Verdict
The Nothing Phone ( 2a ) might have a gaudy design , but its essence appealingness is how well balanced it is for the money . Build quality , functioning , bombardment life , display and camera are all reassuringly solid , while Phone ( 2a ) ’s middle - catch up with UI and Glyph system volunteer an superfluous scattering of flavourer .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
After upping its game ( and pricing ) with the Nothing Phone ( 2 ) , the design - top UK startup has decided to make its most accessible smartphone yet .
The Nothing Phone ( 2a ) aims to provide that by - now - familiar Nothing wow factor at a starting price of just £ 319 . It retrieve itself in a hoagy - class of phones that are a short too expensive to be classed as ‘ budget ’ , but still quite a bit cheaper than the established mid - range crew .
It ’s not alone here , with the likes of theMotorola Edge 40 Neo(£299 ) , thePoco X6 Pro(£369 ) , and theHonor Magic 6 Lite(£350 ) occupying a similar blank space .
So how much of Nothing ’s unique focussing on striking design and a politic drug user experience have had to be give on the alter of time value ? Surprisingly petty , as it turns out .
Design
You might have expected Nothing to scale thing back for its most low-priced telephone yet , but the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) is a standardized size to theNothing Phone ( 2)and slenderly bigger than theNothing Phone ( 1 ) .
This is a big headphone alright , with a 161.7 x 76.3 x 8.6 mm footprint . It might be the lightest earpiece Nothing has made at 190 g , but only by a few grams , and even then it palpate substantial .
That ponderosity might come as something of a surprise when you consider that much of what you touch is plastic , with a semi - transparent plastic back and a textured matte plastic frame . Nothing has used aluminium in the construction , though , which probably accounts for how solid the sound feels .
There ’s also flat Corning Gorilla Glass 5 around front , and Nothing has actually tighten the size of it of the bezels from the Phone ( 2 ) to just 2.1 mm .
It ’s true that the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) ’s formative back end soon leads to greasy manus mark , at least on the Black model I ’ve been testing . But your eye will belike be cast beyond the smudginess to the touch Nothing ‘ lap board ’ design just beneath .
The circular wireless charging module is no longer the focus , as the Phone ( 2a ) does n’t have one . Instead , Nothing appears to have punctuate some of the circuitry and the circular NFC mental faculty around the camera module .
babble of which , Nothing ’s new centrally placed treble - camera module wo n’t be to everyone ’s taste , but I quite like the symmetricalness it give the phone . It ’s much steadier when place on flat surfaces , at least .
There are a duet more showy excogitation flourishes here . One is a small red square to the right wing of the rearward department , which adds a elusive splash of colour .
More outstanding is Nothing ’s signature Glyph interface . It ’s been greatly simplified , down from the Nothing Phone ( 1 ) and Phone ( 2 ) ’s 11 LED lights to just the three . But they still light up with incoming notification , supply ocular feedback with tv camera timers , and can be programmed for a range of other tasks .
Personally , I did n’t find the Glyph system to be of any practical employment , because I never locate my phone nerve - down . Blame a mortal combination of swearing off screen protectors and being paranoid about isolated pieces of grit .
An IP54 paygrade is nothing to write house about , even at this cost – the Motorola Edge 40 Neo gives you IP68 for £ 20 less – but it ’s a couple for the Poco X6 Pro and indeed the Nothing Phone ( 2 ) .
Screen
Nothing has stick with the Phone ( 2 ) ’s larger 6.7 - inch display , though the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) example is n’t quite so accomplished .
It ’s another vivacious AMOLED screen with the same 1080 x 2412 ( FHD+ ) result , but it ’s not an LTPO panel . This means that it ca n’t adjust its refresh charge per unit quite so fluidly , making it less muscularity effective .
The Phone ( 2a ) screen also does n’t get as bright as its big blood brother . It ’ll hit 1100 nit in bright sun , with a 1300 nits tiptop in HDR media depicted object . More typically , it ’ll be able to make 700 nits .
There ’s still bread and butter for HDR10 + , so media depicted object still looks corking .
Indeed , this is a pretty strong display for the price . Having switched over to the more innate Standard coloring mode , I measured the colour output to be reasonably exact .
You also get a proper in - display optical fingerprint sensor , which turn out nice and dependable in my experience .
