Nothing Phone 2a Plus Review: Is It Worth the Upgrade?

The Nothing Phone 2a Plus is a mid-tier option between the Nothing Phone (2a) and the flagship Phone 2. The extra Rs 4,000 over the Phone 2a doesn’t quite justify it. Here’s a detailed look at the Phone (2a) Plus, compared to the Phone 2a and the competition.

Specs at a Glance

To provide a quick reference, here’s a snapshot of the Nothing Phone 2a Plus key specifications:

Design and Build

The Nothing Phone 2a Plus is largely the same as the Phone 2a with minor changes. The only change is the internal coiling which now has a metallic finish which adds a bit of class. But the phone still has a plastic frame and no charger in the box which feels like a miss at this price. The overall design is good but still not premium like some other devices.

Display and Speakers

The display of Phone 2a Plus is the same as the Phone 2a. It has a 6.7 inch AMOLED panel with 120Hz refresh rate and up to 1300 nits of peak brightness. The display is good but doesn’t meet the expectations set by the competition which have 1.5K displays. And no Gorilla Glass Victus which is present in some newer devices.

Software Experience

The Phone (2a) Plus runs on Android 14 with Nothing OS 2.6 and provides as clean and fluid a user experience as its elder sibling. The new introduction of an AI news reporter widget does not add much to the software experience at all. The interface stays bloatware-free and fluid, though a little short on advanced features and haptic feedback.

Performance

The Phone (2a) Plus is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro for a slight performance boost over the Phone (2a)’s Dimensity 7200 Pro. While these are upgrades, performance improvement here is modest, and the device makes do with UFS 2.2 storage instead of the more current UFS 3.1. Everyday performance is fluid, RAM management is great, but gaming performance doesn’t seem to improve much over the predecessor.

Gaming Performance:

Cameras

The camera system on the Phone (2a) Plus is not changed from the Phone (2a). The cameras at the rear end work quite well and provide good detail and colour accuracy. The front camera, however, after being upgraded to 50MP, has visible inconsistencies in performance compared to its predecessor. Video recording capabilities are quite similar to the Phone (2a) and support up to 4K at 30FPS.

Battery and Charging

Battery capacity remains the same at 5,000 mAh, and there is only a slight increase in charging speed to 50W. The addition of 5W reverse wired charging is a useful feature, but generally speaking, the charging speed is still behind some competitors. Screen-on time remains roughly on par with the Phone (2a); due to the slight bump in charging speed, it isn’t that much of a difference one would notice.

Verdict

The Nothing Phone 2a Plus doesn’t really bring anything majorly new over the Phone (2a). This phone adds minor enhancements but fails to justify higher pricing based on display quality, build, and other performance parameters. The competition from the Motorola Edge 50 Pro, OnePlus Nord 4, and Realme GT 6T has become much sharper for money, and more so, the Phone 2a Plus starts to look like a minor refresh and not a major upgrade.

Recommendation: If you’re charmed by Nothing OS, the Phone and the CMF Phone 1 offer quite a similar software experience for less money. If you want a more rounded and feature-filled smartphone, though, there are better alternatives available in this price bracket.