Nothing Phone (2a) review

You won’t be blamed for thinking smartphones that don’t cost a lot are boring. After all, a lot of them prioritise functionality over aesthetics and aim to offer the most bang for your buck. While there’s not a lot wrong with that strategy, this segment is crying out for a phone that looks great, while being competent. Enter the new Nothing Phone (2a).

Nothing’s phones are known for their standout designs and being capable enough to go toe-to-toe with rivals. The new phone is however on the lower end when compared to the Nothing Phone (1) and the Nothing Phone (2). But despite slashing the price, Nothing hasn’t compromised on the overall experience. Having spent the past few days putting it through the paces, here’s our Nothing Phone (2a) review.

Nothing Phone (2a) design

Let’s get the obvious thing out of the way first. Yes, the phone does come with a semi-transparent back panel, and the signature ‘glyph’ LED lights. There aren’t as many light strips as the more expensive variants though, and the one’s present are limited to the top half around the camera module. That said, the glyph lights function as expected. They will dance to the tune and pitch of the ringtones or music and show the battery and volume level indicators.

This time around, the back panel is plastic and shows off some flex cables. While it looks good, it does attract fingerprints, and could get easily scratched after a period of usage. A transparent case then is advised to maintain the good looks.

The phone comes in black and white colour schemes. While we liked both, Nothing fans are bound to be a tad biased towards the white colour. Overall, we liked the phone’s look and found it built well and the right size for a comfortable grip.

Nothing Phone (2a) display

Before we move to the display, it is worth pointing out the symmetrical bezels surrounding the screen. Few brands get the bezels right, and symmetry just adds to the overall premium-ness of the phone. It is a near full-screen experience barring the small cutout at the top housing the front camera.

You get a 6.7-in flexible AMOLED panel with FHD+ resolution, up to 120Hz refresh rate and 1,300 nits of peak brightness. The display offers good colours and viewing angles, which is what you experience when reading articles on Unboxed or catching up on the latest episode of a web series. There are two colour modes on offer – ‘standard’ for those who prefer the default settings and ‘alive’ for those who prefer punchier colours.

Nothing Phone (2a) performance

Under the hood is a MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro chipset accompanied by up to 12GB of RAM. While mid-range on paper, the chipset performs admirably in day-to-day usage. It handles everyday tasks with ease, can multitask, and apps load quickly. We didn’t notice any major lags or stutters during our time of use.

ALSO READ: Nothing Phone (2a) vs Nothing Phone (1): What’s new?

It is unreasonable to expect the phone to run games like a pro, but you can play the likes of Asphalt 9: Legends on tempered settings. You’ll however notice the phone working hard during gaming, when it heats up a bit, which is also a not-so-friendly reminder to take a break during sessions.

Complementing the performance is the Nothing Phone (2a)’s battery that consistently gave us about two days’ worth of usage. Mind you, this is when the phone is used judiciously. Under heavy usage, the battery life drops, but it still manages to last more than a day. It is worth noting that the phone doesn’t come bundled with a charging adaptor. So, charging speeds really depend on the adaptor in use. The brand claims you can charge the battery from 0-100 per cent in under an hour using a 45W charger.

Nothing Phone (2a) software

A lot of the smooth performance is also down to the phone’s software. It runs Android-14 based Nothing OS 2.5, and the brand has promised three years of OS updates and up to four years of security patches. Nothing’s UI is among the best out there offering lots of customisation options with little to no bloatware, and it is no different with the Nothing Phone (2a).

The party trick however is the glyph lights at the back. As mentioned, the number of light strips has gone down on this phone, but the number of tricks hasn’t. This means, you can still choose the lights to dance to the tune of your ringtones or the music playing on your phone. Beyond the fun bits, they are also quite functional. For instance, you can use it as a countdown for the camera shutter or to keep track of your food deliveries or cab rides. What felt as a sort of gimmick at first now seems like a handy feature for the phone.

Nothing Phone (2a) cameras

The Phone (2a) has a dual-camera setup at the back, and the way it is placed reminds us of WALL-E’s eyes – especially on the black variant. As a part of this setup, you get a 50MP primary lens and a 50MP ultra-wide lens.

ALSO READ: Nothing Phone (2a) gets Nothing OS 2.5.3 update: Here’s what’s new

Unsurprisingly, the main camera shoots good photos during the day and in ideal lighting conditions. A good amount of details is captured, and colour reproduction is on point. But we did notice some parts getting overexposed when shooting outdoors under harsh sunlight. In low light conditions, there an expected drop in quality and amount of details that are preserved, but the drop isn’t drastic.

The ultra-wide lens does what is expected from it with decent photos in ideal lighting conditions. You’ll notice a slight change in the colour tuning on photos shot with this lens, and snaps look a tad soft when viewed in full size. There’s no dedicated telephoto lens here, and all you get is a 2x digital zoom, which is passable at best.

For selfies and video calling, you get a 32MP camera on the front, similar to the Nothing Phone (2). The performance is quite unsurprising with decent photos in daylight and a noticeable drop in details when the lights go down.

Unboxed Take: Who should buy the Nothing Phone (2a)?

With prices starting from Rs 23,999, there’s not a lot more that you can expect from a smartphone. The Nothing Phone (2a) offers a hardware design that is bound to catch some attention, and compliments with an aesthetically designed UI. It will certainly not set any benchmark or comparison charts on fire, and it is okay not to be a part of that rat race. This phone is for those who prefer the overall user experience over raw performance.

ALSO READ: Realme 12 Pro+ vs Redmi Note 13 Pro vs Nothing Phone 2a: Which is the best phone under Rs 30,000?

If you’re still on the fence about this phone, there are a few competitive phones in this segment worth mentioning. These include the Realme 12 Pro+, and Redmi Note 13 Pro to name a few.