For a fairly new brand UK based Nothing has carved a niche for itself in an already crowded smartphone market. After dabbling in the premium segment with its first two handsets, Nothing has now entered the mid-segment market with Nothing Phone 2a. The smartphone has become the talk of the social media with its unique design and notification lights.
Starting at Rs 23,999, Nothing Phone 2a is slightly more affordable than the Redmi Note 13 Pro, which starts at Rs 25,999.
Design
The Nothing Phone 2a stands out from the crowd with its transparent back design that shows something that looks like internal components and a bunch of light strips called glyphs that glow when users get a call, message or notification.
Unlike previous Nothing phones that had LED lights spread across the entire back panel, the Nothing Phone 2a has a more streamlined design with just three lights grouped at the top of the back panel.
To cut costs, Nothing has used plastic frames instead of metal in the Phone 2a, yet the phone feels premium with its glass back design and smooth finish.
Unlike most smartphones that position the back cameras in the top left or right corner, the Nothing Phone 2a takes a unique approach by aligning them together at the top centre.
While it might not be a deciding factor for everyone, it certainly gives it a distinct look.
At 190g, the Nothing Phone 2a is compact for a big screen phone and quite easy to use with one hand. The volume buttons are also placed near the centre of the side panel, which makes accessing them easier.
That said, the smooth glass back is quite prone to dust and fingerprints and requires frequent cleaning.
Software
Nothing phone 2a runs Android 14 with stock Android UI. Except for a few system and Google apps, there are hardly any pre-loaded apps. Nothing has added a couple of its own apps that one can uninstall any time.
While stock Android offers a clean experience, it can feel a little bland in comparison to feature-packed interfaces like Xiaomi’s MIUI or Samsung’s One UI. Nothing Phone treads a middle ground. It avoids being completely bare-bones by offering some customization options. Users can change app icons and even design unique wallpapers using pre-loaded colors and templates.
The smartphone also allows users to force apps to fill the entire screen, eliminating any black bars on the sides.
Like MIUI, Nothing’s UI also allows users to create and use two versions of the same app. This can come in handy for users with more than one social media accounts.
Nothing phone 2a comes with three years of guaranteed Android updates, which is on par with the Redmi Note 13 series and better than Motorola’s two-year commitment. Also, Nothing has released smaller updates since its launch to improve the user experience and camera performance.
Display
The Nothing Phone 2a has a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with symmetrically thin bezels and a screen to body ratio of 87%. In many of the new phones in this price range, the lower bezels are slightly wider, which looks a bit ugly. Nothing has used Gorilla Glass 5 to protect its screen from scratches.
The display is adequately bright making for an enjoyable video playback and gaming experience. However, outdoor visibility could have been a bit better.
Users can customize the display to their preference by adjusting the color temperature and choosing between Alive and Standard modes. While the option exists, I didn’t notice any major difference between the two modes.
The fingerprint sensor is conveniently located on the display and works efficiently.
Performance
The Nothing Phone 2a runs on MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro, a mid segment processor that can handle most tasks including some games without breaking a sweat. In benchmark scores it fairs better than the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 that powers the Redmi Note 13 Pro, but in terms of performance or handling demanding tasks it didn't feel any superior.
While Asphalt 9 ran smoothly, eFootball struggled with frame drops at the highest graphics settings. We did notice a slight lag in the camera app while processing images. This is nothing to be worried about and can be fixed with a minor software update.
The phone comes in 8GB and 12GB RAM variants with the option to virtually expand it to up to 8GB RAM. This will make multitasking a lot smoother but will take up 8GB of storage space too.
It also boasts an impressive battery life. Its 5,000mAh battery lasted a full workday with ease and even handles some gaming on a single charge. Also, it didn’t show any signs of overheating during demanding tasks such as gaming and uploading YouTube videos.
The phone packs surprisingly powerful speakers, making games and video playback enjoyable even without headphones.
Camera
The Nothing Phone 2a has a 50MP main camera with optical image stabilization and a 50MP ultra wide camera. It can record videos in up to 4K at 30fps and supports up to 2x zoom in both photos and videos.
Landscape photos suffer from both washed-out colors and lack of detail. While images look slightly sharper in good lighting, overall picture quality remains underwhelming.
The camera struggles with high-contrast scenes, losing detail in shadows due to limited dynamic range.
While the camera can muster a decent amount of detail and dynamic range in 4K videos, colours look a bit washed out.
The 32MP selfie camera is good at capturing natural looking skin tones, but struggles with intricate details of the face.
Verdict
The Nothing Phone 2a impresses with its unique backlit design, clutter-free Android experience and smooth performance. It also comes with the assurance of three years of software updates. While it is on par with most rivals, the Redmi Note 13 Pro’s cameras can handle colours and contrast slightly better and also offers 4x zoom in photos.
But in most other aspects, the Nothing Phone 2a goes toe-to-toe with the likes of Redmi Note 13 Pro and Moto Edge 40 Neo. That said, one thing buyers should keep in mind is that Nothing is a new brand and finding service centres might be challenging as compared to more established brands such as Xiaomi and Samsung that have a pan-India presence in terms of both before and after sales.
Image credit: Abhijit Ahaskar