It looks like Nothing can do no mistaken for the time being. The three-year-old model clearly is aware of market its gadgets, and whereas its market share is not on par with entrenched rivals, Nothing’s gadgets get an outsized portion of the thoughts share.
Lots of that’s all the way down to Nothing’s intelligent advertising and marketing, however the design-focused strategy the model takes to all of its merchandise makes an enormous distinction as nicely. The Cellphone 1 highlighted this extremely nicely, and the LED lights on the again, mixed with the distinctive see-through aesthetic, made it an instantaneous hit. Nothing adopted it up with the Cellphone 2 final yr, and it was catered to the high-end section, delivering a extra polished design and higher {hardware}.
For 2024, Nothing is setting its sights on the price range section. The Cellphone 2a shares lots of the identical nice options that made its predecessors stand out — together with a putting design and clear software program — however it’s the affordability that makes it an attractive selection. There’s clearly no scarcity of selection within the price range section, however most telephones nonetheless run middling {hardware} or outdated software program with overt customization.
The Cellphone 2a is difficult these norms, and after utilizing it for 2 weeks, it is clear to me that there is not any motive to purchase every other machine on this class.
This assessment was made doable with a assessment unit offered by Nothing India. The corporate didn’t see the contents of the assessment earlier than publishing.
Nothing Cellphone 2a: Pricing and availability
Nothing unveiled the Cellphone 2a on March 5, 2024, and the cellphone is now obtainable in most world markets the place the model has a presence. It prices £319 within the U.Ok. for the 8GB/128GB model, and the 12GB/256GB mannequin prices £349. The Cellphone 2a is offered in different nations in Europe as nicely, the place it prices €349 for the model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage and €399 for the 12GB/256GB version.
India is an enormous marketplace for Nothing, and the 8GB/128GB model of the Cellphone 2a retails for ₹23,999, and the 12GB/256GB model prices ₹27,999. Nothing sells a novel 8GB/256GB model of the Cellphone 2a in India, and that exact variant is offered for ₹25,999.
Nothing sells the Cellphone 2a in choose nations within the Center East and Southeast Asia, and the one area the place you may’t purchase the machine in North America. Nothing has revealed why it is not launching the Cellphone 2a within the U.S., and it has to do with the truth that the model would not have a partnership with a provider but.
Nothing Cellphone 2a: Design
Nothing is greatest identified for its design prowess, and the model did an excellent job bringing its distinctive ethos to the price range section. The tip result’s that the Cellphone 2a would not actually look or really feel like every other price range cellphone. It has an identical see-through design because the Cellphone 1 and Cellphone 2 however with just a few tweaks.
Because it would not include wi-fi charging, the again has a unique sample that as a substitute highlights the cable that connects the battery. I talked to Nothing co-founder Akis Evangelidis concerning the design, and he talked about that the inspiration for the again got here from the New York Metropolis metro’s subway maps. It appears distinctive, and the opposite space of differentiation is the digital camera housing that is now centered.
The digital camera housing sits in the midst of the NFC coil, and the positioning means there isn’t a wobble when utilizing the cellphone on a flat floor. The black model would not fairly have the identical presence because the white possibility, and the principle subject I’ve with the design is that the again is a smudge magnet.
Nothing eschewed glass and went with a plastic again on the Cellphone 2a, and whereas that is superb, the shiny end means the again is consistently coated in smudges. It additionally picks up mud simply, and I’ve had to make use of a microfiber material on my desk due to the variety of occasions I’ve needed to clear the cellphone during the last two weeks. The one different cellphone lately that bought wherever as dusty was the Redmi K20.
Having stated that, I’ll point out that the Cellphone 2a has an excellent in-hand really feel; the again has a slight curve the place it meets the mid-frame, and the rounded edges make it extremely snug to carry and use the cellphone. The matte sides go a good distance on this regard, and so they really feel nice — Nothing ought to have used an identical coating on the again.
The edges are additionally manufactured from plastic, however Nothing says the Cellphone 2a is utilizing an aluminum mid-frame to extend structural rigidity. At 190g, the cellphone is not notably heavy and has good weight distribution. It has IP54 ingress safety, and whereas it would not face up to a dunk within the pool, it does a good job of weathering the weather.
