Nothing Phone (2a) Plus review | Infinium-tech

Introduction

Nothing is moving fast these days when it comes to expanding its smartphone portfolio. After the Nothing CMF Phone 1 and almost four months after unveiling the Nothing Phone (2a), Carl Pei’s venture has now launched another new model.

As its name suggests, the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is an improved version of the Nothing Phone (2a). The design is largely the same, although it has a new metallic color finish. The Dimensity 7200 Pro chipset has been replaced by the more powerful Dimensity 7350 Pro 5G chip, developed by MediaTek specifically for the Nothing. Apparently, it offers a 10% increase in CPU and up to 30% in GPU performance, so it will be interesting to test it.

Nothing Phone (2a) Plus features at a glance:

• Body: 161.7×76.3×8.5mm, 190g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass 5), plastic frame, plastic back; IP54 – splash, water and dust resistant, 26 LED lights on the back (notifications, camera fill light).
• Display: 6.70″ AMOLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, HDR10+, 700 nits (normal), 1100 nits (HBM), 1300 nits (top), 1080x2412px resolution, 20.1:9 aspect ratio, 395ppi; always-on display.
• Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro (4 nm): Octa-core (2×3.0 GHz Cortex-A715 & 6x 2.0 GHz Cortex-A510); Mali-G610 MC4 1.3 GHz.
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM.
• OS/Software: Android 14, Nothing OS 2.6, 3 major Android upgrades.
• rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.9, 24mm, 1/1.57″, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS; Ultra Wide Angle: 50 MP, f/2.2, 114-degree, 1/2.76″, 0.64µm.
• front camera: 50 MP, f/2.2, (wide), 1/2.76″.
• Record video: rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@60/120fps, Gyro-EIS; front camera: 4K@30fps.
• Battery: 5000mAh; 50W wired, 50% in 21 mins, 100% in 56 mins (advertised).
• Connectivity: 5G; Dual SIM; Wi-Fi 6; BT 5.3; NFC.
• various: Fingerprint reader (under the display, optical); stereo speakers.

The new Nothing Phone (2a) Plus also features an upgraded 50MP selfie camera that is capable of 4K capture. Finally, charging has been improved even further and the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus now supports 50W charging, which promises to be around 10% faster than the regular Nothing Phone (2a).

We wonder why Nothing decided to come out with a slightly improved version of its own “mid-ranger” in the existing lineup, the way it’s shaping up, and potentially risk cannibalizing sales of the regular Nothing Phone (2a). Nothing CEO Carl Pei apparently doesn’t see it that way. He says the Nothing Phone (2a) was so popular that it warranted a sequel of sorts. Plus, there’s also the fact that the Nothing Phone (3) is expected to launch in 2025, and in the meantime, the company wants to offer a more powerful device to excite enthusiasts.

This all sounds fine and good, but the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is a little more expensive than its non-Plus sibling. Price-wise, it’s not exactly a drop-in replacement. Thankfully, at least for now, Nothing isn’t planning to retire the vanilla Nothing Phone (2a), which is good to see. We can’t be mad about more options.

Unboxing

Nothing has always had a certain aesthetic touch and vision about its products, which extends to the packaging and accessories. The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus comes in an attractive cardboard box with the phone’s design elements embossed on the top.

The actual box has a sleeve on top, complete with Nothing’s signature dot matrix font. The box itself is sturdy and appears to be made entirely of cardboard, including the cradle inside that holds the phone securely.

However, it’s not just the packaging that’s beautiful. With that in mind, the accessories are beautiful too. They’re pretty limited. However, the SIM ejector tool and the USB Type-C to Type-C cable both feature a distinctive design inspired by the phone.

We like the transparent connectors on the cable. Still, unfortunately, the cable itself is a simple non-emarked cable, which means it’s limited to 3A power throughput and 5Gbps data transfer. Still, none of this is hampering the respective capabilities of the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus, so we can’t complain. We do wish there was a charger in the box, but it is what it is.