Early Verdict
It's not often you get such a stunning design in a phone that's under $400. Plus,
Pros
- +
Stylish design
- +
Tons of personalization with Glyph Interface
- +
Newer processor
- +
Sharp display
Cons
- -
Limited 5G support
- -
Short 3 years of Android updates
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Budget phones have this stigma of lacking style, but as we’ve seen from Nothing over the last couple of years, that’s far from the case. With the introduction of the Nothing Phone 2a Plus, it’s yet another testament to the company’s philosophy of delivering affordably priced phones with stunning designs.
Coming off the launch of the Nothing Phone 2a this past spring, we’re getting a slightly beefed up version with the Nothing Phone 2a Plus. Normally whenever I hear about a ‘Plus’ model, my first inclination is that it would be a much bigger phone — but that’s not the case here, as it sports the same 6.7-inch AMOLED.
However, it does get a boost in nearly every other aspect to make it a better phone on paper. I think it’s a bit odd to get a 6-month refresh on an existing phone, but it does beg the question if it’s necessary at this point. In my Nothing Phone 2a Plus hands-on review, I’ll point out its standout differences and whether it could make me forget about the Pixel 8a.
Nothing Phone 2a Plus hands-on review: Price and availability
Thankfully there’s not as big of a price hike for the Nothing Phone 2a Plus, which at $399 is only $50 more than the standard model. At the same time, its upgraded specs do nicely to justify its slightly higher cost — which undercuts the Pixel 8a by a wide margin. You only have two color options though: grey and black.
Even though it’s an unlocked model, band support among wireless carriers is limited. For example, it doesn’t support AT&T and Verizon’s 5G network — so you’re stuck on 4G and 3G connections instead. Your best bet would be to use it with T-Mobile, but it still technically does not support all 5G bands.
Unlike before, getting your hands on the Nothing Phone 2a Plus will be easier because of its broader availability to consumers. This means you don’t need to be a developer to buy one. Instead, the Nothing Phone 2a Plus in grey will be available in the US through its US Beta Program starting on August 7 at 9:00 am ET — but those in the U.K. could pick it up earlier on August 3 at the Nothing Store Soho in London.
Nothing Phone 2a Plus hands-on review: Design
At first glance, it looks exactly like the Nothing Phone 2a — complete with that translucent design that lets you see the inside of the phone. It also has the same exact set of LED strip lights that make up its Glymph Interface on the back of the phone.
The only major difference with the Nothing Phone 2a Plus’ design are the two new color options for it. I really like the lighter color tones and accents of the grey version I’m testing, which has better contrast than black version of the Nothing Phone 2a I reviewed. While it’s a recycled design, it’s still a stunning one that’s highlighted by the shimmery coil that snakes down the back of the phone.
Nothing Phone 2a Plus hands-on review: Display
For a sub-$400 phone, I really can’t complain about the display. It’s the same 6.7-inch AMOLED (1084 x 2412) with an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate. Everything looks crystal clear and sharp as before, including the wide viewing angles and color saturation that AMOLED screens are known for.
Nothing claims that it can achieve 1,300 nits of brightness, but considering how the Nothing Phone 2a peaked at 990 nits in our testing, I’m not overly optimistic it’ll be much improved here once it’s properly tested, but I don’t mind proving me wrong.
Regardless of the outcome after it’s put through Tom’s Guide’s display benchmarking, I have few complaints after pulling up a few videos on YouTube. Not only does its adaptive 120Hz refresh rate make them look fluid, but the iridescence and poppy colors make for a satisfying experience.
Nothing Phone 2a Plus hands-on review: Cameras
For a budget phone, the dual camera system on the back of the phone matches what I’d find in other phones in this price range — so I’m at least happy about that. However, I was expecting upgraded camera hardware to give it a leg up over its sibling. It turns out that the Nothing Phone 2a Plus is rocking the same 50MP main and 50MP ultrawide cameras as before.
