The Nothing Phone 2a’s design and price will grab your attention, but will the phone hold it if you buy one? We’ve found out in our in-depth review.
The Nothing Phone 2a is going to get a lot of attention. First for its design, then for the flashing Glyph lights on the back, and finally for the price. The look and lights have already split opinion, but there’s no doubt that the phone has a really competitive price, and it’s all set to be talked about alongside other great value hardware.
Nothing has already successfully marketed the Phone 2a then, but is the phone itself a success worthy of attention? I’ve lived with it, and I’ll tease you with this: Get ready to have your expectations surpassed by this brilliant phone.Nothing Phone 2a design
It’s fair to say that the Nothing Phone 2a’s design is controversial. The other day, Digital Trends staff writer Christine Romero-Chan said that due to the cameras on the back of the Nothing Phone 2a, the look reminded her of a pig’s snout, and now I can’t think of anything else. It’s certainly not a favorable comparison, but it’s not inaccurate if you look at it a certain way. Thankfully, the design is also reminiscent of a pair of eyes, and once you force the pig comparison out of your mind, it makes the new phone appear considerably cuter.
I’ve been using the black version, but there’s also an attractive “Milk” version coming soon, which has an off-white color scheme. The back follows Nothing’s established love of transparency, but as the phone does not have wireless charging, the visible components are simpler than on the Nothing Phone 2, and the phone has a slightly less sci-fi look.
The surfaces are warm to the touch and at 190 grams and 8.5mm thick, it’s easily pocketed and manageable with one hand. The IP54 water and dust resistance is also welcome. The rear cover and chassis are polycarbonate, but the rear attracts a lot of fingerprints. Does this mean it feels cheap? The chassis has a pleasing, grippy texture and a metal-like finish, but the polycarbonate rear panel does have a hollow, obviously plastic sound when you tap it. I’d call it representative of the price, if not a step above what some may expect.
The thing to understand is, it ends up not mattering if it feels expensive. Since the design is modern and unusual, it looks and feels different from anything else apart from the Nothing Phone 2. Exclusivity like this immediately makes the uninitiated assume it costs more than it actually does. However, you may have to work to keep it looking its best.
The phone is rather slippery, despite the stabilization provided by the camera bump, and it has slowly crept off many surfaces during my time with it. I’m a little concerned about the durability, as even though I’ve only used the phone for a short time, it has already picked up a small dent/nick on the side and a couple of scratches on the lower part of the screen. It has taken a few tumbles due to the slipperiness, but not onto any hard surfaces, making this a worry.
Nothing has made a distinctive and unusual-looking smartphone, just as expected from the design-led brand. And compared to almost all other phones available for a similar price, it really stands out. It’s a phone with character, particularly when you also consider the depth of customization in the software, and pig-comparisons aside, that makes it rather special. Provided the durability doesn’t prove to be an ongoing problem, you’ll be proud to carry the Nothing Phone 2a around.Nothing Phone 2a screen and performance
The Nothing Phone 2a has a 6.7-inch AMOLED screen with Gorilla Glass 5 over the top, a 30Hz to 120Hz refresh rate,and a maximum brightness of 1,300 nits. It’s a substantial upgrade over the Nothing Phone 1, and in some areas even better than the Nothing Phone 2 — it’s brighter under normal use and has thinner bezels — but the biggest hardware change is found inside the device.
It’s Nothing’s first phone with a MediaTek processor, the Dimensity 7200 Pro, which has been specially created by the two companies for this device. Built using a 4nm process, on paper, it’s a higher-performance chip than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ in the Nothing Phone 1, plus it’s backed up by 12GB of RAM. The Nothing Phone 2a also has Virtual RAM, with 2GB of internal storage set as RAM by default, but this is configurable up to 8GB.
Nothing has excelled with the screen, which is really bright and colorful, It’s matched with great stereo speakers. All this makes it a joy to watch video and to play games on it. During normal use — including apps, GPS, and general system navigation — the Nothing Phone 2a’s performance is faultless. It’s smooth and responsive, helped by Nothing’s slick software. I’ve lived with multiple phones since the beginning of the year, and for everyday use, the Nothing Phone 2a’s performance rivals devices that cost a lot more.
What about games? The slight curve of the rear panel and the flat sides make the Phone 2a comfortable to hold in landscape orientation, and playing Asphalt 9: Legends is fun and immersive, with no obvious slowdown or jitter. But do remember that if you push it hard with more graphically intensive games, it won’t perform like a flagship phone.
