BackNothing Phone (2a) review: A bloatware free device, ticks most boxes!
Here is the review of Nothing Phone (2a), the latest offering from Nothing in the Indian market. Find out whether this phone is worth your money.
PremiumNothing recently released its third smartphone in India, the Nothing Phone (2a). This smartphone has fewer LED lights than before, but it is still generating a lot of interest in the Indian market. I have been using the Nothing Phone (2a) for over 20 days now, so let us dive into a detailed review. The company offers a smartphone with no unnecessary pre-installed apps. Let us see if this should be your next smartphone.
Pricing
To begin with the price,the smartphone comes at a price of Rs. 23,999 for the basic model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. If you opt for the 8GB RAM and 256GB storage variant, it will cost you Rs. 25,999, while the variant with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage is priced at Rs. 27,999.
Packaging
Many people do not like the packaging of the Nothing Phone (2a) because it comes in a sleek box that is hard to open without tearing. Inside, you will find the phone, some paperwork, a USB Type-C to Type-C charging cable, and a SIM ejector tool. This smartphone does not come with charger which is a major miss.
Design
The Nothing Phone (2a) has a cool design that catches your eye. It is simple but looks good. The back of the phone is see-through and looks like it is made of glass panels. But it is plastic. This phone is easy to hold because it has smooth edges and a flat frame. The front of the phone has thin bezels, which makes it look fancy.
Unlike the older Nothing phones, this one has only three LED lights on the back. Interestingly, the cameras on the back are placed in the middle of the phone, between the NFC coil. You can see some cables inside the phone through the transparent back.
Speaking of ports and buttons, the power button is on the right side, and the volume buttons are on the left. They are easy to reach, even if you are holding the phone with one hand. At the bottom of the phone, there is a USB Type-C port, a speaker, a microphone, and a slot for the SIM card. On top, there is another microphone.
Since the rear transparent panel is plastic, it is bound to get scratches and smudges. I would strongly recommend using a case for this smartphone.
Display
Moving on to the display, the Nothing Phone (2a) features a 6.7-inch AMOLED panel with full-HD+ resolution. With a 30-120Hz refresh rate and up to 1,300 nits of peak brightness, the display delivers good visuals whether you are indoors or outdoors. Plus, with two color modes to choose from, you can customize your viewing experience to suit your preferences.The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5.It is worth noting that LTPO functionality is absent from this device. The stereo speakers deliver decent sound quality, enhancing the overall multimedia experience at an affordable price point.
Software and processor
Regarding software and performance, the Nothing Phone (2a) operates on Nothing OS 2.5, built upon Android 14. Offering a completely clean interface, it ensures smooth navigation through daily tasks. Additionally, Nothing is offering three years of Android OS updates and four years of security updates with the device.
The Nothing Phone (2a) features a Dimensity 7200 Pro processor that is great for the day to day usage and can offer good battery life. It gets UFS 2.2 but I strongly feel that UFS 3.1 would be better. The benchmark results were satisfactory and the AnTuTu score of the Phone 2a was more than 6,80,000 points. This is a capable processor for daily use, and I did not face any major lag while using the smartphone. Even the gaming was smooth. While playing BGMI for more than 30 minutes, there was no frame drop on high to medium settings, neither I witnessed any heating issues.
Camera
The Nothing Phone (2a) features a dual-camera arrangement, including a 50MP main rear camera and a 50MP ultra-wide sensor. It also comes with a 32MP front camera for selfies. Accessing various shooting modes such as Slo-mo, Time-lapse, Pano, Portrait, Night mode, Motion capture, and Expert mode is made simple through a quick swipe down on the viewfinder interface.
During daylight shooting, the primary camera displayed satisfactory performance, although HDR showcased some issues initially, which the company fixed after its first update. In extremely bright settings, the 50MP sensor tended to slightly overexpose bright areas of the scene. However, the ultra-wide camera managed exposure better than it was expected.
In low-light conditions, the primary camera performed well, offering more realistic images without excessive saturation. Speaking of selfies, the front camera works decently well in the complex to normal light conditions.
As per the price point, the video condition is decent enough. The primary camera can shoot in 4K 30 fps or 1080p 60 fps.
Features and Specifications
The Nothing Phone (2a) includes standard connectivity features such as 5G dual-mode, dual-band Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, and GPS. It also offers a dual-SIM slot. Additionally, it comes with NTFS optimizations, a RAM booster supporting up to 8GB virtual RAM expansion, and a HyperEngine 5.0 designed to enhance gaming performance.
One of the notable features of the Nothing Phone is its Glyph interface. With the Phone (2a), Nothing has refreshed the Glyph interface, reducing the number of LED strips to three while maintaining its white color. Yet, the Glyph interface remains versatile, offering 15 functions. These include a timer, Flip to Glyph for notifications, progress bars for apps like Swiggy, Ola, and more.
This smartphone Nothing Phone (2a) comes with a smooth in-display fingerprint scanner. Nothing packs a 5,000mAh battery which lasts for more than 35 hours on a normal day to day usage. It supports 45W fast charging, since I used my 30W charger to charge the device, it was charged in almost 80 minutes from 0 to 100.
Verdict
The Nothing Phone (2a) is a budget-friendly option from Nothing. What sets it apart is its cool design and software. It comes with neat software and a promise of three years of Android OS updates, along with a unique look. At this price, I think it offers a good overall experience, as it ticks most of the boxes.
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