Nothing says that its recent device – the Phone 2A – is a mid-range handset. And just looking at the specifications, which include a 6.5-inch OLED display at 120 Hz, up to 12 GB of RAM and a large 5,000 mAh battery, it seems correct. It is positioned more as a budget offer, which makes it even more attractive. Because in a category where device manufacturers often take shortcuts to get a certain price, the Phone 2A combines solid components with a unique design to offer a handset that looks good and has a great value. So, although there are some problems for potential buyers in the United States, nothing has created an attractive Option in a sea of boring budget phones.
Nothing phone 2A
An excellent value for money and a beautiful appearance
With a bright 120 Hz OLED display, excellent battery life and a unique design, the Nothing Phone 2A proves that a good budget phone doesn’t have to be boring.
Design and display: definitely distinctive
Nothing is aesthetically distinctive. It is inspired by the retro Gadgets of the 90s with translucent plastic like the old Gameboys, but remixed with a more modern and coherent finish. This allows you to see a number of its components such as the NFC antennas (which represent the disk around the rear cameras) without distracting them. That said, on the 2A phone, nothing changed things by moving the cameras to the center and rearranging the glyph lights, which gives more face to the back, while a small red accent adds a splash of color. It comes in black and white color combinations, the first one sometimes making me feel like I’m looking at Wall-E’s Emo Cousin.
Another departure from Nothing’s previous handsets is that the Phone 2A has a polycarbonate back instead of a glass back. It may sound bad now, but this device is a reminder of how beautiful plastic can be when done right. Nothing says that the subtly rounded edges of the phone would not be possible with glass. Although I’m not sure if this feature is a real selling point, it feels good. In addition, the choice of material results in something much lighter than it seems, which is nice compared to traditional glass bricks. The Phone 2A weighs only 6.7 ounces (190 grams), which is less than a Pixel 7A (6.82 ounces / 193.5 grams), although the latter has a significantly smaller 6.1-inch screen.
As for the screen itself, the 6.5-inch OLED panel offers bright colors and a surprisingly good brightness of about 700 Nits in normal use with peaks of up to 1,300 Nits. The only thing I struggled with was the fingerprint reader on the screen, which required a few registrations to dial it before unlocking it each time.
Performance: more than enough for the money
Nothing contradicts conventional wisdom by opting for a Mediatek Dimensity 7200 Pro chip instead of something from Qualcomm. Storage starts at 8 GB, although in the United States the only configuration offers 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. And while the Geekbench 6 scores (1,123 single-core and 2,603 multi-core) were slightly lower than what I got from a Pixel 7A (1,442 single-core and 3,639 multi-core), it felt fast and responsive in normal use. The only small problem is that sometimes the scrolling of websites or social media was not as smooth as the more expensive competitors. But if you’re not hoping to play serious mobile games, the Phone 2A packs more than enough punch to do the trick.