Clearly, an enormous a part of the design has to do with the LED lights on the again, and whereas the Cellphone 2a would not have as many LEDs because the Cellphone 2, the Glyph lighting is simply as enjoyable to make use of. Now, I do not essentially discover the function to be helpful as I do not depart my cellphone face-down on a desk, however the addition of a timer made it much less gimmicky in my use case. The power to see a visible indicator because the timer counts down is a superb use of the LED lights on the again, and I truly ended up utilizing it fairly a bit.
On the entire, Nothing managed to remain true to its design heritage whereas nonetheless managing to ship a cellphone that is enjoyable to make use of. The Cellphone 2a is definitely the best-looking price range cellphone round, and the distinctive styling mixed with the eye to element give it a definite edge.
Nothing Cellphone 2a: Show
Nothing lavished lots of consideration up entrance as nicely, and the Cellphone 2a has a 6.7-inch AMOLED panel that goes as much as 120Hz. Whereas that is an ordinary function on this section, what makes the Cellphone 2a stand out is the symmetrical bezels on all sides — it provides to the upmarket look of the cellphone.
There isn’t any LTPO tech, however you may select between Excessive and Commonplace modes, and the previous ensures the refresh is locked to 120Hz more often than not. Colours are vibrant out of the field, and you may tweak the colour heat to your tastes. You get an always-on mode, however there is not a lot in the best way of customizability. That stated, Nothing has lots of customized widgets on the lock display screen, and these make up for the shortage of AOD choices.
The Cellphone 2a does an excellent job with media, and I did not run into any points streaming HDR10+ content material. Taking part in video games is simply as pleasant, and the cellphone delivers glorious sustained efficiency. There’s stereo sound on provide, and it will get loud sufficient that you simply need not use earbuds for informal gaming or streaming the occasional video.
One other space the place the Cellphone 2a has a powerful exhibiting is brightness figures. It goes as much as 1,100 nits in out of doors use, and whereas that is not as excessive because the Redmi Observe 13 Professional, it’s greater than enough — I had zero points with the display screen beneath harsh daylight. Identical to Xiaomi, Nothing presents PWM dimming, with the Cellphone 2a in a position to go as much as 1920Hz.
The display screen is protected by a layer of Gorilla Glass 5, and it has an optical fingerprint module. The one quibble concerning the sensor is that it’s positioned somewhat too low on the display screen, making it awkward to entry.
PWM measurements
Part written by Nicholas Sutrich.
Just like the Nothing Cellphone 1 and Cellphone 2, the Nothing Cellphone 2a presents DC-like dimming at excessive brightness ranges and 1,920Hz PWM dimming beneath that. 50% brightness and above makes use of a single-pulse dip that emulates DC-style dimming, however the Nothing Cellphone 2a has deeper modulation charges than the Nothing Cellphone 2 as evidenced in my comparison video.
Picture 1 of 2
At 49% brightness and beneath, the cellphone switches to 1,920Hz PWM dimming with very low modulation charges. Actually, I discovered that 49% brightness was some of the snug brightness ranges on any fashionable OLED smartphone show. As you may see from the graph above, the graph is sort of near a flat line and, due to this fact, extraordinarily snug even for PWM-sensitive of us.
At 49%, I discovered out of doors brightness to be similar to some cheaper LCD panels. It is not tremendous seen, however it’ll work in the event you’re tremendous delicate to low PWM charges and the DC-like dimming above, which bothers your eyes as nicely.
Nothing Cellphone 2a: Efficiency and battery
The Cellphone 2a has the excellence of being the primary Nothing cellphone to function MediaTek {hardware}. This is not too shocking contemplating Qualcomm simply would not have something within the price range section that’s on par with MediaTek for the time being, and consequently, most price range telephones now use the Dimensity 8300 or 7200.
Within the case of the Cellphone 2a, Nothing is utilizing a customized model of the Dimensity 7200, dubbed the Dimensity 7200 Professional. It makes use of the identical set of cores: you get two Cortex A715 cores at 2.8GHz, and the effectivity aspect is dealt with by six Cortex A510 cores that go as much as 2.0GHz. The cellphone has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage with the bottom mannequin, and I am utilizing the 12GB/256GB variant.
