Hi Everyone, Nothing was gracious enough to let me test the Nothing Phone 2a as a Nothing Insider for over 2 months! So Far I’m very impressed. This is my first device with a Mediatek Processor in it. I’ll be honest my expectations were low since I’ve only used snapdragon chips but so far I’ve been really impressed! I’ve used a lot of smartphones over the last 10 years from OEM’s like Google, Samsung, Oneplus, HTC, LG, and Apple. I’ve used the Pixel A series from google so I’m familiar with their budget line to compare. And honestly its right there with the Google Pixel A series phones.
Build: I can’t speak a ton about build since my test unit has been in a descrete case but if its anything like the phone 1 and phone 2 it should be fantastic. I’m already in love with the photos of the 2a. The glyphs seem to be just right for a value budget edition of a Nothing Phone 🙂 The phone isn’t too heavy and isn’t too light. The volume and power buttons feel very nice to click. Nothing cheap there at all.
Speakers: Honestly…The speakers seem almost exactly the same to me as the Phone 2’s, which is a good thing. I’m very happy with the speakers when watching youtube or ticktocks or instagram reels.
Screen: This is where I thought sure there will be a let down but the screen is pretty great! It gets pretty bright in my opinion. I haven’t really had any problem with it outside. It has what you want in a screen, its bright, sharp, supports 120 refresh rates, its OLED. It gets dim when you need it too.
Camera: I’m pretty shocked by how great the camera is. Processing to me seems very Google Pixel like and that’s a great thing! Colors seem cooler like the Pixel series than the warm look oh iPhones and Galaxies, which I hate. Low light performance is great! Honestly this might be Nothings Best Camera for Photos out of all 3 of their phones.
Battery Life: Battery life is excellent just like it was on the Phone 2 and Phone 1. I end up with around 30-40% at the end of a day, and I use my phone pretty much all day sporadically.
Nothing OS: The phone is crazy smooth. The animations are butter like you expect from a Nothing Device. Navigating the OS is fluid just like a Pixel but more refined on Nothing OS. And way better than Samsungs One UI. I really wish Nothing brought back their Nothing Launcher on the play store so it could be experiences on other devices again!
Glyphs: I really love the Glyph system. While I wish it had the full array of Glyphs like the Phone 1 and 2, I totally get they have to make choices when making a more value oriented device. I’m very happy with the Glyph system and glad it wasn’t dumbed down to just 1 light. Plus the array on the back just has a great Charm to it!
OTA Updates: In the 2 months I have used this phone Nothing has been pushing updates like crazy to continue to refine the experience. Multiple camera updates and security patches and bug fixes. Very pleased with how they support their products!
Overall: I’m very impressed with this Phone. Nothing seems to have Prioritized what mattered most, Screen, Camera, a good amount of Glyph lights while still retaining the Nothing identity, good speakers, good build and a good chip. What you get for the value should be pretty killer, especially with carrier deals or sales. This phone is right there as one of the best budget phones of the year, and surprisingly one of the Overall Best Looking phones at any price range of the year! If anyone wants any comparisons to other phones, if I have used them I will try my best!
