The Nothing Phone 2a -- better value than the Pixel 7a

Nothing's approach to tech has been refreshing — to say the least, especially when it comes to the mid-range, affordable smartphone market. If nothing else, it's nice to see a company doing things differently. In fact, in a lot of ways, I think the Nothing Phone 2a — with its price tag of around £320 in the UK and $350 in the US, but only as a developer device — is a much better value proposition than what many regard as the best mid-ranger, the Pixel 7a.

Nothing Phone(2a)

Great, for the money

Pros

• Cute, purposeful design and attention to detail
• Brilliant, big display for the money
• Unique software icons, styling and widgets
• It's smooth, powerful and has great battery life

Cons

• Cameras are a bit of a weak point
• Plastic build won't be to everyone's standards
• Glyph lights are a nice novelty, but largely useless

$350 at Nothing Related

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Pricing, availability and specs

The Nothing Phone(2a) launched on March 5, 2024, and will be widely available in Europe. It's £320 in the UK, with either 8GB of memory and 128GB of storage, or with 12GB of memory and 256GB of storage. It's available in the US for $350, but only through Nothing's developer program for those developers who want to build applications or integrate with Nothing's Glyph interface.

Nothing Phone(2a)

Brand Nothing SoC MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro 5G Display 6.7-inch AMOLED, 1084 x 2412, 120Hz, 1300 nits RAM 8GB / 12GB Storage 128GB / 256GB Battery 5,000mAh Ports USB-C Operating System Android 14, Nothing OS 2.5 Front camera 32MP Rear camera Dual 50MP, Main and Ultra-wide Connectivity 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooh 5.3, 5G Dimensions 161.74 x 76.32 x 8.55 mm Colors Black, milk, white Weight 190 g Charge speed 45W IP Rating IP54 Price 350

Doing things differently

Mid-range affordable approach

One of the things I really like about the Nothing Phone 2a is that its approach to this mid-range, affordable segment is quite different to most other smartphone makers. Because most, like Samsung, Motorola, OnePlus and others