Nothing Phone (2a) Plus Price, Specs, and Best Deals

The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is another impressive midrange smartphone from Nothing. It features similar yet improved features to the Nothing Phone 2a launched earlier in the year. It offers a standout design with an LED stripe along the back, a big 6.7-inch AMOLED screen, a 50MP sensor on all three cameras (dual rear and single front-facing camera), and a large 5000 mAh battery. The Nothing Phone 2a Plus also performs quite well, thanks to its combination of a MediaTek 7350 processor and 12GB of RAM.

Design

The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus continues in the footsteps of the Nothing Phone (2a) design, with a nano-coating and metallic finish reminiscent of technical machinery. It measures 161.7 x 76.3 x 8.5 mm and weighs 190g.

The phone’s build is characterized by a sleek, transparent rear panel that reveals the intricacies of its internal components, giving it a unique and futuristic aesthetic. Nothing calls it the “90-degree infinity back cover featuring multi-layer printing techniques, proprietary ink formulations, and carefully chosen coating materials.

The back of the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus features a clear polycarbonate plastic panel with a semi-transparent back that displays three Glyph LED light stripes in an intricate pattern inspired by the Vignelli subway map. This Glyph system offers visual cues and illuminates for notifications. You can always turn off the Glyph light using the Glyph interface if you don’t want to use it. The Glyph lights are unchanged from the Phone (2a).

Meanwhile, the dual horizontal camera arrangement is still retro, with the two cameras looking like eyes inside the large NFC coil.

Furthermore, despite the plastic build, the phone’s front and back are connected via an aluminum frame, made entirely of recycled aluminum, and coated with plastic for a better grip. Additionally, it has rounded edges, making it comfortable to hold.

On the front, Nothing Phone (2a) Plus has a 6.7-inch display dominating the front panel with bezels surrounding it. The screen is protected by Gorilla Glass 5 from drops and scratches. There is also a fingerprint sensor under the display.

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In addition, the volume buttons are on the left side, while the power button is on the right.  On the bottom sits the SIM card tray with two nanoSIM slots, a USB-C 2.0 port, and a speaker grille.

Display

The Phone (2a) Plus’s display is the same 6.7-inch 1080p AMOLED as the standard Phone 2a. The 2412 x 1084 pixel resolution results in 395 ppi density thus offering sharp and detailed visuals.

Meanwhile, this display occupies an extensive 87.1% screen-to-body ratio, maximizing the viewing area while maintaining the device’s compact form. This high screen-to-body ratio contributes to a more immersive experience, allowing users to fully engage with content on the large 6.7-inch OLED display.

The dynamic refresh rate, ranging from 30Hz to 120Hz, ensures smooth animations, while the 240Hz touch sampling rate enhances responsiveness, making every input feel instantaneous. Meanwhile, these adjustable refresh rate options allow users to balance performance and battery life according to their needs. Whether prioritizing battery conservation or the smoothest possible display performance, users can choose the setting that best suits their current needs.

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In addition, the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus’s display also features 10-bit color depth, delivering over a billion colors for incredibly rich and accurate visuals. This advanced color depth ensures vibrant hues and smooth gradients, enhancing the overall viewing experience with true-to-life color representation.

Camera

The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus features an improved camera compared to the Phone (2a), although the main camera is the same 50 MP, the ultrawide and selfie camera has been upgraded to 50MP each.

The main camera uses the powerful 50MP Samsung ISOCELL GN9 (S5KGN9) sensor, which offers an f/1.88 aperture and is equipped with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS). This setup ensures that images are not only crisp and detailed but also maintain natural color reproduction, making it ideal for everyday photography. The main sensor’s ability to capture fine details with minimal noise is particularly noticeable, even in challenging lighting conditions.

Complementing the main camera is the 50MP f/2.2 ultra-wide sensor, utilizing the Samsung ISOCELL JN1 (S5KJN1) sensor. This ultra-wide lens boasts a 114-degree field of view, allowing users to capture expansive landscapes and group photos with ease. The ultra-wide shots maintain a good level of detail, with minimal distortion at the edges, which is often a challenge for lenses of this type. The wide-angle perspective is perfect for those looking to add a creative flair to their photography, with colors that stay true to life, especially in the natural color mode.

