Nothing Phone (2a)'s processor confirmed, comes as a bit of a surprise

Nothing has confirmed the processor inside its forthcoming mid-range smartphone and it could be described as something of a surprise.

That's because the company's founder and CEO Carl Pei said that it wouldn't be the MediaTek Dimensity 7200, which was heavily rumoured.

Technically, he's right – it's actually a custom MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro chipset that's being used instead. However, that's hardly a million miles away from what many expected.

Still, Nothing has also confirmed that the new octa-core CPU will run at speeds of up to 2.8GHz, while the handset's power will also be boosted through up to 20GB of RAM.

This is thanks to a new RAM Booster technology, making for a device that the manufacturer claims is "18% more powerful than the Nothing Phone (1)". It also suggests that it'll be 16% more efficient when it comes to battery use too.

It's certainly sounding like the Phone (2a) will be a worthy stablemate to the Nothing Phone (2), although we're yet to find out a whole stack of other specs and details.

We suspect, considering Pei's history of drip-feeding official information on his companies' devices over the years (both at Nothing and OnePlus), we might find out more before the phone formally launches on 5 March.

One other thing that's almost certain is that the Nothing Phone (2a) will be great value. French publication Dealabs has recently revealed that it is expected to be priced from just €349 in central Europe. That could equate to as little as £300 in the UK.

While that might not be enough to put it amongst the very best flagship smartphones, it could be a major contender in the mid-range.

Sadly, the Nothing Phone (2a) will not be released in the US.