| Class | Nothing Cellphone 2a |
|---|---|
| OS | Nothing OS 2.5.4, Android 14 |
| Show | 6.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED, 2412×1080, HDR10+, 1100 nits HBM mode, 1300 nits max, Gorilla Glass 5 |
| Chipset | MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Professional, Mali-G610, 4nm |
| RAM | 8GB/12GB |
| Storage | 128GB/256GB |
| Rear digital camera 1 | 50MP f/1.9 Samsung GN9, OIS, 4K at 30fps |
| Rear digital camera 2 | 50MP f/2.2 Samsung JN1, wide-angle |
| Entrance digital camera | 32MP f/2.2 Sony IMX615 |
| Ingress safety | IP54 mud and water resistance |
| Connectivity | 5G bands, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC |
| Safety | Optical in-screen sensor |
| Audio | USB-C, stereo sound |
| Battery | 5000mAh battery, 45W USB PD 3.0 charging tech |
| Dimensions | 161.7 x 76.3 x 8.6mm, 190g |
| Colours | Black, White |
Whereas the Dimensity 7200 is a identified amount, Nothing positively managed to benefit from the {hardware}, and the Cellphone 2a is optimized like no different price range cellphone I’ve used to this point. There’s completely no lag in any way, and the extent of fluidity instantly takes me again to the heyday of OxygenOS. The Cellphone 2a simply would not really feel like a price range machine on this space, and that interprets to gaming as nicely — it is ready to ship a lot better-sustained efficiency than every other price range cellphone.
Sure, there are points in the event you play demanding titles on the highest settings, however flip down the visuals to medium, and also you get easy framerates with none jitter. Whereas the machine is not in a position to run 3DMark’s Photo voltaic Bay take a look at, the Wild Life Excessive stress take a look at had a stability of 99.8%, and there was no overheating.
The artificial workloads do not reveal your entire image, however utilizing the Cellphone 2a has been a revelation. Should you’ve been annoyed by price range telephones that have been laggy or in any other case unstable in every day use, you must think about switching.
| Class | Nothing Cellphone 2a | Vivo V30 |
|---|---|---|
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Total) | 13898 | 10560 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Internet Searching) | 16009 | 7950 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Video Enhancing) | 5246 | 5866 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Writing) | 19519 | 12225 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Picture Enhancing) | 24538 | 23065 |
| Geekbench 6 (single-core) | 1125 | 1099 |
| Geekbench 6 (multi-core) | 2412 | 3144 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Excessive (rating) | 1144 | 1491 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Excessive (FPS) | 6.85 | 8.935 |
Rounding out the connectivity, there is not a complete lot lacking on the machine; it has Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, and the requisite 5G bands. I did not discover any points with mobile connectivity or any of the opposite radios, and whereas the vibration motor is not as detailed as what you get on high-end gadgets, it’s higher than most price range telephones.
Switching over to the battery, the Cellphone 2a has a 5,000mAh battery — the biggest but on a Nothing cellphone — and it simply lasts over a day with ease. Even with heavy use, I did not really feel the necessity to cost the machine earlier than turning it in for the evening, and there is not any motive to fret about battery longevity in any way.
The cellphone makes use of 45W charging tech, and a full cost takes a smidgen over an hour, hitting the 50% mark in 25 minutes. Clearly, numerous telephones on this section cost quicker, however the Cellphone 2a is not too far behind its rivals. What’s annoying, although, is the shortage of a charger within the field.
Nothing would not embrace a charger with any of its gadgets, however its earlier telephones weren’t aimed on the price range section. Having to purchase a charger to make use of with the cellphone is irksome, however because the machine depends on the USB PD normal, any respectable PD charger is greater than enough.
Nothing Cellphone 2a: Cameras
The Cellphone 2a encompasses a 50MP Samsung GN9 sensor with OIS, and it makes use of the identical 50MP Samsung JN1 wide-angle lens because the Cellphone 2. The truth that you get two usable lenses on the again is an enormous deal; most price range telephones solely concentrate on the principle digital camera, with the auxiliary lenses barely meriting any consideration.
Like different gadgets on this section, you miss out on 4K video at 60fps, and you aren’t getting many extras in the best way of taking pictures modes or customized filters. That stated, the interface is straightforward to navigate, you get toggles for the 2 lenses — the cellphone makes use of the principle digital camera to take photographs at 2x zoom — flash, HDR, and results.
Picture 1 of 6
Photographs taken in daylight have loads of element, and Nothing continues to prioritize overly saturated colours, so you do not essentially get correct shade rendition. That stated, the resultant photographs look fairly good, and so they’re nice for sharing on social media. The wide-angle lens does an excellent job in daylight eventualities, and that is not astonishing contemplating the caliber of the {hardware}.
