Nothing explodes its mid-range masterpiece to create the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus

Nothing’s phone line-up has expanded rapidly. We’ve been keeping close tabs on the London-based tech company, now too old to be dubbed a start-up, and noted how the relative scale of the operation – compared to behemoths like Apple and Samsung – allow it to be nimble and responsive. The original Nothing Phone (2a) is a case in point, distilling all the greatest hits of the stripped down Nothing aesthetic while taking advantage of faster processors and more advanced camera modules to deliver a premium experience at a mid-range price.

Under the skin of the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus

The arrival of the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus was an inevitability, as the company can now parlay innovation into new product at a surprising rate. So what are the differences? The most important is under the skin, and the introduction of a new brain, the MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro 5G processor. There’s also a dedicated graphics processor, and the two units bring 10 per cent and 30 per cent improvements in their respective computing tasks. Phone (2a) Plus also comes with up to 20GB RAM.

Powering all this is Nothing’s largest battery, supporting 50W fast charging systems that’ll give you a day’s worth of power in around 20 minutes. Nothing even claims the (2a) Plus can last for an eight-hour gaming session, although that’s beyond most adult’s level of endurance to test. The phone’s dedicated Game Mode will reduce incoming calls to a pop-up window – if you desire.

Externally, first impressions are shaped by the two new colour ways, Grey and Black. The now much-imitated ‘X-Ray’ style aesthetic is further heightened by the metallic finishes of the two new colourways, the result of carefully layered printing process combining with nano-coating and special inks.

It’s a bit of high-tech theatre, and always has been, but we especially admire the focus it gives to the Phone (2a) Plus’s different components, from camera to battery and charging coil, with the company’s trademark ‘Glyph Interface’ (another component with plenty of counterfeits in the field) wrapping itself around all these elements.

The camera is another point of enhancement, chiefly down to the inclusion of an upgraded 50 MP selfie camera. Yes, it’s all about you, and Nothing has given its photographic portrait algorithms a make-over as well in order to make you look your best. The main sensor is also 50 MP and is paired with an ultra-wide 50 MP sensor with a 114-degree field of view, giving the phone its distinctive robotic face.

Smartphone photography is very much a digital dance between lens module and computational algorithms that can tweak, enhance and accentuate elements through software. Nothing has its TrueLens Engine, which adds an ‘AI Vivid Mode’, Ultra XDR and smooth, electronically stabilised 4K video at up to 120 frames per second.

All this comes through a 6.7in AMOLED display, with Nothing OS 2.6 laid on top of the latest Android build, Android 14. We've always admired the way that Nothing's OS improvements are distinctly different from Google's aesthetic, with a distinct look and feel to its own widget library that feels tightly integrated into the hardware.

As with other Nothing phones, the (2a) Plus has baked in ChatGPT to drive its search functions. Speaking of AI, there’s also the new News Reporter widget, an AI-powered aggregator that digests the day’s top stories and produces up to eight audible one-minute summaries. It’s an idea that appears ripe for amusing, or not so amusing, AI-enabled missteps. Overall, however, Nothing has managed to walk the line between entertainment and innovation with style.

Nothing Phone (2a) Plus, £399, from Nothing.Tech, @Nothing