Key Takeaways
- The Nothing Phone 2a Plus will come with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage and will have a suggested retail price of $399.
- There’s a unique and rather fun Glyph interface included here, and the phone is well built overall.
- The device offers a clean, lean Android experience and snappy performance, but the camera output is so-so.
London-based Nothing maker, which took the tech world by storm with its Glyph-equipped Phone series of devices, is riding the wave again with a new model: the Phone 2a Plus.
The Phone 2a Plus builds on the foundations laid by the existing Phone 2a, an affordable mid-range smartphone that even rivals the likes of the Google Pixel 7a.
Recommendation
Nothing Phone 2a Plus
The Nothing Phone 2a Plus packs the now-iconic Glyph interface, a clean Android experience, and incredibly thin display bezels into a package priced at $399.
- Excellent fit and finish
- Includes a fun glyph interface
- Clean and sleek software
- No wireless charging
- Camera quality is nothing special
- Android 15 won’t be available as soon as it is on Pixel devices
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Pricing, Availability and Specifications
Let’s start with the specs. The Nothing Phone 2a Plus packs some powerful technology into a sleek case. For $399 you get 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which is the only configuration currently offered. Overall dimensions are 6.37 x 3.00 x 0.33 inches (161.7 x 76.32 x 8.55mm) and it weighs 6.70 ounces (190g).
The device itself comes with a spacious 6.7-inch AMOLED display that runs at FHD+ resolution (1080 x 2412). Peak display brightness is a modest 1300 nits, which is far from best-in-class, but we found it to be quite adequate for outdoor use on sunny days.
The good news is that the Phone 2a Plus has an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate display that can drop to 30Hz when idle to improve battery life, which is a big win for Nothing considering the iPhone 15 will still ship with a 60Hz display in 2024.
Speaking of the battery, the phone is equipped with a 5,000mAh cell and also features 50W fast charging. Unfortunately, as expected, there is no charger included in the box itself; you’ll have to shell out extra money for the privilege of fast charging. Powering the unit itself is a MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro 5G processor, which Nothing proudly touts as the company’s own global offering. The chip is an octa-core solution built on 4nm technology.
It has both Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3, as well as NFC. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have wireless charging, which is a shame for someone like me who uses the technology on a daily basis, and it also lacks a microSD card slot or headphone jack, something you might still find on other mid-range phones.
As mentioned above, the Phone 2a Plus is available in the US for an MSRP of $399. When you buy the device, you’ll get Nothing’s new Metallic Gray color, which is available in the color but isn’t currently available in the US. The device will be available for purchase through Nothing’s US beta program starting August 7 at 9am ET.
Build and Design
The Phone 2a Plus is a beautiful mid-range device
Pocket Lint
When it comes to fit and finish, the Phone 2a Plus couldn’t be better – the mid-range phone market is full of generic and uninspired design languages, but the unique translucent back and LED glyph placement really give it a touch of individuality.
The bezels on the Phone 2a Plus are said to be the thinnest on any smartphone the company has ever shipped, and there’s nothing particularly notable about them. At 0.8 inches (2.1 mm), they’re certainly not as thin as premium phones, but the key here is that they’re perfectly symmetrical, which gives the impression that the device is more premium than it actually is, as bezel symmetry is usually reserved for premium flagships.
The sides of the phone are made from plastic rather than metal, but it feels well-built, with tight tolerances and clicky buttons that are satisfying to press.
The sizeable 6.7-inch display naturally means that the device is on the larger side, which means one-handed operation might be a bit tricky depending on your hand size.
The Phone 2a Plus is also pretty durable: The display and selfie camera are covered in Gorilla Glass 5, and the phone is IP54 certified. This rating means that the phone is protected from dust and splashes of fresh water, but it’s not certified for full submersion. If you get caught in the occasional rain shower, the Phone 2a Plus should hold up just fine.
The sizeable 6.7-inch display naturally means the device is on the larger side, which means one-handed operation may be a little tricky depending on the size of your hands. I tend to prefer more compact devices, but this is a personal preference and many people will appreciate the extra screen real estate for watching multimedia content.
