London-based technology company launched the brand-new Nothing Phone (2a) this afternoon. Not familiar with the innovative tech house? Here’s everything you need to know about the latest smartphone.
On Thursday 1st February, British technology company Nothing confirmed its new smartphone, the Nothing Phone (2a), which follows in the footsteps of the also simply-named smartphones Nothing Phone (1) and Nothing Phone (2).
Nothing has been operating for four years; founded in 2020, Nothing set out with a purpose to make tech ‘fun again’! Its debut smartphone, the Nothing Phone (1) was awarded Time Magazine’s Best Inventions for Innovative Smartphone Design award, and the RadioTimes.com Technology team were lucky enough to get hands-on time with the Nothing Phone (1) back in July 2022.
Speaking of innovations, you’re probably familiar with Nothing’s Glyph Interface. New for the Nothing Phone (2a), a trio of lights on the back of the smartphone act as different signals for various functions, for example, you can assign different light patterns as notifications for different contacts or apps, and with the light timer, you’ll be able to track the progress of your delivery service or taxi ride without having to keep checking your phone screen. This unique feature is perfect for reducing screen time.
The distinctive Glyph Interface features on all three of Nothing’s smartphones, the Nothing Phone (1), Nothing Phone (2), and Nothing Phone (2a), and it’s been updated for this latest instalment. The Nothing Phone (2a) has been engineered with user needs at the forefront, and it promises to provide a clear update from the Nothing Phone (1) on all fronts. But has it? Here’s everything you need to know about the brand-new Nothing Phone (2a), including how to pre-order it in the UK.
Pre-order the Nothing Phone (2a) from £319 at Nothing
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Jump to:
- Nothing Phone (2a) UK release date
- Nothing Phone (2a) price
- Nothing Phone (2a) design
- Nothing Phone (2a) features
- Is Nothing Phone (2a) a good camera phone?
- How to pre-order the Nothing Phone (2a)
Nothing Phone (2a) UK release date
This morning (Tuesday 5th March), Nothing hosted a launch event called ‘Fresh Eyes’ to introduce the world to the Nothing Phone (2a). Right now, you’re able to pre-order the brand-new smartphone from the official Nothing website.
On Saturday 9th March, you’ll be able to purchase the smartphone from the Nothing Store Soho, London. It’s worth noting that this is a limited drop only, so you’d better be quick if you’d like to snap-up a smartphone before the official on sale date.
Tuesday 12th March is the official on sale launch, where you’ll be able to purchase the smartphone from the Nothing website and other UK retailers, such as Amazon.
Pre-order the Nothing Phone (2a) from £319 at Nothing
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Nothing Phone (2a) price
The Nothing Phone (1) launched at £399, and the Nothing Phone (2) launched at £579, so you’d expect the Nothing Phone (2a) to increase in price, particularly if it were to follow in the footsteps of other smartphone launches such as the Samsung Galaxy S24 and Google Pixel 8a.
However, the 8 RAM and 128 GB storage Nothing Phone (2a) is priced at £319, and the 12 RAM and 256 GB storage Nothing Phone (2a) is priced at £349.
Pre-order the Nothing Phone (2a) from £319 at Nothing
Nothing Phone (2a) design
The brand-new Nothing Phone (2a) is available in Milk, Black and White colourways.
As we mentioned earlier, the Glyph Interface which is so unique to Nothing smartphones encourages you to take time away from your screens as each notification lights up on the back of your phone, so you’re aware who’s texting you, who’s liking your Instagram posts, and how many minutes away that Chinese takeaway you ordered is.
The Glyph Interface is situated on the back of the smartphone, and also here, is where you’ll see the battery, additional internal components, and a set of flexible printed circuits connected the motherboard to the display. This part of the display was interestingly designed with Italian designer Massimo Vignelli’s New York subway map in mind.
At the top of the Nothing Phone (2a), you’ll find the camera at the epicentre, which extends to the edge of the smartphone to create more rounded corners.
Let’s get into the nitty-gritty of the new Nothing Phone (2a)’s display: the Flexible AMOLED display is 6.7-inches with a 2.1mm bezel width, it has a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz and its brightness extends to 1,300 nits. In terms of durability, the smartphone’s display is made up of Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and it has an IP54 rating, which means your smartphone will be protected against limited amounts of dust and water sprays.
Pre-order the Nothing Phone (2a) from £319 at Nothing
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Nothing Phone (2a) features
On Tuesday 20th February, Nothing announced that the brand-new Nothing Phone (2a) will feature a custom MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro processor, which essentially means that the smartphone will be 18% more powerful and 16% more efficient than the Nothing Phone (1). To break that down, the battery life is longer and more efficient: the 5,000 mAh battery can be charged at a speed of 45 W, and can last for two days on a single charge. Plus, the 8-core chip and up to 20 GB RAM (thanks to RAM Booster technology) ensures responsive multitasking for things such as gaming, which we’ll come to in a moment.
Nothing has also introduced Smart Clean technology, which enables the Nothing Phone (2a) to clean out-of-order file fragments with the purpose of boosting read and write speeds.
What is the Nothing smartphone like for gaming?
For advanced and lag-free gaming, the Nothing Phone (2a) has introduced HyperEngine 5.0. But how does this work in practice? The technology ensures stable gaming frame rates and visual quality, while working to reduce battery consumption by up to 18%. The Nothing Phone (2a) uses AI-driven algorithms which selectively optimises render quality across both focal and non-focal areas of gameplay, which minimise the load on the GPU (graphic processor).
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Is Nothing Phone (2a) Android or iOS?
The Nothing Phone (2a) operates on Nothing OS 2.5 which delivers the best of Android. The smartphone has three years of software updates with four years of security updates.
Pre-order the Nothing Phone (2a) from £319 at Nothing
Is Nothing Phone (2a) a good camera phone?
The Nothing Phone (2a) boasts a dual 50 MP rear camera, with a 50 MP ultra-wide camera and 32 MP front camera. The smartphone offers Night Mode and Portrait Optimiser features, too. Let’s check them out.
Night Mode amplifies low-light environments by grouping together pixels into a series of ‘super pixels’ which, when together, increase light intake. The smartphone also usesOptical Image Stabilisation (OIS) to prolong exposure times so that your photos come out less blurry.
Portrait Optimiser will be your best friend when trying to capture that perfect group photo. An AI algorithm in the Nothing Phone (2a) detects faces in frames and ups the resolution, even if said faces are far away. The smartphone also offsets colour change on skin tones from harsh lighting which will offer a more true-to-life photo.
Pre-order the Nothing Phone (2a) from £319 at Nothing
How to pre-order the Nothing Phone (2a)
The Nothing Phone (2a) is available to pre-order right now from the official Nothing site.
Pre-order the Nothing Phone (2a) from £319 at Nothing
If you’re eager to get your hands on a Nothing smartphone today, the Nothing Phone (1) and Nothing Phone (2) are also available to buy outright on the Nothing site.
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