Despite the lack of a dedicated zoom lens, the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus allows digital zoom up to 10x. While the results at 2x zoom are decent, providing a usable option for Portrait Mode photos, the quality deteriorates noticeably as you approach the 10x mark, where images become too blurry to be practical. The Portrait Mode itself is a bit of a mixed bag; while it offers decent bokeh effects, the separation between the subject and background can sometimes appear artificial.

In terms of color reproduction, the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus provides two camera modes: natural and vivid. The natural mode produces colors that are close to real life, offering a more subdued and accurate representation of the scene.

Vivid mode, on the other hand, slightly increases saturation, providing a more vibrant and eye-catching result without going overboard. This dual approach gives users the flexibility to choose the color profile that best suits their style or the scene they’re capturing.

On the front, the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus features an upgraded 50MP selfie camera, also using the Samsung ISOCELL JN1 sensor, with an f/2.2 aperture and an 81.2-degree field of view. This front-facing camera is capable of capturing 4K video at 30fps, a significant enhancement from its predecessor.

The high resolution ensures that selfies are sharp and detailed, making it a strong contender in the selfie camera segment. The HDR capability further improves the quality of images taken in tricky lighting, balancing out shadows and highlights for a more polished final result.

Video recording on the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is equally impressive, with both the main and ultra-wide cameras capable of capturing 4K footage at 30fps. The gyro-EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization) ensures smooth video capture, even when handheld, making it a reliable option for mobile videography.

Additionally, the Android phone offers multiple recording options, including 1080p at 60/120fps, giving users flexibility in how they capture their moments. The choice between AVC/h.264 and HEVC/h.265 codecs also allows for efficient storage management without compromising video quality.

Hardware and Software

Under the hood, the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is powered by the new MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro chipset, co-developed with MediaTek. This processor is exclusive to Nothing.

This 64-bit ARMv9-A processor is manufactured on TSMC’s cutting-edge 4nm process and features an octa-core setup. It includes two Cortex-A715 cores clocked at up to 3.0 GHz for high performance and six Cortex-A510 cores running at up to 2.0 GHz for efficiency.

The device also boasts an overclocked Mali-G610 MC4 GPU, which operates at 1.3 GHz, delivering up to 30% faster GPU performance compared to the previous model. This upgrade results in a fluid and responsive experience, with no noticeable lag or stutter, even during intensive tasks.

Additionally, the improved thermal management system ensures that the device remains cool under heavy loads, enhancing overall performance stability.

The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus runs on Android 14, layered with the Nothing OS 2.6 interface. This custom skin provides a minimalist and user-friendly experience, with features like the Monochrome UI option for those seeking a unique visual style.

Nothing OS 2.6 also introduces lots of improved features, this includes the AI-powered “News Reporter” widget, which allows users to select preferred news genres and receive curated news items delivered with a humorous touch.

The OS has the same level of software support as the Nothing Phone (2a) and the regular Nothing Phone (2) as well as the affordable Nothing CMF Phone 1. This means users can expect three years of major Android updates and four years of security patches, ensuring that the device remains up-to-date and secure throughout its lifecycle.

In terms of memory and storage, the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus offers two configurations: 256GB of internal storage paired with either 8GB or 12GB of RAM. This ample storage and memory combination ensures smooth multitasking and plenty of space for apps, media, and files. However, the device does not support expandable storage via a microSD card slot.

The Nothing phone is equipped with a 5000mAh battery, delivering impressive battery life that can easily last through a full day of use. Charging capabilities have been modestly enhanced, with support for 50W wired fast charging, capable of charging the device to 50% in just 21 minutes and fully charging in 56 minutes.

Meanwhile, according to Nothing, the smartphone on a full battery can provide a full day of use, with about 30 percent battery remaining by night. However, like its predecessor, the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus does not include a charger in the box, requiring users to purchase one separately.

Connectivity options on the Nothing Phone 2a Plus are up to date with support for Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, and NFC, ensuring fast and reliable wireless connections.

Nothing Phone (2a) Plus Price and Availability

Nothing Phone (2a) Plus price starts at around $435.99 at leading retailers. The model offering 12GB RAM and 256GB ROM retails for 390.00 GBP and 429.00 EUR on Amazon stores in the United Kingdom and Germany.