Nothing Phone (2a) launches starting at £319, pre-orders open now

Ben Schoon | Mar 5 2024 - 4:30 am PT

After countless teasers and leaks, the Nothing Phone (2a) is officially launching today with pre-orders opening at the lower-than-expected price of £319.

Nothing Phone (2a) is the brand’s first strictly budget-focused smartphone, with one of its biggest changes being a swap from the Snapdragon chips of prior models over to the slightly-custom MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro. The new chip, Nothing points out, is considerably faster than the Snapdragon 778+ found in Phone (1) and is also built on TSMC’s newer 4nm process.

The main points of attraction for the Dimensity 7200 Pro are some software features that integrate with the chip, such as “Smart Clean” which boosts read/write speed to the 128GB or 256GB of storage. There’s also a RAM Booster, which can use that storage to give the device up to 20GB of memory. The base variant has 8GB of RAM, while the higher-end model has 12GB.

Nothing Phone (2a) further has a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a variable refresh rate between 30Hz and 120Hz, and the panel is also brighter than the Phone (1). The device is powered by a 5,000 mAh battery with 45W wired charging and is IP54 water/dust resistant.

Phone (2a) also retains the brand’s iconic Glyph lighting on the back, but it’s a simplified layout with only three lights. One of those lights, though, still supports the super-granular lighting that’s useful for timers and such on Phone (2).

As for cameras, Phone (2a) has a 50MP Samsung GN9 for its primary sensor with another 50MP Samsung sensor handling the ultrawide camera. There’s no telephoto lens, but the front-facing camera is a 32MP sensor.

The device ships with Android 14 and “Nothing OS 2.5” and is promised three years of major Android updates and four years of security updates.

It’s a solid overall package, but as with any budget phone, it all comes down to price.

Nothing, for that matter, seems to be offering a really good value, with Phone (2a) prices in the UK starting at £319 for the 8GB/128GB variant. That jumps up to £349 for the 12GB/256GB model. In India, prices start at Rs 23,999 and there’s an additional 8GB/256GB model in the mix. Colors include black, white, and “milk.”

What about the US?

Nothing won’t be widely selling Phone (2a) in the States as it does the Phone (2), but the device will be available immediately as a part of a “Developer Program” where it will cost $349 and be available in black.

Nothing Phone (2a) pre-orders are open now in the US, UK, and India, with the device set to ship on March 12.