Phone (2a) series

The Nothing Phone (2a) and Phone (2a) Plus are mid-range Android smartphones developed by Nothing. The base 2a model was announced in March 2024 and released shortly afterwards, while the 2a Plus was introduced in July 2024 and released in August, as an incremental “Plus” variant, with modest upgrades in the processor, front camera and charging speed. The series maintains Nothing’s well known design philosophy of transparency and the Glyph Interface, giving Nothing a foot in the mid-range market.^[1,2]

The Phone (2a) tagline was “Fresh Eyes”, a play on the rear camera design which featured two cameras horizontally aligned.^[3]

Nothing announced the Phone (2a) on 5 March 2024, and it became available from 12 March 2024, priced at £319 for the base 8/128 model, and £349 for the 12/256 model.^[4] The Phone (2a) reportedly sold over 100,000 units on its first day of release.^[5]

The Phone (2a) Plus followed a few months later as a refreshed, higher spec variety. Announced on 31 July 2024 and available at Nothing Store Soho and Flipkart from 3 August, it was priced at £399 / 27,999 INR. The device wasn’t available online globally until September.^[6] Online pre-orders began 6 September, while sales and shipments began on 10 September.^[7]

The Phone (2a) Plus was released in the US through Nothing’s US Beta Program.^[8]

The Phone (2a) Plus was the chosen hardware behind the Community Edition project 2024, except for Japan, where the edition was modelled on Phone (2a).^[9] The winning hardware design, titled Phosphorescense, was created by creative duo, Astrid Vanhuyse and Kenta Akasaki and features a glow in the dark rear panel.^[10]

Colour Options: Phone (2a) is available in White, Black and Blue variants, as well as a “Milk” variant, depending on location. Phone (2a) Plus comes in metallic Grey or Black.

Back Design: Nothing’s signature transparent design, showcasing the Glyph Interface around the camera module at the top. It featured 3 lighting zones used for notifications, visual effects like music visualisation, Glyph Torch, Calendar progress and more.

Front Display: A 6.7-inch AMOLED panel with 1084 x 2412 resolution, 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate and a peak brightness of around 1300 nits. The display has a centered punch-hole cutout for the front camera, and uses Corning Gorilla Glass 5.

Build: Featuring a plastic frame, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 front and plastic back. It’s IP54 dust and splash resistant and weighs 190g.^[1]

Processor: Phone (2a) is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro, while Phone (2a) Plus steps up to the MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro, offering improved CPU/GPU performance. Both devices include a Mali-G610 MC4 GPU.

Memory: Phone (2a) is available in 8 GB RAM / 128 GB storage, 8GB RAM / 256 GB storage and 12 GB RAM / 256 GB storage variants, while Phone (2a) Plus is only offered in 256 GB storage with either 8 GB or 12 GB RAM.

Connectivity: Wifi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, Dual nano SIM, USB-C 2.0, LTE and 5G support.^[1,2]

Rear Camera: Both models use a dual-camera setup featuring a 50 MP main (wide, OIS) sensor and a 50 MP ultra-wide. Supports video up to 4K@30fps.

Front Camera: Phone (2a) features a 32 MP, wide selfie camera, capable of 1080p@60fps video, while Phone (2a) Plus upgrades the selfie camera to a 50 MP sensor with support for 4K@30fps.

Speakers: Stereo output (no 3.5 mm jack).^[1,2]

Battery: Both devices house a 5,000 mAh battery.

Charging: Phone (2a): 45 W wired, Phone (2a) Plus: 50 W wired.^[1,2]

OS: Phone (2a) launched with Nothing OS 2.5 based on Android 14, while Phone (2a) Plus launched with Nothing OS 2.6, also based on Android 14. Both devices claim 3 years of Android updates and 4 years of security patches.^[1,2,11]

Features:

• Glyph Interface - circular design around the rear cameras, 3 LED strips.