Nothing Phone 2a Plus

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:DaylightThe 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.UltrawideThe 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.PortraitsThe 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.SelfiesIn 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 modeThe 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.

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 updatesNothing Phone (2a) Plus263 years major, 4 years securityPOCO F6583 years major, 4 years securityOnePlus Nord 4484 years major, 6 years security

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 minutesPOCO F632 minutesOnePlus Nord 424 minutes