"No flagship in 2026" – but Nothing just launched two phones anyway

Nothing got itself a healthy dose of positive press when it made a bold announcement a few weeks ago. It claimed that it was tapping out of the game as far as pointless annual upgrades were concerned, and wouldn't be releasing a flagship phone in 2026.

While the letter of that news hasn't changed, it's more than a little amusing to see Nothing follow it up just over a month later by announcing two new phones, I have to say – albeit neither of them fits the "flagship" label that made the news. Rather, Nothing's refreshing its "a" lineup of step-down models.

At MWC, it showed off the design of a new handset, the Phone (4a), and now it's fully detailed what the phone brings to the table, but it also has a Phone (4a) Pro on the way, with a bit of mystery surrounding its design.

To underline the fact that these are both midrangers, Nothing Phone (4a) gets the Snapdragon 7S Gen 4 chipset, nonetheless a sprightly SoC; the (4a) Pro, meanwhile, takes one step up with the 7 Gen 4 (ditching the "s") – boosting its power slightly.

The (4a) is what we know more about, though, and it brings a similar camera system to the Phone (3), apparently, which should make it pretty competent for amateur shooters. It also continues the trend of mid-range phones boasting impressive batteries – with a 5,080 mAh cell that should make for solid all-day use.

Whenever Nothing launches a phone, there's the question of how it'll integrate a Glyph system. This time, it's called the Glyph Bar, and it's that gradient line above the red status block you can see on the back of the phone above. Its seven squares can light up in patterns or pulses for more detailed notifications.

Of course, if you're claiming you won't make a flagship, pricing is a pretty key factor for any phone you do bring out. The Phone (4a) will launch at £349, €349 or AUD$649 for an 8GB + 128GB variant, and won't be coming to the US at all.

The Phone (4a) Pro, meanwhile, will be £499, $499 or €479, making it a good chunk more expensive.