Il third smartphone developed by Nothingthe company co-founded by Carl Pei and David Sanmartin, takes the place of the former and joins the latter in the manufacturer’s range: it is called Phone 2A, it replaces the Phone 1 del 2022 (here is our test) and will be on sale together with the Phone 2 of 2023 (proof).
The denomination, with that A next to the number, is a clear indication of what it is: a phone with the most affordable price, a bit like the Pixels characterized by the A in the name have been the cheapest in the Google catalog for years now. We tried it for a couple of weeks before the presentation and here we tell you how it goes and whether it is a recommended product, despite the differences compared to his older brothers.
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How the Nothing Phone 2A is made
Physically, the Phone 2A resembles the Phone 2 in every way: placed next to each other, they practically occupy the same space, they weigh more or less the same (190 grams for the 2A, 200 for the 2) and have the same screen size, i.e. 6.7”. The one on the Phone 2A is a Amoled FHD which reaches 1300 nits of peak brightness and has a refresh rate of 120 Hz but it is not LTPO (although it can go down to 30, to reduce battery consumption).
One difference we noticed and appreciated (a lot) is in the edges, which on the Phone 2A have a finish that appears rubberized, very pleasant to the touch and also useful for having a firmer grip on the phone. Another, decidedly evident, is in the back: the Phone 2A does not give up Nothing’s characteristic LEDs but has fewer of them and all concentrated in the upper half. Which is the one that has benefited from the most attention from a design point of view: the block of the two cameras has been moved to the center, almost like the eyes of an imaginary face (more evident in the white color), and is also slightly more protruding, so from serve as a finger rest index when handling the phone. In short, the Pixel experience teaches us.
In general, the body is more refined and amplifies the feeling of transparency typical of Nothing, as Sanmartin himself confirmed to us: “We have added a further level of depth visible to the customer, there was only one on the Phone 1, there are two on the Phone 2 and here we are at 3 levels of depth”. Small but interesting details, for a company that has built part of its image on details and continues to do so with always original packaging: that of the latest arrival does not look like a CD case like the previous ones but recalls the rectangular ones of the iPhone and Pixel. Compared to which, however, it seemed a little more tidy and tidy.
Nothing Phone 2A, the technical characteristics
Inside the phone, what the user can’t see is the part where most of the cuts that allowed the price to be kept down final of the phone: the processor of the Phone 2A is not a Qualcomm but a Mediatek Dimensity 7200 Pro which would be “personalized for us to favor battery life and performance” and which according to Sanmartin would guarantee “a 20% increase in performance and 60% in autonomy compared to the Phone 1”.
The battery is 5000 mAh, there is 45W fast charging (but not wireless charging) and IP54 certification and you can have 8 or 12 GB of RAM, combined with 128 or 256 GB of internal memory. The Phone 2A has stereo audio and NFC and the front and wide-angle cameras which are the same as the Phone 2; the main one is new, 50 MP and developed in collaboration with Samsung. The software is NothingOS 2.5.1 based on Android 14, for which the company promises 3 years of updates.
The Nothing Phone 2A in everyday use
To tell our experience we start right here, from operating systembecause we continue to be convinced that it is one of the main reasons for choosing these phones: beautiful to look at and easy to use, light, clean, full of features but not intrusive, NothingOS is perhaps our favorite version of Androidalmost at the level of that present on Google’s Pixels.
We particularly appreciated the presence of widgets dedicated to the lock screen (a rarity in the Android world) and more and more rear LEDs, which are used for notifications, as volume indicators, as a light for the camera, even to follow the tempo of the music. As you spend time with your smartphone, you learn to use them more and understand that they are not just an aesthetic solution as an end in itself but they are also useful. And above all they allow Nothing’s phones to stand out from the others.
On paper, all the memories of the Phone 2A (both the RAM and the hard disk) are slower than those of the Phone 2, but it’s honestly not something that is perceived in daily use: we didn’t notice any problems when quickly switching from one app to another, when opening individual apps or when starting the phone. If you actually look for them, you notice some small slowdown in the loading of the web pages richer in content but (again) It’s not something that affects the user experience of the smartphone, generally fluid and very enjoyable. In short, the Phone 2A is a phone that honestly does its job and works well, which is similar to what can also be said about the photographic sector: the shutter speeds they are correct, the focus it’s quick and the Images they are clean, clear, well defined. They won’t win prizes in some competition, but they defend themselves well. Especially considering the cost of the phone.
Nothing Phone 2A, prices and versions
This is an important detail, because the price is perhaps the thing that surprised us the most of the Phone 2A, whose battery easily allows for over a day of battery life: available from 12 March, it can be had in 3 colors (black, milky white and white, on sale only on the Nothing website) and in two variants. The one with 8 GB of Ram and 128 GB of storage space it costs 349 euroswhile for the 12-256 you have to spend 399.
Three hundred and fifty euros is really, really an aggressive and competitive price: it’s 150 euros less compared to the excellent Pixel 7A (proof) and even 50 euros less compared to the Pixel 6A (proof), now two years old. It is a figure that brings the Phone 2A to compete in the territory of the various Redmi, Poco, Realme but with one pleasant to use and a completeness that (in our opinion) is head and shoulders above everyone else.
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– 2024-03-16 06:39:40
