Nothing Phone 2a Plus Review: Same Same but Different?

Mobile

Nothing has been generously launching smartphones in different price segments in the past few months. We saw the company’s sub-brand first smartphone, the CMF Phone 1, taking the budget segment. And now, the company has introduced an updated version of the Nothing Phone 2a by adding some Plus in terms of camera, performance, and battery. Thus, the

Nothing Phone 2a Plus daylight camera samples. (Tap on image to expand)

The daylight performance of the Nothing Phone 2a Plus is good, as it captures sharp and vibrant photos. The contrast and dynamic range are decent as well. You also get to choose two different modes: Standard and Vivid. The latter uses AI to enhance the colours, which look more Instagram-worthy.

Nothing Phone 2a Plus ultra-wide camera samples. (Tap image to expand)

The ultrawide sensor, on the other hand, is underwhelming. The colour output is decent, but the details are slightly missing in the daylight shots. The portrait mode works well with edge detection, and the skin tone colours look natural.

Nothing Phone 2a Plus low-light camera samples. (Tap to expand)

In low-light conditions, the Nothing Phone 2a Plus does a decent job. The noises are reduced with Vivid mode. The shadows are well-developed, and the highlights are there as well. The colours also came out to be natural during the testing period. However, with ultrawide, we saw colours being a bit washed out, and the noises were quite prominent.

The selfie performance has improved this time. You get solid output in daylight conditions. The skin tones and texture look close to the source, and there are plenty of details. However, in low light conditions, the issue of focus persists, but you can still get a good amount of details.

The video quality is good as well. The phone is now capable of 4K@30fps from the selfie camera, which is also a good thing.

Nothing Phone 2a Plus Battery: Impressive Battery Life

  • Battery Capacity – 5,000mAh (Dual-cell)
  • Wired Charging – 50W SuperCharge
  • Charger – Not Included

The Nothing Phone 2a Plus comes loaded with a similar battery backup of 5,000mAh. However, the company is offering slightly better 50W fast charging support with the latest device as opposed to the 45W charging support found in the Phone 2a.

nothing phone 2a plus ports gadgets 360 Nothing Phone 2a Plus

The handset comes loaded with a 5,000mAh battery and supports 50W fast charging.

The battery life output is similar as well. During the testing period, the phone delivered almost two days of battery life with normal to moderate usage. Under heavy usage, the phone lasted one full day without much issue. The phone lasted 22 hours and 38 minutes in our battery loop test. The company didn’t give any charger in the box, which is a bummer. I used a 68W fast charger to check the charging capabilities of the phone. During the testing, the phone got charged 30 percent in 15 minutes, 63 percent in 30 minutes, and it took almost 55 minutes to charge fully.

Nothing Phone 2a Plus Verdict

The Nothing Phone 2a Plus seems to be an interesting option at this price segment. The handset still brings a unique design language, which you don’t see in other brands. Compared to the Nothing Phone 2a, you get about 10 percent improvements in performance, charging speeds, and front-facing camera. But you need to pay some extra bucks as well.

nothing phone 2a plus panel gadgets 360 Nothing Phone 2a Plus

The smartphone will face a stiff competition from OnePlus, Honor, and other phones.

So, if you don’t want to spend that much on the Plus, you can go with the Phone 2a, which is not a bad deal at a starting price of Rs 23,999. However, if you are looking for a slightly better performance, improved cameras, and slightly better faster speeds, then you can consider the Phone 2a Plus.
As far as the competition is concerned, the Nothing Phone 2a Plus faces stiff competition from the Honor 200 (Review), Realme GT 6T (Review), Motorola Edge 50 Pro (Review), and OnePlus Nord 4 (Review).