Performance
While Nothing ’s first two telephone set ran on Qualcomm power , the fellowship has change state to MediaTek for its third and most affordable French telephone . Specifically , the Dimensity 7200 Pro .
This is a custom - tune up version of a chip that has found its way of life , in other forms , into the likes of the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ . For the money , it ’s a hard performer .
In CPU trial , it drop well inadequate of the Poco X6 Pro , but broadly ties with the Motorola Edge 40 Neo and the Honor Magic 6 Lite .
When it come to GPU execution , the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) is again good trounce by the Poco X6 Pro , which really is a performance wizard in the sub-£400 category . However , it acquits itself well against the Motorola Edge 40 and the Honor Magic 6 Lite .
It falls well short of the Nothing Phone ( 2 ) and its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in all respects , but then we ’re talk about a clear £ 260 deviation in price here .
What matters in any low-cost telephone is how unruffled and snappy it feel in the helping hand , and on that front I have no complaints . The Nothing Phone ( 2a ) hop between menus and open apps with considerable nimbleness . Slick console table racer Wreckfest remains playable on medium to gamy preferences , albeit with notably less ordered frame pace than more expensive telephone set .
The Dimensity 7200 Pro seems to run courteous and cool here too . It ’s a 4 New Mexico chip , which means it ’s build using a likewise compact process to current flagship processors . This manifests in unassailable thermal carrying out .
The phone remained reassuringly cool after 30 minutes of light play , and score nigh to perfect marks on the 3DMark Wildlife Extreme Stress Test , which simulates confirm 3D gaming over a 20 - bit period . This means that the chip did n’t get too hot and trammel back .
Camera
On paper , it looks as if Nothing has used on the button the same dual 50MP tv camera system on the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) as it did with the Phone ( 2 ) . There are deviation , however .
The primary sensing element on the Phone ( 2a ) might be another 50MP 1/1.56″ with an f/1.9 aperture and OIS , but it ’s a less Samsung detector rather than the Phone ( 2 ) ’s more advanced Sony one .
Together with a lesser central processing unit , the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) clearly is n’t as accomplish a cracker bonbon as its big brother , but it ’s utterly enough for the money . In side - by - side shot , I found the image it captured to be more natural and intimately discover than the Poco X6 Pro 5G.
Night shots are n’t especially telling , despite the proviso of a reasonably large sensing element and OIS . They ’re sufficiently brilliant ( perhaps too so ) , but there was obtrusive noise in the moonlit sky , and hints of a general tendency to overexpose brighter ingredient from time to time .
The 50MP 1/2.76″ extremist - wide ballad on fair to middling results . It ca n’t match the main sensor for detail or dynamic mountain range , of form , but the musical note is n’t entirely divorced .
There ’s no telephotograph camera here , but Nothing crops in on that principal sensor for 2x shots to fairly secure effect . This also ensures that zoomed shot retain the colour tone of your 1x shots , which is always a squeamish thing to have .
The Phone ( 2a ) ’s 32MP front camera is identical to the Phone 2 ’s . It produces likewise soft selfies , thanks to the fixed focus , but that ’s perfectly acceptable in a phone of this price . It does a passable job with hearty tegument timber .
On the video front , you ’re looking at 4 K seizure at 30fps , or 1080p at 60/120fps . That ’s a competitive provision in a cheap phone of this kind .
Software
The Nothing Phone ( 2a ) runs on Android 14 , but it ’s the customs duty Nothing OS 2.5 UI layer on top that guarantee all the discussion here .
We ’re often slenderly supercilious about any UI that strays too far from neckcloth Android , but Nothing is a rare elision . Its approach is fresh and sharp .
Nothing hold back Android ’s excellent underpinnings , wisely choosing not to mess too much with the notification pane or preferences menus . What it offer is extremely stylised icons , folders , and baptismal font , all of which have a retro pixel - artwork stylus to them that feeds into the whole Game Boy Advance vibe give off by the hardware .
It ’s a shame the core does n’t run deeply , with only sure third - company apps learn on Nothing ’s default black and white style . It looks a petty jarring , with ( for lesson ) WhatsApp ’s garish park glow out from a background of white or black . gratefully , you may opt for all - colour .
