Nothing Phone (2a) Plus review: iterative improvements, but still classy design
The new Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is the latest release of a brand confident in its success and identity it can begin releasing iterative updates over full-fat new phones. This shares its name and design with the excellent Nothing Phone (2a) but swaps specs for a performance boost.
The Nothing Phone (2a) is one of my favourite budget smartphones for design and general use, managing to offer an inventive design with personality and solid specs most users would be happy with. You can read my Nothing Phone (2a) review for the full write-up. The release of the ‘Plus’ model only reinforces that view.
The new Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is much the same as the previous model, but sports small upgrades in performance, camera and design over the older release. It also comes in a fetching, shiny silver finish that, honestly, is one of the smartest colourways I’ve seen in a smartphone. It’s not quite as striking as the Nothing Phone 2a Special Edition, which has a retro futuristic white and grey design with notes of yellow… but it’s close.
I’ll cover the design a little more below, but the metallic finish just feels substantial and premium, more so than any other smartphone in this price range – sub $450 / £400.
The Nothing brand has been maintaining its subversive, disruptive approach to phone design for two years ever since the original Nothing Phone 1 released in 2022 and offered us the first glimpse of the inside-out design and Glyph system – rear-mounted LEDs that glow and ping in patterns to let you know who’s calling, and later upgraded in Nothing Phone 2 to enable meeting schedules, Uber delivery timings and customised audio and LED designs.
So, where does Nothing Phone (2a) Plus sit within this roster, and can the disruption keep impressing, or has the brand founds it niche to simply iterate upon? So many questions…
Below I compare the recently released Nothing Phone (2a) specs to the new Plus model, and it’s easy to see side-by-side where the new performance and improvements are coming from, but also how these are subtle uplifts and not huge changes.
Having used the older phone since launch, and the new Nothing Phone (2a) Plus for the past week, I can say the areas of improvement, particularly the small tweak to the clock speed and faster charging are welcome.
More so, the new 50MP front camera and improved ultra-wide camera sensor are great upgrades over the previous model. Although, as I get into later, the real changes, particularly for photography, come from Nothing’s new AI-enhanced software.
Released in March of this year, the Nothing Phone (2a) is still fresh and has some solid specs for this price range, which is why it remains a favourite:
Processor Mediatek Dimensity 7200 Pro Clock speed Up to 2.8 GHz Cores 8 Benchmark(Antutu v10) 741,999 GPU speed Up to 1.0 GHz Main camera 50 MP (Samsung GN9), F1.88, 1/1.56″ Ultra-wide camera 50MP (Samsung JN1), 114° FOV Front camera 32 MP (Sony IMX615) Display Flexible AMOLED Corning Gorilla Glass 5 Refresh rate 30 – 120 Hz Peak brightness 1,300 nits Battery size 5,000 mAh Charging speed 45W Dimensions 161.74 x 76.32 x 8.55 mm
The new Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is similar in design and display, but makes iterative improvements to its speed and cameras:
Processor MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro 5G Clock speed Up to 3.0 GHz Cores 8 Benchmark(Antutu v10) 805,721 GPU speed Up to 1.3 GHz Main camera 50 MP – Samsung JN1, f/2.2, 1/2.76″ sensor, 114° FOV Ultra-wide camera 50 MP – Samsung JN1, f/2.2, 1/2.76″ sensor, 114° FOV Front camera 50 MP – Samsung JN1, F2.2, 1/2.76″ sensor, 81.2° FOV Display Flexible AMOLED Corning Gorilla Glass 5 Refresh rate 30 – 120 Hz Peak brightness 1,300 nits Battery size 5,000 mAh Charging speed 50W Dimensions 161.74 x 76.32 x 8.55 mm
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus review: design
Just like the previous design, the new Plus mode features the reduced number of Glyph LEDs from the Nothing Phone 2, restricting the lights to the top of the phone’s ‘head’ and centering its dual cameras for a distinctive ‘face’ design.
The new phone comes in two colours, black and grey, but honestly the one with the wow factor is the metallic grey model. This has a light grey moulded siding and a clear plastic back, which as with other Nothing phones shows the ‘innards’ off. At the rear, the matte grey base is the canvas for a strip of shiny, reflective coated coils that wind up the back of the phone and circle the cameras.
The overall design is graphic and bold, it’s technical and machine-like, almost celebratory of function. This is countered by that ‘face’ design, with the two cameras forming the head of the phone and positioned in front of the devices CPU, it’s literally and creatively the head of the phone.
The Glyph Interface remains Nothing’s secret weapon, and while I’m still wedded to the larger LED patterns of the more expensive Nothing Phone 2, the smaller cluster of lights found on the Nothing Phone (2a) and this Plus model still impress. Personally, I love connecting the Glyphs to my Google Calendar, and as a meeting draws near the LED strip glows and builds – I’ve yet to miss a meeting (honest).
