more fuel to put the finishing touches on one of the best phones of the year

If there is a company that has shaken up the mobile phone sector, it is Nothing. In less than four years, the young British company has managed to sell more than 3 million smartphones, with Spain as an important market, with a new and innovative proposal that seeks to create an ecosystem that transcends devices. “Making technology fun again,” says CEO Carl Pei.

With this ambition, this year they launched the Nothing Phone (2a) and the CMF Phone 1, two smartphones that compete in the competitive mid-range market between 350 and 200 euros, one of which is more in demand. Now, Nothing has put more fuel in the carburetor to offer users looking for more features a more powerful, more beautiful and more capable mobile phone while the highly anticipated Nothing Phone (3) will hit the market in 2025.

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

A nice mobile

The first thing that catches your attention about the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is, without a doubt, its design. It is a striking mobile phone, it does not go unnoticed and respects the brand of the house to be recognizable from everywhere: it has a transparent casing that allows you to see the internal circuits and has the characteristic glyph lighting system of the brand. A brand that gives personality to the mobile phone, rare in the sector, and that gives that value of having something unique in your pocket.

The main difference with its little brother is the commitment to metallic finishes under the casing. The effect is truly striking and gives the feeling of having in your hands a much more expensive and exclusive terminal. It is different, special, unreplicable. To achieve this, the metallic finishes are the result of an innovative fusion of nanocoatings, multi-layer printing techniques, patented ink formulas and carefully selected coating materials, the company explains. An R&D process in design and materials that does not occur in mid-range mobiles and that Nothing highlights. It is not because it is cheaper that it deserves less attention, it seems.

The truth is that the design works. Ergonomically it is perfect for a large phone (6.7 inches), it is comfortable to use and pleasant to the touch despite the choice of plastic finishes on the sides and back. The arrangement of the camera in the upper central part behind the NFC coil gives it not only identity, but also comfort of use. 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, it is the Glyph Lights interface. The lighting with a metallic finish brings a particular elegance and warmth since 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 so as not to have to check the phone and let themselves be guided by the light indicators.

More power, better camera

Beyond the shine From the design of the Phone (2a) Plus with the metallic interior finishes, the real attraction to upgrade to this phone is its greater power and better camera development compared to the (2a) launched in the first quarter of the year.

The secret to the Phone (2a) Plus’ power lies in the new MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro 5G processor, a proprietary chip from Nothing that represents an improvement in performance and capabilities over the Dimensity 7200 Pro that powers its younger brother. Here, the company emphasizes the importance of using the smartphone as an entertainment center for users’ daily lives, since it aims not only to be able to perform daily tasks, but also to use it to play and play games for hours.

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

In practice, the phone feels more flexible and more capable. It works very smoothly and fluidly and at no time do you have the feeling of having a mid-range in your hands, it is able to face the best in the category without complexes. A determined commitment from Nothing to demonstrate that things can be done well at all levels, without getting carried away by the 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. Due to its features, performance and update policy, the Phone (2a) Plus is a phone designed to last and be used for years, however, the 256 GB can allow the user to find a ceiling before time.

This storage may not be enough if we want to get the most out of the smartphone’s camera, which now has a better selfie than the previous model, equipping it with three 50-megapixel sensors signed by Samsung. Specifically, it has a main camera combined with a wide angle and a front lens that improves for taking photos and videos.

Overall, the camera responds very well, both in well-lit environments and in complicated low-light situations. It is one of the best in its segment, perhaps only below the Pixel 8a, even if Google’s phone is just over 100 euros more expensive. The camera stands out for its response fidelity. It does not advocate harsh processes that distort reality for a better image, but is committed to capturing what the human eye sees.

Even so, it has a processing technology called TrueLens, which seeks precisely this image fidelity. It also has AI Vivid Mode technologies that allow colors to stand out and gain dynamism with the Ultra XDR system developed in collaboration with Google. Regarding video, it has a double stabilization system (optical and electronic) and can record in 4K at 30 fps.

Top experience

This muscle in terms of power and camera would be nothing without a good user experience. The commitment to a good screen and especially the work that the brand does with its Nothing OS operating system is key here. A layer of customization that, unlike other manufacturers, opts for less is more.

It is a simple interface, with a tasteful design and focused on simplicity, ease and functionality. That we have to spend less time on the phone to do everything we want to do.

That is why in the OS 2.6 version that comes with the phone we have the possibility of strong customization, opting for more and more widgets, as well as the integration of ChatGPT to request any prompt that comes to us from the OpenAI system.

In addition, the phone has a game mode that allows the user not only to optimize the performance of the smartphone, but also to customize to what extent we want to isolate ourselves from the world so that calls or messages do not disturb us while we play.

Regarding autonomy, it is also efficient and we can spend more than a day with intense use without having to look for a charger. It has a 5,000 mAh autonomy and a 50 W fast charging system, which allows you to fully charge your phone in 56 minutes. In addition, we can perform reverse wireless charging via a cable —5W— in case we want to charge one of the brand’s headphones, for example. Of course, a feature reserved for its high-end is wireless charging, which we do not have in this case.

Should I buy it?

The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is one of the most interesting smartphones on the market. It is aimed at those looking for a good, pretty and cheap mobile phone; but it also has its own personality, it is not just another one. The phone works well in all sections, it offers a user experience among the best on the market and you can see the care taken by the company in every detail. There is love in what they do.

The purchase decision depends on 70 euros, since this is what is the distance between the 359 euros that the Phone (2a) currently costs and the 429 euros of the Phone (2a) Plus. If we want to save a few euros, it is better to opt for the mobile phone launched at the beginning of the year, knowing 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 to be faster so that it can last longer over time, it is better to opt for the Plus option.

In any case, Nothing demonstrates its good work when it comes to creating new devices and this smartphone is a good answer for those for whom the Phone (2a) is a bit below and who cannot wait for the launch of the Phone (3) which should arrive in 2025.