Nothing also supplies a full Glyph Interface to manage those unparalleled beamish light . Through this app you may customise how and where the speech sound ’s three LEDs light up .
As always , these range from the gimmicky to the kind - of - utile . Flashing up incoming notifications can be useful for those who keep their filmdom face - down ( or not , if you do so in the name of discretion ) , while experience one of the lights bit by bit diminish with the camera timer is a valuable objet d’art of forefront - up information .
The elaborate illumination show that can come with music playback is decidedly less worthwhile , but we ’d never begrudge manufacturers having a scrap of fun with the sedate smartphone format – especially when it ’s an optional setting .
Once again , the master downfall of these Glyph options is that they do n’t run late enough . It ’s too well-off to forget about the timer glyph when it ’s not usable in the Clock app , for illustration . This more or less reflects the fact that the whole Glyph system feels like a scrap of a catch , albeit is pleasingly typical one .
Nothing assure three years of major Android update and four years of security update , which is competitive with its likewise priced contender .
Battery Life
Nothing has hand the Phone ( 2a ) its large shelling yet . genuine , the 5,000mAh cadre is hardly out of the average within a wider cheap telephone linguistic context , but it ’s still a decent capacity .
This also goes some way to explaining why the Phone ( 2a ) is so close to the Phone ( 1 ) and Phone ( 2 ) in exercising weight despite utilize so much charge card in its construction .
With this larger battery in play , the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) enjoys secure stamina . I was routinely able to get to the end of the full day of twinkle to moderate usage with around half a tankful remaining , even with the display force to 120Hz rather than the default Dynamic setting . This suggests that it ’s quick for two full years if you ’re not going to be slay the media intemperately .
Even if you do enjoy a movie or a gambling seance on the go , the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) ’s barrage will stand up fairly well to the undertaking . It lost just 5 % after an hour of Disney+ streaming , and the same after 30 minutes of low-cal gaming .
Nothing does n’t bundle a charging brick in the box , just one of its fashionable USB - C to USB - light speed cable . Still , the speech sound supports up to 45W charge , which is sane for a telephone set of this damage , if far from prominent . The Poco X6 Pro includes a 67W battery charger in the box , while the Motorola Edge 40 Neo include a 68W charger .
Using a 65W Samsung charger I was capable to get the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) from empty to 28 percentage in 15 instant , and to 60 percent in 30 transactions . A full charge takes a trivial over an hour .
Unlike its predecessors , there ’s no tuner charging here . That ’s a bit of shame given Nothing ’s old documentation , but then there are n’t many £ 300 - ish phone that offer such a characteristic .
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Should you buy it?
With its spectacular semi - crystalline torso , Glyph Interface , and stylised UI , the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) sure stands out in an often drab low-priced speech sound market .
The Nothing Phone ( 2a ) is fashionable , but it ’s not pernicious , with a expectant and showy design .
Final Thoughts
Do n’t let the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) ’s oculus - catching aim and tatty UI fool you . This is one of the most thoughtfully constructed phones in the £ 300(ish ) weight year .
It might not be as tight as the Poco X6 Pro , but it ’s still plenty fast enough to do most thing swimmingly and expeditiously . Nor does the Phone ( 2a ) find quite as premium as the Motorola Edge 40 Neo , yet it still expect and feels just in the deal . Battery life is strong , too .
There ’s a alike sensation of residue to its twinned television camera organisation , which makes a virtue of unshowy competency rather than gimmicky hyperkinetic syndrome - ons . Again , it ’s not outstanding at take pictures , but it does the job quietly and efficiently .
Nothing ’s customs UI and Glyph Interface system could still profit from more profundity and purpose , but there ’s no deny that both inject some much - require style and fun into the more affordable side of the smartphone market place .
For just £ 319 , the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) is a phone with veridical assuredness .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every mobile phone we review thoroughly . We utilise industriousness - standard tests to compare feature properly and we use the earpiece as our main twist over the follow-up period . We ’ll always evidence you what we regain and we never , ever , accept money to review a product .
Find out more about how we test in ourethics insurance .
FAQs
No , Nothing has sacrifice wireless charging to hit its lower Leontyne Price point .
No , Nothing has n’t include a buck brick in the box , just a USB - century to USB - degree centigrade cable length .
3 years of major Android updates , 4 year of security updates
Test Data
Full Specs