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus review: performance
The ‘face’ of the (2a) Plus features an LED cluster for notifications, alarms and more. (Image credit: Nothing)
In use the new Plus model has a number of subtle improvements, that while not staggering in isolation build to make this a smoother, faster and more accessible phone to use that the slightly older basic Nothing Phone (2a).
The new CPU is slightly faster all round, and where using the Nothing Phone (2a) would slow or stutter after extending us on some apps, here everything runs nicely. I can hot-swap between apps and into menus with little lag.
While there are undoubtedly faster smartphones on the market, they’ll cost more. What Nothing has released, with its improved CPU clock speed, is a mobile that’s a solid multitasker for everyday use that is easy to use.
Improvements to the battery size and fast-charging are welcome, and I noted in use how it comes close to Nothing’s own estimates for charging time (around 30 minutes for a full charge) and battery depletion – I used it for a whole day while travelling to listen to music, stream sat nav data to Google Maps and browse social media and it was still going after 18 hours.
Nothing’s own data suggests a full charge will last 40.6 hours of continuous music, 21.9 hours of YouTube, and 17.8 hours Instagram browsing, and my use over the last week comes close to these, if a little less.
The same Nothing OS means you get a spectrum of excellent apps and customisation features not found on other smartphones. (Image credit: Nothing)
What I do love is the Plus’s gaming chops. The AMOLED remains vibrant and crisp, but games run a little more smoothly on the Plus thanks to the improved CPU and GPU combo. Is it going to blow away more costly competition? No. But as a budget entry phone the performance is solid across the board. I tested it on a mix of games, including Marvel Snap, Genshin Impact and Need For Speed: No Limits.
It’s not just hardware, Nothing’s Game Mode enables you to monitor frame rates, lock brightness levels and display colours and block incoming calls and notifications. It’s a software update in OS 2.6, so it’s not exclusive to the (2a) Plus, but it’s one of a number of new areas where Nothing is improving how you’ll use this mobile.
Another eye-catching update is the new News Reporter widget that rounds up tailored news into eight one-minute stories that are read aloud in the voice of Nothing News Reporter CFO Tim Holbrow. It’s a neat app, if a little odd, and news themes can be tailored to your needs, such as Entertainment and Sports.
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus review: camera
The new AI-enhanced Vivid Modes offers a choice between punchy colours and natural hues. (Image credit: Nothing)
Where Nothing really steps up in the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus upgrade is with the new 50MP selfie camera, which improves over the 32MP camera of the older phone. For my own anxiety it means there’s a cohesion now across the front and rear cameras, but for those who love a selfie or video call it’s a nice boost.
As with much of this new phone much of what now impresses is software based, for example the portrait modes has been enhanced to make use of a new algorithm that boosts clarity on facial features, hair and eyes – making good use of that new and improved selfie camera.
The best new addition I found helpful, however, was the AI-enhanced Vivid Mode that scans the scene and drives up the contrast of the colours that creates photos with strikingly vivid colours. The same mode can be adjusted to Natural for subtle hues. This, alongside Nothing’s Advanced HDR software, ensures you get a performance boost from the cameras that becomes comparable to those with more megapixels.
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus review: price
The (2a) Plus has the same dimensions and design as the previous model. (Image credit: Nothing)
The new Nothing Phone (2a) Plus will cost at £399 for a model with 12GB RAM and 256 GB of memory, and can be pre-order from the Nothing online store. This makes it around £100 more than the Nothing Phone (2a) that launched in March, which is selling below its RRP on Amazon for £299. In the US there’s no offer, so Nothing Phone (2a) costs $415 for a 12GB RAM, 256GB model.
The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus will sell on Amazon once the initial release is over (this is expected in September), and for the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus a US Developer Programme will launch on 3rd August.
It’s worth also noting Nothing Phone (2a) Plus comes with Android 14 pre-installed, which not all budget smartphone do, and ensures a safety net of four years of security updates, so you know, despite the low price, this phone is going to last.
Within this price range things are now getting competitive, with new low-cost, well-specced smartphones coming out of China. But you need to consider what you want, for example the POCO X6 Pro has a great camera and costs less while the Xiaomi 13 Lite is comparable but lacks any standout apps or OS features. Neither have Nothing’s striking design, nor do they have an OS as feature-rich and progressive.
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus review: should I buy one?
The new phone has a nice feel, and a subtle light grey plastic frame. (Image credit: Nothing)
I do like the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus but I have to question whether its a real improvement over the (slightly) older model that, let’s remember, only released in March. Overall Plus feels, as the name suggests, like an iterative improvement that those holding a current (2a) may not feel the need to buy, rather than a bug step forward.
But, if you’re new to the Nothing brand and are looking for a well-made, feature rich budget smartphone with a good lifespan the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is a good choice. It has good specs to ensure its agile enough to run most apps, a long battery life, excellent cameras and software, and that design.
Nothing is proving it can get more from budget hardware than most with its excellent software and apps, and the continued implementation of AI and Android 14 out of the box ensures you’ll be getting a good use of this for at least two years, if not longer. This alone sets it apart from other budget phones that boast slightly higher specs.
