Quick Summary
Nothing Phone (2a) was unveiled dramatically in London, confirming its design and the Glyph Interface on the back.
The phone is expected to be a strong competitor in the mid-range segment with a 5,000mAh battery, 120Hz display, and the MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro processor.
The Nothing Phone (2a) won't be officially announced until 5 March, but following a flurry of speculation about the actual design of the handset, the company has staged a dramatic AR unveiling of the new mid-range handset in London.
The giant unboxing shows the phone being lifted from a billboard advert and neatly revealing the phone design, confirming the previous round of leaked renders. The unveiling also confirms the much-debated Glyph Interface on the rear of the phone.
An unboxing like no other. Phone (2a) just dropped in London.Launching 5 March. pic.twitter.com/7hcb4ELYMGFebruary 26, 2024
When Nothing launched its first phone, there were two distinctive characteristics about it. Firstly, the company loves transparency in design; rather than having a solid rear to the phone, it's a clear panel revealing some of the technical parts of the phone. The second aspect of the design is the Glyph Interface.
On the Nothing Phone (2a) there are three Glyphs centred around the camera unit on the rear of the phone. Within Nothing OS – the software layer on top of Android – you get a controller for the Glyph Interface so you can customise what it does, and when. It can be used for custom alerts for example, combined with Nothing's ringtones and vibrations, to ease caller identification.
Nothing Phone (2a) specs and features
The Nothing Phone (2a) has a centralised rear camera which is said to be composed of two 50-megapixel cameras. There's reportedly a 5,000mAh battery supporting 45W charging - but these specs are unconfirmed and come from leaks. There's said to be a 7.6-inch AMOLED 120Hz display and launch with Android 14.
What we have had confirmed is that the Nothing Phone (2a) runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro, a customised version of the mid-range MediaTek hardware announced in 2023. Nothing has confirmed that it's an upgrade over the Nothing Phone (1), which itself launched on the Snapdragon 778G+.
The big play here is for an attractive phone in the mid-range segment, but nothing faces strong competition. The Google Pixel 7a is a solid choice - and soon to be updated by the Pixel 8a, while we're also expecting Samsung's next round of Galaxy A devices to launch soon as well.
Sign up to the T3 newsletter for smarter living straight to your inbox
Get all the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products from the T3 experts
All of the details about the Nothing Phone (2a) will be confirmed on 5 March when the unveiling takes place, but certainly, this phone could be in the running for the best cheap phone of 2024.
Chris has been writing about consumer tech for over 15 years. Formerly the Editor-in-Chief of Pocket-lint, he's covered just about every product launched, witnessed the birth of Android, the evolution of 5G, and the drive towards electric cars. You name it and Chris has written about it, driven it or reviewed it. Now working as a freelance technology expert, Chris' experience sees him covering all aspects of smartphones, smart homes and anything else connected. Chris has been published in titles as diverse as Computer Active and Autocar, and regularly appears on BBC News, BBC Radio, Sky, Monocle and Times Radio. He was once even on The Apprentice... but we don't talk about that.
-
A surprise Nothing phone launch is happening this month
Another new handset looks to be coming from the plucky start-up
By Sam Cross Published
-
Nothing Phone (2a) gets a huge free feature update... if you're brave enough
The update adds a substantial range of new features, but there's a catch
By Chris Hall Published
-
Nothing plans a huge free upgrade for its phones with tonnes of new features
Nothing OS 3.0 has leaked
By Chris Hall Published
-
Nothing Phone (2a) gets another free upgrade with several improvements
One of our favourite cheap Android phones just got even better
By Sam Cross Published
-
New Nothing Phone (2a) software update is all about that camera
The quirky Android phone is about to get a whole lot better when it comes to shot-snapping
By Sam Cross Published
-
Nothing Phone (2a) Community Edition is coming and you can help design it
The Apprentice meets smartphone design thanks to a new Nothing initiative
By Chris Hall Published
-
Nothing Phone (2a) gets a great free upgrade already that you need to download
Nothing pushes an early software update with some essential tweaks
By Max Freeman-Mills Published
-
Nothing Phone (2a)'s processor confirmed, comes as a bit of a surprise
Carl Pie claimed it wasn't the MediaTek Dimensity 7200 and it technically isn't
By Rik Henderson Published