Nothing Phone 2a Review: An Exceptional Budget Android

With its quirky design, enjoyable software, solid performance, and impressive battery life, the phone offers great value for its price

London-based tech company Nothing is making waves in the budget phone market with its latest Android offering, aiming to inject a touch of excitement into the segment.

Priced starting from £319 (€329/A$529), the Phone 2a seeks to capture the cool design and intrigue that distinguished its higher-end models and package them into a more affordable yet still innovative device. It stands alongside the full-featured Phone 2, which costs £579.

The new model retains Nothing’s distinctive semi-transparent design, featuring a large, smooth, and vibrant OLED screen on the front and a semi-transparent back that showcases its unique design elements, including the signature “glyph” LEDs that Nothing is known for.

For this model, the phone’s construction has shifted to plastic instead of the metal and glass used in the Phone 2. Additionally, the LEDs are now located only in the top section of the phone, surrounding the central camera module. Despite these changes, the LEDs are capable of displaying intricate patterns for ringtones and notifications, as well as indicating volume, charge percentage, timers, and other entertaining features like a music visualizer.

While the phone feels sleek and sturdy, the back plastic tends to attract dust easily and is prone to picking up scratches.

Specifications

Screen: 6.7-inch 120Hz FHD+ OLED (394ppi)
Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro
RAM: 8GB or 12GB
Storage: 128GB or 256GB
Operating System: Nothing OS 2.5 (based on Android 14)
Camera: 50MP main and ultrawide, 32MP selfie
Connectivity: 5G, eSIM, Wi-Fi 6, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, GNSS
Water Resistance: IP54 (splash-resistant)
Dimensions: 162 x 76.3 x 8.9mm
Weight: 190g

Moderate performance paired with extended battery longevity

The Phone 2a is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro chip, offering commendable performance for its price point. The software operates smoothly and responsively, with apps loading quickly and games running smoothly. While it may not match the performance of a high-end phone and tends to heat up during gaming sessions, it handles most tasks with ease.

Additionally, the Nothing Phone 2a boasts solid battery life. With general use, including several hours of 5G connectivity per day, the phone lasted an impressive 52 hours or two days between charges. However, gaming does have a notable impact on battery life compared to high-end competitors, consuming approximately 18% per hour while playing games like Diablo Immortal.

Sustainability

According to Nothing, the battery of the Phone 2a retains at least 90% of its original capacity for a minimum of 1,000 full charge cycles. In the UK, the Phone 2a is typically repairable. Screen replacements are priced at £70, while battery replacements cost £36, plus an additional £35 for labor and shipping by Nothing.

The device is constructed from recycled materials, including aluminium, copper, plastic, steel, tin, and others, which make up 20% of the phone’s weight. It carries a carbon footprint of 52kg CO2 equivalent. The company regularly publishes sustainability reports and operates a trade-in program.

Nothing OS 2.5

The phone operates on Nothing OS 2.5, which is based on Android 14, consistent with the company’s other devices. The software provides a clean interface with a distinctive visual design centered around dot-matrix art, widgets, and icons.

While it can be customized to resemble standard Android, Nothing OS 2.5 encourages users to personalize their experience by featuring monochrome icons, prominent folders, and widgets, resulting in a more engaging interface. Similar to the entertaining glyph lights on the back of the phone, these customizations do not slow down the device or interfere with daily tasks.

Regrettably, Nothing falls short in terms of software support, offering only three years of software updates and four years of bimonthly security updates. In a market where leading competitors provide at least seven years of support, four years is insufficient for both consumers and the environment, even in the budget segment.

Camera

The Phone 2a features two 50-megapixel rear cameras and a 32-megapixel selfie camera, which deliver performance comparable to the pricier Phone 2.

The primary camera performs well, capturing good photos with effective handling of high-contrast scenes. However, it tends to overly sharpen fine details in bright light and struggles to retain detail in moderate to low light conditions. The ultrawide camera also produces decent shots, but images appear soft when viewed at full size. The phone lacks a telephoto camera, and images captured beyond 2x digital zoom are of poor quality.

Overall, the camera provides decent performance for its price but falls short compared to Google’s Pixel 6A or 7A, which are often available at a similar price point.

Price

The Nothing Phone 2a is priced starting from £319 (€329/A$529).

In comparison, the Nothing Phone 2 is priced at £499, the Google Pixel 7a at £449, and the Samsung Galaxy A54 at £349.

Verdict

The Nothing Phone 2a makes a strong impression in the budget phone segment, distinguishing itself from the typically mundane offerings with its intriguing design and entertaining software.

This device offers excellent value, featuring a large, vibrant display, extended battery life, reliable performance, and a design that belies its budget-friendly status. While the plastic construction may deter some, it feels sturdy and well-crafted, boasting splash resistance—a feature not commonly found in this price range.