This $350 Android phone nearly made me forget about the flagships

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Nothing Phone 2a is simply out there within the US through a GitHub developer program.
• It is a slick-looking smartphone for the value, with a novel interface, a light-up again cowl, and strong battery.
• The digital camera high quality may not minimize it for some customers, and it lacks retail presence within the US, making it exhausting to accumulate.

Nothing, the corporate based by ex-OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, has a brand new smartphone out referred to as the Phone 2a. It prices $349, and it is among the best finances telephones I’ve ever used. So you’ll be able to think about my disappointment that it is not coming to the US, no less than not in the best way you suppose.

Additionally: Nothing Phone 2 review: If ‘being extra’ was an Android phone

The 2a is principally a finances model of final yr’s Telephone 2 and is the telephone Nothing hopes customers of the Telephone 1 will improve to, however it should solely be bought in the US via a developer program, not a conventional gross sales channel. In the meantime, these in markets like the UK and India can go and purchase it proper from Nothing and different retailers.

It is no secret that the US is a tough market to penetrate relating to delivery a brand new smartphone, so it does not shock me that the Telephone 2a will not formally go on sale right here. Nonetheless, it is a killer smartphone for the value, and I can not assist however take into consideration how cool it will be to have it within the States.

View at Us.nothing

When speaking about its design, it is a very full package deal, one thing that is often not a spotlight on telephones beneath $400. Nothing consists of its signature clear glass on the again as a way to see the elements beneath, together with the NFC coil within the high behind the digital camera sensors (giving the telephone “eyes,” as Nothing says). You will additionally discover a bunch of different design cues as ribbons of sunshine, an interface that makes use of shapes reminiscent of squares and rectangles, and a tiny purple accent on the appropriate, all of which give the Telephone 2a an explicitly distinctive character. I received the black mannequin to assessment, however the white mannequin appears particularly cool, as the interior elements are extra seen.

Additionally: I tested 40 phones over the past year, and these are the very best

Talking of cool options, Nothing consists of its Glyph Interface on the again of the Telephone 2a. It isn’t as advanced as earlier Nothing telephones, however you’ll be able to nonetheless do issues like set timers, monitor your Uber standing, play particular gentle patterns for particular notifications, and — most significantly of all — sync the lights to your music via Glyph Composer. It is one of the crucial distinctive options on a smartphone I’ve ever used, and it makes the expertise much more enjoyable than a typical handset.

The show is without doubt one of the greatest I’ve seen on a finances telephone. Nothing features a 6.7-inch AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh fee and 1,300 nits of brightness. Usually, you’d discover specs like this on a telephone that prices no less than $600, so to seek out them on a telephone that is practically half the value is uncommon. Plus, there is a fingerprint reader beneath the display screen that works in addition to any flagship telephone.

Contained in the Telephone 2a lives a customized Dimensity 7200 Professional processor that MediaTek engineered in partnership with Nothing. Collectively, the businesses had been in a position to optimize the Telephone 2a’s efficiency to the purpose the place you get reliably quick speeds and strong battery life. I used to be significantly shocked by this, not as a result of I do not belief Nothing to optimize a chipset, however as a result of each finances MediaTek chip I’ve ever used has been sluggish and unreliable. This chip, nonetheless, is a strong performer for the value.

Paired with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, the Telephone 2a delivers strong on a regular basis efficiency for each rudimentary duties and even some gaming. I’ve loved multitasking lots on this telephone as apps have a tendency to remain open within the background for some time, and the optimizations Nothing has made to the software program make it simple to zip round and never run into any main slow-downs. I’ve solely skilled a handful of hiccups throughout my testing, however that is to be anticipated from a telephone at this value level.

Battery life can also be strong. There is a huge 5,000mAh cell inside that may simply final a full day of heavy use. Should you use your telephone a bit much less throughout the day, it may possibly even float into the second day on the identical cost. When it is time to recharge, there’s 45W quick charging that may high it up in a short time, which could make up for the dearth of wi-fi charging.

As for software program, the Telephone 2a ships with Android 14 out of the field with Nothing OS 2.5. Nothing’s customized interface embraces the model’s dot matrix design philosophy, to the purpose the place you’ll be able to swap out fonts and app shortcuts with a boatload of dots and black-and-white iconography. All of it performs into Nothing’s mission that can assist you use your telephone extra deliberately as an alternative of impulsively (as an illustration, you are much less tempted to examine TikTok “actual fast” if the icon is black and grey). The distinctive UI is not for everybody, however it feels a lot lighter and friendlier to make use of than one thing like Samsung’s One UI or OnePlus’ OxygenOS.

Additionally: The $400 OnePlus 12R may be the best-value Android phone this year

Nothing is promising three years of main OS upgrades and 4 years of safety updates for the Telephone 2a, which is no less than a yr greater than what most sub-$400 telephones get. This makes it a no brainer for those who plan on utilizing the telephone for 2 to 3 years, the commonest lifecycle for many new smartphones these days.

There aren’t many downsides to the Nothing Telephone 2a, however there are some. As an example, it does not work on Verizon, it has weak IP54 waterproofing, and as I discussed earlier than, there is no wi-fi charging. However the largest draw back is the digital camera high quality, which is to be anticipated from a finances smartphone.

The 50MP primary digital camera on the again is respectable sufficient in good lighting, however with the considerably restricted f/1.88 aperture and a disappointing night time mode, the sensor falls aside as soon as the lights get low. The 50MP ultra-wide is identical story; I am a fan of the 114-degree discipline of view, however with an absence of element and the lack to stay constant at nighttime, the digital camera is simply good at well-lit landscapes.

Additionally: 5 easy ways to take better videos on Android

The digital camera on the Telephone 2a does have some tips up its sleeve, although. It makes use of Extremely HDR which mixes Nothing’s HDR algorithms with Google’s HDR chops in Android to ship cleaner, extra lifelike processing after tapping the shutter button, whereas Movement Seize helps to seize pictures of shifting topics and Portrait Optimizer makes your portrait pictures extra interesting. These options do not add as much as a considerably higher digital camera expertise than different $350 smartphones, however no less than in well-lit environments, you’ll be able to see them working.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

Should you’re purchasing within the $400 vary for a brand new telephone, you will come throughout units just like the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G, the OnePlus 12R, and even the Google Pixel 7a when it is on sale. Every of these telephones will undoubtedly have one or two huge benefits over the Phone 2a, just like the Pixel’s digital camera or Samsung’s show high quality.

However the Telephone 2a is such a strong, distinctive gadget that I believe it is price taking an opportunity on. Whereas Nothing is not probably the most established participant within the smartphone area, I am wildly impressed by what the Telephone 2a is able to. Its mix of specs and distinctive design make it among the best finances telephones you should purchase. So so long as you are in a market the place it is out there, it is positively price contemplating.