The much-teased and oft-leaked Nothing Phone (2a) is now official, just a week after making its limited debut at the company’s MWC after party. Nothing’s third phone is the first to go right after mid-range/budget, with a starting price of $349.
While pre-orders open today, there is an important caveat in the United States. The phone is currently only available here for developers who want to integrate third-party apps with the illuminated “Glyphs” on the back of the device.
“The Glyph Developer Kit for Nothing devices is here,” Nothing writes about the program. “Your chance to build your own integration with Glyph Interface. You can start developing it and sign up for an API key starting March 5, 2024.”
However, the device will be available in the UK and India through more traditional means. In the London-based company’s home market, it’s also available in 8GB/128GB and 12GB/256GB models, priced at £319 and £319, respectively. In India, these models are priced at ₹23,999 and ₹27,099, respectively. The world’s largest smartphone market is also a huge target for budget phones. It will be the only launch market to get a third 12GB/256GB configuration for ₹25,999.
Image Credits: Nothing
The handset ditches the Qualcomm Snapdragon SoCs found in the more premium models, instead opting for a custom MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro chip. It says nothing:
Together, Nothing and MediaTek introduced optimizations such as Smart Clean (+200% UFS read/write speed for extended use) and Adaptive NTFS (+100% file transfer speeds with Windows PCs) and managed to reduce the power consumption of specific components up to 10%.
Performance will of course be a step below the flagship Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 of the Nothing Phone (2) (you may, however, see an increase in speed from the Phone (1) with certain workflows). The (2a) retains the dual 50-megapixel rear cameras of the (2), although it moves them to the center of the back. The back is otherwise reminiscent of the phones that came before, with the trademark transparent design, paired with the bright Glyphs (although they’ve been reduced to three and only on the top).
Image Credits: Nothing
At 5,000 mAh, the battery is larger than those found in phone (1) (4,500 mAh) and phone (2) (4,700 mAh). The (2a) retains the 6.7-inch screen size of the more premium handset, along with the 120Hz refresh rate.
Overall, it’s shaping up to be a solid phone for the price. Given the number of flagships that top $1,000, however, one could certainly classify the $639 Nothing Phone (2) as a mid-range price point.
