Nothing Phone (2a) – first impressions review

The Nothing Phone 2a starts at Rs 23,999 and comes in black and white.

Nothing’s third smartphone launch brings quite a few cool features to disrupt the sub Rs 25,000 market. And it’s more than just Nothing’s design aesthetic:

2a is Nothing’s lightest phone yet.

Design impressions: It might be Nothing’s most affordable phone yet, but it still doesn’t compromise on the design creds of the brand. We like the semi-transparent design. It might be all-plastic back and yet it’s not tacky. It feels even lighter than its 190 gm heft. This is Nothing’s lightest phone yet. The aluminium construction adds to its heft and yet it feels really light in your hand. You get a simplified, skinned down version of the Glyph interface with three lights that adds to the aesthetic appeal of the device.

Binge-proof? You get a 6.7-inch Flexible AMOLED display (1084 x 2412 pixels / 394 PPI) that hits a peak brightness of 1300 nits. The 120Hz refresh rate adds to its binge-watch creds. We also like that it offers support for HDR10+.

Dependable Performance: The Nothing Phone (2a) is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro chipset. It’s a departure of sorts for Nothing – it’s first two smartphones were powered by Qualcomm chipsets. We think this device should please most everyday users. The phone didn’t flinch during our gaming and multi-tasking tests. There are three storage options – 8GB/128GB, 8GB/256GB and the top-end 12GB/256GB variant.

Nothing (2a) is one of the better smartphone shooters at this price point.

A versatile camera: The dual rear cam (50MP primary lens + 50 MP ultra-wide lens) did a decent job in most scenarios. There’s some noise in lowlight images despite OIS and yet this is one of the better smartphone shooters at this price point. Nothing retains the same 32MP selfie shooter that we saw on the Nothing Phone 2.

Robust battery: The 5000 mAh battery is a big win. It’s the best we’ve seen on a Nothing Phone but there’s no wireless charging unlike its predecessors. Nothing has not bundled a charging brick in the box. Nothing claims a charging time of 59 minutes (1 to 100%) thanks to the charging speed of 45W. This was similar to what we experienced when we checked it out with a third-party charging brick.

The Nothing Phone (2a) is one of our favourite new phones under Rs 25,000 with a standout design and user experience as well as solid battery life.

The Nothing Phone 2a starts at Rs 23,999 and comes in black and white.