That stated, you aren’t getting as a lot element; the tuning is simply too aggressive at occasions, and foliage, particularly, appears synthetic. The cellphone redeems itself with its low-light prowess, delivering pictures with minimal noise ranges and loads of element. Evening mode kicks in routinely as soon as ambient gentle is beneath a sure threshold, and whereas the digital camera is not fairly on par with the likes of the Pixel 7a, it’s shut.
Nothing Cellphone 2a: Software program
The Cellphone 2a runs Nothing OS 2.5 based mostly on Android 14 out of the field, and it’s shortly turning into one among my favourite Android skins. Nothing did not mess with the general aesthetic, so that you get a clear UI that is much like what’s on the Pixels. The place Nothing differentiated the interface is by including a ton of visible thrives, and that is notably noticeable with widgets.
Nothing has a set of customized widgets which are fantastically designed, and so they enliven the interface fairly a bit whereas offering contextual info. You additionally get monochrome icons which are terrific, however like all icon packs, there are just a few lacking apps, and the inconsistent styling is a bit bizarre. That stated, Nothing did a greater job than Google on this space.
The notification shade has massive tiles, and a double pull-down gesture surfaces eight in complete, with the 2 on the prime prominently highlighted. Urgent the Bluetooth tile pulls up the machine menu while not having to enter the settings, and whereas this function has been round for some time, it is nonetheless a welcome tweak.
There are many customized additions all through the interface, and it is clear that Nothing put lots of thought into which areas of the UI to handle. The result’s that the Cellphone 2a has one of the best software program of any price range cellphone I’ve utilized in a really very long time. It is a rarity to get a clear interface on this section, a lot much less one which’s brimming with thrilling options. Better of all, there is not any bloatware to be discovered.Â
On that observe, Nothing is doing a unbelievable job rolling out constant updates to the cellphone. I’ve had the cellphone for simply over three weeks now, and it has already acquired two updates. Once more, I can not consider one other price range cellphone that has picked up as many updates.
Nothing ensures three Android platform updates, and meaning the Cellphone 2a will make the swap to Android 17 when that turns into obtainable. To place issues into context, the Redmi Observe 13 Professional will not get any updates past Android 15.
Nothing Cellphone 2a: The competitors
Out of all of the price range telephones I used this yr, the one one I might think about recommending is the POCO X6 Professional. I actually just like the design; the {hardware} is a smidgen extra highly effective than the Cellphone 2a, the battery expenses quicker, and the principle digital camera is simply pretty much as good. The software program is not as refined, and it will not get as many software program updates, however apart from that, the X6 Professional is a good various.
Nothing Cellphone 2a: Must you purchase it?
You can purchase this if:
- You need one of the best price range cellphone at present obtainable
- You want a cellphone that is nice for gaming
- You want good cameras on the again
- You are on the lookout for clear software program that is customizable
- You want a vibrant 120Hz OLED
You should not purchase this if:
- You desire a charger bundled within the field
- You reside within the U.S.
One of the simplest ways to sum up the Cellphone 2a is that it would not really feel like a price range cellphone. Nothing did a wonderful job optimizing the {hardware}, and the cellphone is simply as fluid because the Cellphone 2 in every day use — no small feat. The design is evocative, the AMOLED panel is terrific, and the cameras take nice pictures in most conditions.
Nonetheless, the clear differentiator is the software program; Nothing OS 2.5 presents one of the best software program expertise within the price range section, and there is not one other machine that comes shut on this space. Greater than anything, the clear software program coupled with well timed updates is what provides the Cellphone 2a a sizeable benefit over its rivals.
There isn’t any scarcity of price range telephones with nice {hardware}, however all of them fall quick relating to the software program. That is why the Cellphone 2a is such an enormous deal; the software program on provide is on par with one of the best Android telephones, and also you additionally get terrific {hardware} that delivers the efficiency you want.
There are no main drawbacks with the Cellphone 2a, and that in itself differentiates it significantly from the remainder of the pack. There actually isn’t any motive to contemplate every other machine on this section.
The Cellphone 2a delivers every thing you want from a price range cellphone. The design stands out significantly, the {hardware} is terrific, you get two nice cameras on the again, and the software program is definitely one of the best on this section.Â
