Nothing Phone 2a: Release Date, Price, Leaks and Rumors

The year 2023 was pretty decent for Nothing. The startup launched the Phone (2), the successor to their pretty successful first phone, and it was well-received. The specification bump from Phone (1) to Phone (2) was pretty significant and so was the price, which led to the Phone (2) being criticized somewhat in markets such as India. That might be the reason why Nothing might be prepping the much-talked-about Nothing Phone 2a, a lower-specced spin-off of the Nothing Phone (2) aimed at the budget segment. Here’s everything we know about the Nothing Phone (2a) so far.

Nothing Phone 2a Launch Date

We already have a possible unveiling date for Nothing’s budget offering. The announcement comes officially from the company. Nothing Phone 2a is expected to launch on February 27, 2024 in Barcelona at Mobile World Congress 2024.

Though the announcement comes directly from Nothing, it could as well be a different product and the Phone 2a might arrive on a later date. However, given how the announcement came right after some of the major leaks, Phone 2a’s launch at the event is likely.

Nothing Phone 2a Design & Display

As per recent leaks, the Nothing Phone 2a will boast a 6.7-inch Full-HD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and center punch-hole design. Rumors suggest that the device will look almost identical to the Nothing Phone (2) from the front.

It’s not yet confirmed if the display panel will be the same one used in the Phone (2); probably not since Nothing Phone (2) includes an LTPO panel, which comes at a higher price. The Phone 2a will probably include a standard OLED panel and is rumored to be a mid-range phone that can take on the Pixel 7a and the Moto g series. The device recently appeared online shrouded in a PVT case, so have a look here:

While the front of the Nothing Phone (2a) is likely to resemble its pricier siblings, the company is adopting a unique back design to set it apart from the flagship Phone 2 and Phone 1.

As per the leaks, first shared by leaker Dylan Roussel on X (formerly Twitter), Phone 2a will have a redesigned back with three glyph lights around the rounded camera module. This is significantly lower than the number of glyph lights on the Phone 2. But do not worry, as all the features available on the existing Nothing phones, be it progress bar, music visualizer, timer, and more, will be here.

Now, if you wanted your phone to shine less with an incoming call or notification, Nothing Phone (2a) will be right up your alley. Also, since this phone is likely to skip wireless charging, the design team at Nothing couldn’t carry forward the charging coil design. So instead you will see a battery connector running along the lower half of the phone.

Nothing Phone 2a Specifications

All leaks since last month have suggested that the Phone 2a will come with a MediaTek Dimensity 7200 chipset. For those unaware, Dimensity 7200 is a mid-range SoC that’s can be found in other popular phones such as iQOO Z7 Pro and is known for its good price-to-performance ratio. It’s an Octa-core CPU with 2x Cortex-A715 performance cores @ 2.8GHz and 6x Cortex-A510 efficiency cores. It includes the ARM Mali-G610 MC4 GPU.

While the Dimensity 7200 comes nowhere near the performance of Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 found on the Phone (2), it is a decent day-to-day performer and is equipped with surprisingly decent gaming performance. New leaks suggest the phone will be available in two RAM and storage configurations, including 8GB + 128GB and 12GB + 256GB. We’re not sure about the storage class, but it will likely be UFS 3.1.

Rumors suggest the Nothing Phone 2a will ship with Nothing OS 2.5 based on Android 14 out of the box. Both Phone (1) and Phone (2) recently received Nothing OS 2.5, and it brings a lot of features over Android 13-based OS 2.0.

We are not sure if the phone will get features like glyph progress or other features that are exclusive to Phone (2) like more addressable LEDs, considering the (2a) will be a budget offering, the chances are low.

Nothing Phone 2a Cameras

According to recent leaks and rumors, the Nothing Phone 2a will likely have two dual rear cameras, much like the flagship phones. It could be backed by a primary 50MP ISOCELL S5KGN9 sensor and a secondary 50MP JN1 ultrawide sensor.

Compared to already available Nothing phones that have vertical cameras at the top-left corner, the Phone (2a) will include a horizontal camera setup at the center back.

The primary sensor “S5KGN9” is the same sensor used in the Moto G84, and the camera setup is similar to Nothing Phone (1) and Phone (2). The selfie camera could be the popular 32MP front snapper with the Sony IMX615 sensor.

Nothing Phone 2a: Battery & Charging

There’s no official information about Nothing Phone 2a’s battery specifications but it’s safe to expect it to come with a 4,500mAh battery with 33W fast-charging, a slightly lower capacity and speed than the Nothing Phone (2), which makes sense as the Phone 2a will sit between Phone (1) and (2).

You can expect the phone to come with a USB 2.0 Type-C charging port, support for most of the 5G and 4G bands, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.3.

Nothing Phone 2a: Colors and Pricing

The phone is rumored to come in two colorways, namely Black and White, like the existing Nothing phone models. A recent X post (formerly Twitter) by leaker Ishan Agarwal suggests the Phone (2a) may come in more color variants.

Moreover, thanks to tipster Kamila and Smartprix, the official Nothing Phone (2a) wallpapers have already leaked online. You can download the wallpapers right away and apply it on your phones.

The Nothing Phone 2a is rumored to be priced at around $399 in the US or Rs 25,000 in India. Popular and reliable leaker Roland Quandt suggests the base variant should cost under 400 Euros for the base model in European countries.

Several things about the Phone 2a are still unknown, but we are keeping an eye out for new details and will update you ASAP. What are your expectations from the Nothing Phone 2a? Let us know in the comments below.