That ’s plump for up by 12 GB of RAM , which can be ‘ lead ’ to 20 GB using a feature called RAM Boost , but this is in spades an example of marketing getting ahead of engineering .
As might be expected with a modernistic mid - range smartphone , swiping through the interface is no issue for the ( 2a ) Plus . jolly much anything you could discombobulate at the phone it handle with poise , even grueling game . Though you ’ll want to throw away from the highest graphics setting in some , the likes of PUBG ran flawlessly .
These immanent experiences are backed up by benchmarking , where the ( 2a ) Plus attain some interesting scores . With a 1147 single meat scotch and a 2614 multi core score in Geekbench 6 , it achieves a standardised solvent in both to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra , a slightly long - in - the - tooth flagship , though it falls behind the likes of the Google Pixel 8a and Samsung Galaxy A55 5G.
All of this is backed up by 256 GB of storage by nonpayment , which should be enough to see most the great unwashed through at least two years of ownership . There ’s no higher storage options available , or the power to add more storage through a MicroSD card , as such if you necessitate extra , then other gadget may be a better choice .
Software
If Nothing has chosen not to emphasise other areas , that ’s at least in part because software is the basket which has received the most of its proverbial ballock .
Using its custom launcher , the business firm has carved out a clear identity element and design language of its own , all of which is apply thoughtfully and systematically throughout its design .
With dots reminiscent of an sometime mono LCD panel used throughout , the emphasis is on color , or a deficiency therefrom . The palette of the gimmick is monochrome throughout , with apps on the habitation screen relegated to buttons sapped of reverberance , or indeed their names . Unless you are very familiar with Son , you ’ll be launching most from the app drawer .
Now , in plus to an attempt to be ‘ unlike ’ , there ’s a fiddling skill behind the theoretical benefits of such an approach . As touch to before , our brains deal with a portion of complex stimulant , but essentially are n’t that different to those of humans thousands or ten of M of twelvemonth ago .
We evolve colour vision in part to tell whether yield is mature or not , and as we know the riper the fruit , the more vivacious the colour . So applying this science to our unsuspicious eyeball , app designers and others have been able to ‘ game ’ how we calculate at and choose content for a while . It ’s the same concepts as apply to supermarket ledge , every intersection wants your tending and they ’ve got unlike way of attract it .
The Nothing Phone ( 2a ) Plus therefore removes colour , and then the theoretic temptation to doomscroll . Does it crop ? That ’ll depend on individual enjoyment cases , in my case the answer was no , some things are just a little too tempting and impossible to snub .
In any case , Nothing O as it is called is pleasant to use . There ’s a lot of widget on the home projection screen which can be used and customise , anything from a clitoris to aerate the common mullein to an parallel clock . Crucially , everything come after the same design language and appear visually cohesive .
There ’s a few omission , which mean that although it do work well it does n’t achieve the same kind of usefulness as some rival options , the main competitor being Motorola ’s software . There ’s no paying attention gestures , or a background mode , but for the moment , Nothing OS is pleasant to use .
For the most part it is static too , though I did experience an odd glitch , where when launch the tv camera from the lock screen the equipment would suspend and postulate a hard reset to work again .
Nothing call three years of feature article updates , four years of security updates , which is decent to see but which needs a caveat . As a small business firm , Nothing occupy a more or less more precarious fiscal position than , say , Samsung . It ’s all well and good to promise that much support , however if the firm folds you ’ll be left high and dry .
Battery life
Of all the country that have been a focus for Nothing with the ( 2a ) Plus , relatively little energy has been devoted to talking up the battery life . That ’s something of a ignominy , as battery life was an unexpected but definite high point of the gimmick .
With an efficient innovative processor and a large 5000mAh barrage fire , the ingredients are for sure all there for good barrage fire life , however what the ( 2a ) Plus achieves is nothing short of excellent .
set about with a full charge on day one , with two hr of baby-sit nav across the course of the sidereal day , along with half an time of day of calls and emails throughout , by 10 pm I had around 65 % leave behind in the tank . That stretched through to the end of day two , this really is a two day smartphone . That ’s with the big caveat that this will depend on your use sheath , if you wish to game you ’ll kill the assault and battery in a day but that ’s the same for any machine .
When the time comes to recharge , tight wired charging is usable at 50W , which is n’t the riotous on the grocery store , but remains fairly speedy for the price point .
That being said , the gimmick is firm to juice back up , in examination it managed to regain around 28 % in 15 minutes , which is enough to make a difference in more difficult position . The lack of wireless charging is unfortunate ; it is becoming less of a sumptuousness and more of a necessity as time pass .
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Should you buy it?
The Nothing Phone ( 2a ) Plus look like nothing else on the market and flies through most job with ease .
Though the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) Plus has some introductory waterproofing , it bed to dive from surfaces and does n’t feel like it would enjoy the smashing open air .
Final Thoughts
That Nothing has created something with an identity operator and look all its own is then testament both to the aspiration of the brand and the vision with which it was set in motion . Whether it is completely successful on its own merit is arguable , but it ’s decidedly memorable .
As thing bear , this is a headphone with a decent screen , pleasant software , a cracking design , dependable cameras and first-class electric battery life . That it also has exponent to spare , well speakers and a funky set of light on the rear is merely icing . It ’s a very well - rounded mid - range phone , but it is n’t without its flaws .
Though it is pretty , it does n’t feel especially long-lived , and the back is slidey and conquer finger grease like it is run short out of elan . Though the camera is rock-steady , there ’s no telephoto option and though there ’s fast charging , it does n’t compete with the best on the grocery . The Nothing Phone ( 2a ) Plus might be a jack ofmosttrades , but it ’s a captain of none ( away from barrage fire life , maybe ) .
So if you are in the grocery for a hefty and dependable smartphone and do n’t want to spend a fortune , it should be near the top of your tilt . If you demand the out-and-out most in mogul , or tv camera performance , you ’d be best to see elsewhere however .
Trusted Score
How we test
We prove every mobile phone we look back thoroughly . We practice industry - standard exam to liken features properly and we use the phone as our main twist over the review period . We ’ll always narrate you what we bump and we never , ever , accept money to reexamine a production .
Find out more about how we test in ourethics insurance policy .
FAQs
Nothing has pull to three OS upgrades and four years of security measure patches .
Yes , but with an IP54 paygrade , it ’ll only be protect from water nebulizer from all direction , and while it ’s suited for out-of-door use , it ’s not the IP67 or IP68 we ’ve seen from likewise price machine .
Test Data
Full Specs
