Please note, that throughout this review, my unit received many updates. Sometimes multiple during a week. Therefore, certain elements have only been stress tested in the most recent days. There were around fifteen updates in total.
My Time with Phone (2a) - Aerodactyl
This was my first real insight at the joy of being an (insider). My first DVT, my first product to test as part of the coveted (insider)s group. I have been part of the Community for a while, and this is a great honour and a privilege.
The start of the review process began just before Christmas 2023, I collected my Phone (2a) DVT from Nothing Offices, seeing staff and signing my documents.
Before I even had chance to play with the device, a plethora of updates awaited me. Once these were downloaded and installed. I got to work.
Downloading my usual suite of apps, my go to Social Media apps, media playback services, such as YouTube and other streaming apps etc.
My first step was to make my device my own, wallpapers, widgets etc. This was where the first bugs started to show face and the feedback of testing begun!
At time of writing, I have been testing for over two months! Some things I have found already is…this is everything we have come to know from a Nothing Phone. The device running ‘Nothing OS 2.5’ feels snappy and respondent. I have been using all of the bells and the whistles, ‘Always On Display’, 120Hz Refresh Rate, Auto Brightness, forcing Full Brightness when required etc.
By this point, we know all about the specs and its price. All I was told upon collection was “Competitively Priced”. So, this vital information was hidden to us, along with the specs we couldn’t see. This review could only be compared to my Phone (2), my biggest come away from this testing trial is, I cannot distinguish a discernible difference! The Phone (2a) is brilliantly optimised, it feels snappy across all tasks I threw at it, I am a standard user. I don’t push my devices to the utmost limit, I don’t play demanding games, I have a games console for that. I use my device to catch up on social media, watch videos and stream music.
There were only a few hiccups with performance I encountered during my testing period. Most of which were ironed out during the copious amounts of software updates. Certain issues such as slow software upon a reboot or camera lag, when opening the camera app for the first time. But speaking of camera…how does it really hold up?
Well, I took many, many images during the test period. We were told early on that we would be told when the Camera Firmware would be finalised and then we could really go to town snapping pics. Initially I found the images were warmer in their tone after processing, whilst this was appealing to look at, the images weren’t true to life and seeing the camera tuning change, live across the test period was enlightening.
Here are some of my favourite images taken on Phone (2a):
General performance, as previously mentioned was comparable to my Nothing Phone (2). Day to day tasks were responsive and snappy. I never felt the device was slow or would cause any issues to myself when daily driving this phone, which I believe is a massive credit to the team, compiling not only the performance but the optimisation to make this device fast.
As part of this review, alongside the other (insiders), we all found similar bugs and experiences. Which is a testament of the amazing software that is available, Nothing OS truly is a class above anything else and this is what helps power the triumph that is Nothing Phone (2a).
Our devices were hidden as much as possible, unfortunately to us, so we didn’t have any chance to admire the beauty of this new form factor, nor get to explore the new lay-out of the Glyphs.
So, the question that will be on everyone’s lips. Is this new device, the new foray into a competitive mid-range Phone space worth your hard-earned cash?
If you can deal without features such as Wireless Charging, which to be honest, is the only real omission when directly comparing the (2a) to the (2), you will be well placed to purchase this device. Then, as we now know…what a price point too.
In Summary, this Phone is a powerhouse. It is certainly comparable to what is offered with Nothing Phone (2). Software is snappy and responsive, the camera is capable and quality and the phone is quintessentially “Nothing"! 🔥👀
