Nothing Phone (2a) Plus vs Nothing Phone (2a): What’s different?

Nothing has launched the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus in India. An upgrade over the Nothing Phone (2a) which was launched just months ago, the new smartphone packs small changes, most of which may not be immediately visible. To make matters more confusing, Nothing is selling both smartphones right now.

This may make you wonder which of the phones is the right pick for you, or in case you already own the Phone (2a), whether you really need that upgrade. Here’s a head-on comparison between the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus and the Nothing Phone (2a) to clear all your doubts.

Nothing Phone (2a) Plus vs Nothing Phone (2a): Design

Both the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus and the Nothing Phone (2a) have a similar design that’s indistinguishable from each other, except the colour choices. While the Phone (2a) is available in black, white and blue colours, the newer Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is available only in black and grey variants (for now). Everything else, including the Glyphy lights on both the smartphones, is the same.

ALSO READ: Nothing OS 3.0 first look reveals more lock screen customisations

The similarities extend to the displays. Both phones sport a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate. These are also flexible AMOLED panels and give you those signature symmetric bezels that you see on iPhones and other flagship devices.

Nothing Phone (2a) Plus vs Nothing Phone (2a): Performance

This brings us to the main difference between the phones, which is the performance. The Nothing Phone (2a) was powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro chipset, while the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus sports the newer MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro chip.

The 7350 Pro is slightly faster, able to clock up to 3.0GHz speeds vs the 2.8GHz on the 7200 Pro. The newer chip is also better at graphical performance, with the GPU able to clock 1.3GHz speeds vs the 1.0GHz on the 7200 Pro. As per Nothing’s own claims, this should result in about 10 per cent more CPU power and 30 per cent more GPU power on the new Nothing Phone (2a) Plus.

Nothing Phone (2a) Plus vs Nothing Phone (2a): Cameras

Both the Nothing Phone (2a) and the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus come with dual 50MP rear cameras, including a main and an ultrawide camera. No changes here.

However, the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus includes a higher resolution front camera, with the new sensor now packing 50MP instead of the 32MP on the Phone (2a). This should give you higher-resolution selfies, and also enable 4K recording at up to 30fps on the front camera.

Nothing Phone (2a) Plus vs Nothing Phone (2a): Battery and charging

Both the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus and the older Nothing Phone (2a) feature 5,000mAh batteries, but the Phone (2a) Plus is slightly faster at charging, offering 50W max charging speeds instead of 45W on the Phone (2a).

Unboxed Take: Which Nothing Phone (2a) is for you?

Both the Nothing Phone (2a) and the newer Nothing Phone (2a) Plus are great value-for-money devices if you like flaunting the design of your phone. They also come with clean Nothing OS software, and some really handy features baked into the user interface.

ALSO READ: Nothing Phone (2a) review

Now, the difference between the Phone (2a) and the Phone (2a) Plus are not significant to warrant an upgrade, so all users who already have the Phone (2a) don’t really need to upgrade here.

However, if you are buying a new phone right now, you should get the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus, simply because it is the slightly better device between the two.

It is priced starting at Rs 27,999, which is a full Rs 4,000 more than the Phone (2a)’s starting price, but note that even the base variant on the Phone (2a) Plus has 256GB storage, compared to 128GB on the Phone (2a). If you compare the 256GB storage variants, the price difference comes down to Rs 2,000, which may not be a lot for most buyers.