Nothing Phone (2a) Plus review: a beefed-up model that charms with its design

In this Nothing Phone (2a) Plus review, we take a look at the smartphone's real-world performance, camera capabilities, battery life, and more.

Review Summary

Expert Rating

7.5/10
Design
 
8.0
/10
Display
 
7.5
/10
Software
 
8.0
/10
Camera
 
7.5
/10
Performance
 
7.5
/10
Battery
 
7.5
/10

Pros

  • Distinctive Glyph Interface design
  • Capable performance
  • Clean software experience
  • Decent battery life

Cons

  • Display brightness could have been better
  • No charger in the box
  • Limited IP rating

With the Nothing Phone 2a Plus, the relatively new smartphone brand Nothing has expanded its presence in the sub-Rs 30,000 segment. The brand has just four smartphones in its kitty so far, counting one from it sub-brand CMF Phone 1 (review). The Phone (2a) Plus offers the same glyph interface as the previously launched Nothing Phone (2a) (review). Notable improvements include the new MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro SoC, an upgraded 50MP front camera, and 50W fast charging capabilities.

Do these changes make the Nothing Phone 2a Plus stand out in a segment crowded with options? Keep reading to discover.

Table of Contents

Verdict

The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus features an intriguing design that captures attention. While other aspects of the smartphone such as performance and software are commendable, they are not segment-leading and don’t match up when compared to rivals, particularly in areas such as camera performance.

Design and display

Nothing hasn’t tweaked the design and display of the new Phone (2a) Plus at all. The handset looks and feels the same as its younger sibling Phone (2a), with flat edges and transparent plastic back. The transparent back reveals the Glyph Interface, which, while not as dynamic as the flagship Nothing Phone 2, effectively lights up for notifications, calls, visual countdowns, and progress indicators. The white LEDs are positioned around the dual rear camera setup. To read more about the phone’s Glyph Interface capabilities, we recommend checking our Nothing Phone (2a) review.

Nothing Phone (2a) PlusPOCO F6OnePlus Nord 4
Thickness8.5mm7.8mm8.23mm
Weight190 grams179 grams188 grams
IP ratingIP54IP64IP65


That said, the company has introduced the Phone 2a Plus in a new grey colour variant that looks quite elegant in person. Additionally, the shiny NFC coil around the camera module and other decorative coils along the bottom half of the back panel enhance its overall appeal. However, I wish the smartphone was sturdier and more durable than its previous iteration. The Phone 2a Plus is only IP54 splash-resistant, meaning it can’t be exposed to significant water or rain. Furthermore, its plastic back might not resist scratches if you plan to use it without a case.

The Nothing smartphone features an in-display fingerprint scanner, which takes a fraction of a second to unlock the device. As for I/O, the phone boasts a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer on the bottom edge and stereo speakers that get plenty loud.

Nothing Phone (2a) PlusPOCO F6OnePlus Nord 4
Display size6.7-inch AMOLED6.67-inch AMOLED6.74-inch AMOLED
Peak brightness1,300 nits2,400 nits2,150 nits


Coming to the viewing aspect, the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus sports a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution, Corning Gorilla Glass 5, 1,300 nits peak brightness, and up to 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. The display provides excellent viewing angles with dynamic colours and deep blacks. The display content is legible both indoors and outdoors, but its readability under direct sunlight is not the best. There are phones within the segment which offer higher peak brightness.

The Nothing Phone 2a Plus allows users to tweak the display’s colour profile and enable HDR video for an enhanced viewing experience. While the display may not support DCI-P3, it is still quite captivating.

Cameras

The Nothing Phone 2a Plus features a 50MP front camera, an upgrade from the previous 32MP. On the back, it retains the same 50MP primary and ultra-wide lens. The 50MP primary sensor includes OIS and an f/1.88 aperture lens, while the 50MP ultra-wide sensor offers a 114-degree field of view (FoV). All three sensors support Ultra HDR, co-developed by Google, and 4K video recording at 30fps, with additional modes such as Slo-mo, Time-lapse, Portrait, Night mode, and 4K recording at 50fps.

The cameras excel in well-lit environments, offering sharp and vibrant images with enough exposure. In low light, the quality diminishes, but not to a concerning low. The smartphone’s night mode assists in capturing bright images with minimum noise level. That said, the camera app needs better optimisation. It is a bit buggy, which is apparent when shooting portraits which blurs the subject as well in the viewfinder. The issue is not major and can be fixed with a software update.

To get a better understanding of the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus’ camera performance, we compared the images with those of similarly priced phones such as POCO F6 and OnePlus Nord 4. Check it out:

Daylight

Nothing Phone (2a) Plus
OnePlus Nord 4

The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus outperforms the POCO F6 in capturing images with superior detail and dynamic range. However, when compared to the OnePlus Nord 4, it falls short in exposing shadowy areas adequately. The OnePlus smartphone also excels in colour accuracy, avoiding the overuse of yellow tones from the sun, which is a weakness of the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus. It is worth mentioning that the 50MP primary snapper on the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus offers a wider field of view than its rivals.

Ultrawide

Nothing Phone (2a) Plus
OnePlus Nord 4

The larger 50MP secondary sensor as opposed to 8MP seems to be favouring Nothing Phone (2a) Plus in ultrawides. The colour calibration is pretty much the same for Nothing and OnePlus smartphones. However, warping across the frame is visibly less on the Phone (2a) Plus than on the OnePlus Nord 4. The POCO F6, on the other hand, captures ultrawide images with muted colours and substantially lower detail levels than the rivals.