In my Nothing Phone 2a review, I praised the main camera for its excellent details and dynamic range performance. I suspect it’ll be no different with the Nothing Phone 2a Plus — but I really hope that the algorithms in Nothing’s TrueLens Engine can help it out in the low light department. That’s because in my Pixel 8a vs. Nothing Phone 2a photo shootout, it couldn’t match the brightening abilities of the Pixel 8a in pitch black conditions.
The only hardware upgrade for the Nothing Phone 2a Plus pertains to its beefier 50MP selfie camera, which is up from the 32MP front-facing camera in the standard Nothing Phone 2a. This pixel crunching selfie camera has a lot to prove, so I’m eager to see if the upgrade makes a difference against the Pixel 8a.
Nothing Phone 2a Plus hands-on review: Performance
Even though it’s able to run most games, I didn’t get the smoothest frame rates with the Nothing Phone 2a because of its underwhelming processing performance. That’s probably why Nothing’s giving its Plus model a boost by switching to a MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro 5G chip, which the company claims to be 10% faster than the Mediatek Dimensity 7200 Pro in the standard 2a model.
Just as before, navigating around with the interface is accompanied by fluid animations and instant responses that scream performance. But then again, these actions don’t take a lot of muscle power — so the real test would be to find out how its graphic processing performance compares. Not only does it get a better piece of silicon under the hood, but the Phone 2a Plus also gets a boost to 12GB of RAM, which could make the budget phone run faster by recalling apps stored in its memory with RAM Booster once its native RAM is filled up.
Nothing Phone 2a Plus hands-on review: Battery
With the new chipset, it could help to extend the Nothing Phone 2a Plus’ battery life — especially when it’s packing the same 5,000 mAh battery as before. Considering how the Nothing Phone 2a managed to outlast the Pixel 8a in Tom’s Guide’s battery benchmark test with a time of 15 hours, I’m confident that the Plus will undoubtedly go for longer. The only other challenger for the Plus would be the OnePlus 12R, which reached an astounding 18+ hours.
The last major hardware upgrade for the Plus is that it gets a slightly faster 50W wired charging speed, which is up from the 45W charging speed of the standard Phone 2a. I suppose this wickedly fast speed is consolation for it still lacking wireless charging.
Nothing Phone 2a Plus hands-on review: Software
Aside from its unique design, the other distinctive quality about the Nothing Phone 2a Plus is its software. Nothing OS 2.6 still has that eye-catching dot matrix design language that covers everything from the icons of the apps to the font. On top of that, the Phone 2a Plus adds new Nothing widgets that include the on-the-go reminder Date widget — as well as the Community Headlines widget, which is a hub of sorts for Nothing Community members.
They’re minor additions in my opinion, but the customizable Glyph Interface still gives it that extra layer of functionality to tie the light patterns to specific notifications. The dazzling light pattern certainly draws attention, but it has purpose as well. The only downside to the software is that it still gets 3 years of software updates and 4 years security updates, which is nowhere close to the 7 years you get with the Pixel 8a.
And lastly, the Nothing Phone 2a Plus offers ChatGPT integration directly from the homescreen with the help of a widget. While this AI-backed service can streamline searches and queries, the Nothing Phone 2a Plus doesn’t come with other native AI features that are found in other, more expensive phones — like the laundry list of AI features found in many Samsung and Pixel phones.
Nothing Phone 2a Plus hands-on review: Verdict
I’m still puzzled by the phone’s roll out, especially given the short time frame between it and the standard model. At the same time, though, I can’t help and wonder if all the upgrades and changes to the Plus make it a worthier option at $50 more than the regular Nothing Phone 2a.
As I’ve pointed out all the differences, they could in total justify the Nothing Phone 2a Plus’ value in supplanting the Pixel 8a in our best cheap phones list. Flying under that $400 price point, it seems like worth a consideration if you're willing to settle with 5G support with T-Mobile.
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