A COMPANY called Nothing brought a breath of fresh air to the crowded smartphone scene in 2021.
And now the British company is hoping to do it again for those on a budget with the new Nothing Phone 2a.
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Starting at £319 it’s a very attractive price tag in today’s mobile world but does it add up to a good value handset worth considering?
Read on for our full review.
Nothing Phone 2a: Look and feel
Nothing Phones stand out for their pretty unique design led by the quirky Glyph lighting system on the back.
For those that aren’t aware already, the Glyth light strips flash in various ways of your choosing, such as for notifications, as a volume indicator or a timer – think of it as a mini dance floor in the palm of your hand.
The Glyth lighting has fortunately survived on the 2a but it’s been scaled back quite a bit compared to its bigger brother, the Nothing Phone 2.
There are now just three light strips, compared to the 11 on the Nothing Phone 2 – and they’re concentrated to the upper third of the handset, instead of the whole surface.
It’s definitely one to consider for anyone fed up with breaking the bank on a smartphone
As someone who really likes the Glyth feature it’s sad to see it reduced but I can understand why there needs to be some leeway to keep the overall cost down, and so I’m happy it remains in some form.
A major point to note about the back is that it is plastic, not glass as in previous Nothing Phones – which is another way the company has seemingly cut back to reduce overall costs.
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They don’t look that different but the plastic is more prone to finger prints – and will scratch more easily.
As for the display, it’s a 6.78-inch screen that delivers sharp, bright and colourful results.
Nothing Phone 2a: Performance
Nothing has swapped chipsets which power the device, moving to MediaTek’s Dimensity 7200 Pro.
General apps ran pretty fast though flipping between them wasn’t quite as smooth as I’d like.
But games performed surprisingly smooth considering the price.
The maximum amount of storage you can get is 256GB which isn’t a great deal if you love taking loads of photos and videos – and there’s no microSD support either, which leaves you relying on the cloud or staying super tidy with what you keep on your handset.
Feature-wise, there isn’t any headline-grabbing AI tools as we’ve seen from other recent smartphone launches.
The Nothing Phone 2a runs on Android 14 and Nothing has committed to three years of major Android updates and four years of security updates which is less than most rivals.
Who offers free updates longest?
The longer you receive updates, the longer you can safely continue using your smartphone – with the latest features thrown in too for free.
Samsung
For the Galaxy S24 series, Samsung said it would provide at least seven generations of OS updates and seven years of security updates.
OnePlus
At the launch of the OnePlus 12, OnePlus committed to at least four years of Android updates and five years of security updates.
Xiaomi
Xiaomi offers four years off Android updates and five years security updates.
Google
For the Pixel 8, Google said that devices would receive at least seven years of support.
Nothing Phone 2a: Battery
The battery measures in at 5,000mAh – which is the same size as the Galaxy S24 Ultra, but so do some mid-range devices too.
Nothing claims you can get up to two days of use out of it and certainly after a day of fair usage – watching videos, browsing the web and light gaming – my battery was about half used.
The Nothing Phone 2a doesn’t have a charging brick in the box but it does have a USB-C wire.
Up to 45W charging is supported, which means I could get a full charge from zero in about an hour.
One feature that has been removed is wireless charging.
Nothing Phone 2a: Camera
The Nothing Phone 2a features a dual 50-megapixel main and 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera set-up.
It took fairly decent shots though some parts lack sharp detail.
And as there’s only a 2x digital zoom, don’t expect to get a great close up snap of anything remotely distant.
Taking photos in low light conditions at night fared well though some elements felt too artificially brightened.
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Nothing Phone 2a: Verdict
The Nothing Phone 2a makes some worthy sacrifices to keep the overall cost down.
However, the unique Glyph lighting lacks wow factor as the amount of strips have been reduced.
The shorter commitment of updates compared to rivals is disappointing.
Those aside, there is a lot to love.
Decent performance, a killer battery and a truly unique design, all for a very reasonable starting price of £319.
It’s definitely one to consider for anyone fed up with breaking the bank on a smartphone.