Portraits

Nothing Phone (2a) Plus
OnePlus Nord 4

The OnePlus Nord 4 and Nothing Phone (2a) Plus both struggle to capture portraits with accurate colours. However, the OnePlus smartphone produces sharper portraits with slightly better edge detection compared to the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus. The Nothing smartphone tends to oversaturate skin tones and distort the detailing around the edges of the subject.

Selfies

Nothing Phone (2a) Plus
OnePlus Nord 4

In selfies, the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus excels at capturing facial details more impressively than its counterpart. However, the skin tones are not as accurate, with the phone adding a reddish tint to the images, making them more contrasty but less true to life. The OnePlus Nord 4 performs better in this aspect, but its facial details are not as crisp as the Nothing smartphone. The POCO F6 remains a distant third in terms of selfie quality.

Night mode

Nothing Phone (2a) Plus
POCO F6

The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus automatically switches to night mode in dimly lit areas, while it is the default setting on the OnePlus Nord 4. The Nothing smartphone tends to overexpose shots, making them brighter to minimise noise levels, but this results in poorer details and light flares across the frame. In contrast, the OnePlus Nord 4 and POCO F6 provide more defined details and minimal light flare. The POCO smartphone offers a more accurate representation of the scene, whereas the OnePlus Nord 4 delivers a more visually appealing result.

Performance and software

The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is the world’s first with MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro SoC ticking at its core. It is a slight upgrade from MediaTek’s Dimensity 7200 Ultra SoC – both synthetically and in real-world performance. The handset achieves 7,71,491 on AnTuTu, which is roughly 70,000 more than the Phone (2a), whereas on Geekbench, it scores 1,121 in single-core and 2,203 in multi-core tests.

While these may not be the benchmark numbers within the segment, POCO F6 still holds that crown, which is sufficient to provide stutter-free performance for everyday use. During our testing, the Nothing phone performed seamlessly while navigating, scrolling, browsing, and streaming. Additionally, during our test lab where we gamed BGMI, Call of Duty, and Real Racing 3 for 30 minutes each, the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus thermals throttled up to 11.8 degrees on aggregate, which is commendable. The phone achieves an average frame rate of 37.72 in HDR graphics, which is on par with competitors.

On the software front, the Nothing Phone (2a) runs Android 14-based Nothing OS 2.6 out of the box. The handset is expected to receive three years of major OS upgrades and 4 years of security updates, which will keep it relevant at least until 2028. The Nothing OS offers a clean and minimalistic software experience, along with an optional monochromatic theme that makes the UI black and white. Additionally, the phone comes with just one third-party app pre-installed while the remaining 25 are from Nothing and Google. The number of pre-installed apps is substantially less than most mid-rangers within the segment.

Pre-installed appsOS updates
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus263 years major, 4 years security
POCO F6583 years major, 4 years security
OnePlus Nord 4484 years major, 6 years security


Apart from this, the software is packed with features such as widgets, an AI Wallpaper Generator, a Glyph Composer, and a ChatGPT-integrated News Reporter. This last feature is a widget that curates news from a trusted third-party source across eight different genres. The news is then summarised and converted into one-minute audio files using AI for easy listening.

Battery and charging

The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus offers battery performance comparable to the regular Phone 2a. Its unchanged 5,000mAh battery allows the Plus model to achieve 14 hours and 34 minutes on the PCMark battery test, which runs a series of sequences and programs until the battery drops to 20 percent. In our YouTube video streaming test, with the screen brightness and volume set to 50 percent, the handset consumed just 4 percent of its battery after half an hour.

As for gaming, the Nothing Phone 2a Plus consumed 19 percent of battery on average after playing BGMI, Call of Duty, and Real Racing 3 for 30 minutes each. This suggests the handset is capable of lasting at least a day with moderate to heavy usage. The phone supports an upgraded 50W fast wired charging solution, achieving a full charge from 20 percent to 100 percent in 51 minutes with a compatible PD charger. Note that a charger is not included in the box and needs to be purchased separately.

PhoneCharge time (20-100 percent)
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus51 minutes
POCO F632 minutes
OnePlus Nord 424 minutes

Final verdict

The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is priced in India starting at Rs 27,999, which is roughly Rs 4,000 more than the Phone (2a). For the additional cost, you get improved performance, better selfies, and faster charging speeds. Everything else remains practically the same.

While the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is a good smartphone for its price, it doesn’t stand out against some of its main rivals except for the design. Additionally, the handset can’t match up in areas such as display brightness and camera capabilities when compared to competitors like the OnePlus Nord 4 (review) and POCO F6 (review). Nevertheless, the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus offers an attractive design with its Glyph Interface, decent performance and clean software. If these aspects appeal to you, the Nothing smartphone could be a good buy. As part of the early bird bank discounts and offers, the handset can be yours for as low as Rs 25,999.

Editor’s rating: 7.5 / 10

Reasons to buy

Reasons not to buy

Tested by: Aditya Pandey

Competitors for Nothing Phone 2a Plus
Nothing Phone 2a Plus 		vs
OnePlus Nord 4
Nothing Phone 2a Plus 		vs
POCO F6
Related Articles
© 91digital Web Private Limited. All Rights Reserved.