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screen
The screen is fully usable
The Phone 2a Plus is unique in that it comes with a delightful AMOLED panel featuring the perfect black levels and punchy contrast that are unique to OLED technology, and the fast 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ support are welcome additions, as is the inclusion of Always-On Display (AOD).
At FHD+ resolution, the device has a pixel density of 395 pixels per inch (PPI). It’s far from best-in-class, but we think the sacrifice was well worth it: it’s nearly impossible to distinguish individual pixels on the screen from a normal viewing distance.
There’s an optical fingerprint sensor hidden under the display, and in my time with the device I found it to be very accurate – I did find the sensor to be a little lower on the screen than I’d like, but otherwise I had no issues with it.
9:51
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camera
A perfectly OK shooter that’s probably the weakest link
The Phone 2a Plus comes equipped with a dual rear camera setup with both a 50MP main camera and a 50MP ultra-wide-angle lens. The main camera features optical image stabilisation for capturing stable shots and footage, and the setup can record videos at up to 4K resolution at 30 frames per second, or Full HD at 60 frames per second.
Photos and videos taken with the Nothing Phone 2a Plus were both average. Mid-range phones can take great photos these days, but like other phones in this price range, the image quality drops and becomes noisy as less light reaches the sensor.
Shutter speeds are consistently fast, and it’s nice to see the inclusion of other shooting modes like timelapse, panorama, slow-motion, and even a full-blown “expert” mode, which gives you access to exposure values, ISO, shutter speed, white balance, and manual focus.
As for the selfie camera, it has a high 50MP for a mid-range device and can shoot 4K at 30 frames per second. Despite the higher than average resolution, it still managed to take photos that were on par with the competition, mainly Pixel A-series devices.
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performance
This phone isn’t the best for gaming, but the interface is smooth.
The Phone 2a Plus is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity processor rather than the Qualcomm Snapdragon chip commonly used in many other devices. The specific chip model here is the Dimensity 7350 Pro, which features a cutting-edge 4nm architecture for better efficiency, and an onboard Mali-G610 MC4 graphics processing unit.
The processor has a Geekbench 6 single-core score of about 1,119 and a multi-core score of about 2,206. In terms of raw power, it doesn’t come close to the processors found in high-end flagship phones. That said, outside of gaming, I didn’t notice a big difference in day-to-day performance. The operating system was smooth and responsive to touch, and app launches were snappy.
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software
A great interpretation of Android
What I like about the Nothing Phone 2a Plus is how easy the software is to use. Out of the box, you’re greeted with a standard Android-like interface, but with a touch of Nothing personality thrown in. I love the dot-matrix aesthetic that’s kept consistent throughout the system; it’s subtle yet unique.
The good news is that the phone doesn’t come with a ton of bloatware, it comes preloaded with only what you need and downloading apps is left to your discretion.
The only “value-added” software included in the package concerns the aforementioned glyph interface. There’s no functionality to let you play around with different settings like LED brightness, fun music visualizer options, or the ability to create your own glyph sequences to use as ringtones. It’s nothing particularly groundbreaking, but it’s not inoffensive and serves as a clever and unique gimmick that’s fun to experiment with.
The phone ships with Nothing OS 2.6 running on top of Android 14. The next major version of Android is expected to be released within the next few weeks, and we expect the Phone 2a Plus to receive the update without too much delay. The company has promised four years of security patches, plus major OS updates for the next few years.
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Should I buy the Nothing Phone 2a Plus?
If you’re looking for a mid-range device, this is a great option.
The short answer is yes, but only if you’re looking for a mid-range device. You won’t find a more attractive, powerful package that punches above its weight in performance. The Glyph interface is a fun, but unnecessary addition that injects personality into the device.
“You won’t get the latest and greatest camera setup or the highest resolution display on the market, but if you keep your expectations in check, Nothing’s latest offering is very good.”
If you’re a fan of Android’s clean, no-frills interface, you’ll feel right at home with the Phone 2a Plus, and the hardware powering this device is pretty reasonable for its $399 MSRP.
You might not get the latest and greatest camera setup or the highest resolution display on the market, but if you keep your expectations in check, Nothing’s latest offering is very good.
