more gasoline to round off one of the year’s best mobiles

If there is one company that has turned the cell phone sector upside down, it has been Nothing. The young British company has managed in less than four years to sell more than 3 million smartphones – with Spain as a leading market – with a fresh, innovative proposal that seeks to create an ecosystem that transcends beyond devices. “Making technology fun again,” claims its CEO Carl Pei.

With that ambition, they have launched during this year the Nothing Phone (2a) and the CMF Phone 1, two smartphones that come to compete in the competitive mid-range market range between 350 and 200 euros, one of the most in demand. Now, Nothing has put more gas in the carburetor to offer users looking for more features a more powerful, beautiful and capable cell phone while the expected Nothing Phone (3) arrives on the market in 2025.

This is the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus, a version of its best-selling handset to date, featuring a better processor with more power, performance and battery life, a better camera and a metallic design that gives it a premium finish unmatched in its price range. After being announced in July, it now arrives in Spain for 429 euros in a single version of 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. In EL ESPAÑOL – El Androide Libre we have tested it over the last week to see first hand how good it is and if it is worth it.

A mobile resultón

The first thing that catches the attention of the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is undoubtedly its design. It is a good-looking cell phone, it does not go unnoticed and complies with the brand’s trademark to be recognizable from anywhere: it has a transparent casing that reveals the internal circuitry and has the brand’s characteristic glyph light system. A sign of identity that gives the mobile its personality – a rarity in the sector – and provides the value of having something unique in your pocket.

The main difference with its younger brother is the commitment to the metallic finishes under the casing. The effect is really striking and gives the feeling of having a much more expensive and exclusive terminal in your hands. It is different, special, irreplicable. To achieve this, the metallic finishes are the result of an innovative fusion of nano-coatings, multi-layer printing techniques, patented ink formulas and carefully selected coating materials, the company explains. A process of R&D in design and materials that is not found in mid-range cell phones and which Nothing highlights. It is not because it is cheaper that it deserves less attention, it seems to claim.

The truth is that the design works. Ergonomically it is perfect for a phone of large dimensions (6.7 inches), it is comfortable to use and feels good despite betting on plastic finishes on the sides and back. The arrangement of the camera in the upper central part behind the NFC coil not only gives it identity, but also comfort when using it. Another interesting detail is also the symmetry of the screen and edges.

Although if there is a differentiating factor in the design of the Phone (2a) Plus that is the Glyph light interface. The lighting with the metallic finish brings a special elegance and warmth as the light bounces more and shines differently. This set of lights is unique to Nothing – although some have tried to copy it – and allows the user to set alerts, timers or uses with other applications to avoid having to consult the phone and be guided by the light indicators.

More power, better camera

Beyond the glow up of the Phone (2a) Plus design with the metallic interior finishes, the real lure to jump on this phone is in its greater power and better camera performance over the (2a) launched in the first quarter of the year.

The secret behind the power of the Phone (2a) Plus lies in the new MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro 5G processor, a chip exclusive to Nothing and which represents an improvement in performance and capabilities over the Dimensity 7200 Pro that equips its smaller brother. The company stresses here the importance of using the smartphone as the center of entertainment in the daily life of users, as it not only aims to be able to do everyday tasks, but also to play games and play games for hours.

That’s why the new heart of the smartphone features TSMC’s cutting-edge 4nm Gen 2 technology, with 8 cores running at up to 3.0 GHz; which is almost 10% more than the Phone (2a). Likewise, day-to-day multitasking is much smoother and more capable. Partly thanks to the choice of the ARM Mali-G610 MC4 graphics. With a speed of up to 1.3 GHZ, which brings 30% more speed than its little brother, thus being able to move graphics with greater precision.

In practice, the phone feels looser and more capable. It is very fluid and smooth and at no time you have the feeling of having a mid-range between hands, it is able to face head to head with the best in the class without complexes. A firm commitment by Nothing to demonstrate that things can be done well at all levels, without being carried away by the conditioning factor of price.

In the case of Spain, it has a single variant of 12 GB of RAM with 256 GB of storage, and perhaps its disk capacity is the only Achilles heel of this phone. For features, performance and update policy, the Phone (2a) Plus is a phone to last and use it for years, however, the 256 GB can make the user find a ceiling before time.

This storage may fall short if what we want is to squeeze the most out of the smartphone’s camera, which now has a better selfie than the previous model, making it equip three 50-megapixel sensors signed by Samsung. Specifically it has a main camera that is combined with a wide-angle, and a front lens that improves to take pictures and videos.

In general terms the camera responds very well, both in well-lit environments and in complicated situations in low light. It is one of the best in its segment, perhaps only below the Pixel 8a, although Google’s phone is just over 100 euros more expensive. The camera stands out for its fidelity of response. It does not advocate hard processing that distorts reality for a better image, but bets on capturing what the human eye sees.

Even so, it has a processing technology called TrueLens, which seeks precisely that fidelity of the image. It also has AI Vivid Mode technologies that highlight colors and gain vividness along with the Ultra XDR system developed with Google. With regard to video, it has a dual stabilization system (optical and electronic) and can record in 4K at 30 fps.

First class experience

This muscle in power and camera would be nothing without a good user experience. Key here is the commitment to a good screen and above all the work that the brand does with its Nothing OS operating system. A customization layer that, unlike other manufacturers, bets on less is more.

It is a simple interface, with great taste in design and that bets on simplicity, ease and functionality. We need to spend less time with the phone to do everything we want to do.

That’s why in the OS 2.6 version that comes with the phone, we have the possibility of a strong customization, opt for more and more widgets, as well as the integration of ChatGPT to ask any prompt that comes to mind to the OpenAI system.

In addition, the phone has game mode that allows the user not only to optimize the performance of the smartphone, but also allows us to customize how much we want to isolate ourselves from the world so that we are not disturbed by calls or messages while we are playing.

With regard to autonomy, it also performs with note and we will be able to spend more than a day with intense use without having to look for a charger. It has an autonomy of 5,000 mAh and a fast charging system of 50W, so you can have the phone fully charged in 56 minutes. In addition, we can do reverse wireless charging via cable -5W- if we want to charge any of the brand’s headphones, for example. Of course, a feature that is reserved for the top of the range is wireless charging, which in this case we do not have.

Should I buy it?

The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is one of the most interesting smartphones on the market. It comes for those looking for a good, nice and cheap mobile; but also has its own personality, that is not one more. The phone performs well in all areas, has a user experience among the best on the market and the company’s care in every detail is noticeable. There is love in what they do.

The purchase decision dances in 70 euros, because it is what distances you between the 359 euros that costs right now the Phone (2a) and the 429 euros of the Phone (2a) Plus. If we want to save a few euros it is better option to go to the mobile launched at the beginning of the year being aware that we will have a slightly slower processor and a worse front camera. While if we want our selfies to be better and the chip is faster so it could last longer, it is better to go for the Plus option.

In any case, Nothing is demonstrating its good work when it comes to creating new devices and this smartphone is a good answer for those who found the Phone (2a) a little short and are not able to wait for the launch of the Phone (3) that should arrive in 2025.