A good midrange possibility, however not within the US

The Nothing Cellphone 2a Plus is so just like this spring’s Nothing Cellphone 2a that it is virtually laborious to evaluate the newer telephone with out repeating myself. Launched only a few months after the Cellphone 2a, the Cellphone 2a Plus could be very almost the identical telephone, plus a few spec bumps.

That is not all dangerous; I favored lots of issues concerning the older Cellphone 2a. However the enhancements within the 2a Plus — a more moderen chipset, a higher-resolution selfie digicam, and barely quicker charging, to call a number of — do not do something to deal with the unique Cellphone 2a’s ache factors. So the Cellphone 2a Plus is just about the identical story: it is a advantageous midrange telephone with a novel look and underwhelming digicam efficiency that, critically for a lot of our readership, is not made for the US market.

Value, availability, and specs

Within the US, the Nothing Cellphone 2a Plus shall be out there beginning August 7 instantly from Nothing by means of the corporate’s developer program for $399, a $50 improve over the earlier Nothing Cellphone 2a. Nonetheless, you will not be capable of get it at retailers like Finest Purchase or by means of your provider.

Within the UK, you possibly can snag the Cellphone 2a Plus for £399. An India-only variant with 8 GB of RAM (versus 12 GB in fashions offered elsewhere) is out there for ₹27,999. Nothing has stated it will disclose information about availability in different markets in September.

What’s good concerning the Nothing Cellphone 2a Plus?

All the pieces that was good concerning the Nothing Cellphone 2a

The Nothing Cellphone 2a Plus has every little thing going for it the unique 2a did. The 2a Plus shares the 2a’s hanging design, and Nothing’s added a pleasant little bit of visible flare to the ornamental parts underneath its clear plastic again, which has a metallic sheen on the 2a Plus. I are likely to gravitate towards subtler {hardware} design, and I feel the brand new end does make the again of the telephone look somewhat busier. Nonetheless, I respect Nothing’s distinctive {hardware} aesthetic, even when it is not fairly for me.

I actually just like the Grey colorway I am reviewing. The matte grey plastic facet rails distinction properly with the Cellphone 2a Plus’s darker buttons, which have a metallic end. The lighter colour additionally helps make fingerprints on the telephone’s clear plastic again much less apparent, which it sorely wants.

The Cellphone 2a Plus’s Glyph lights are unchanged from the Cellphone 2a — no RGB improve right here. They’re equal components type and performance: the sunshine strips are a Nothing hallmark that make its telephones look a bit flashier, certain, however additionally they work as notification lights when the telephone is face-down. You possibly can assign distinctive patterns to completely different notifications, and there is an choice to have one of many lights keep on when you may have particular unread notifications.

Paired with a Pixel-inspired characteristic referred to as Flip to Glyph that units the Cellphone 2a Plus to silent when it is face down, that persistent notification gentle makes it simple to disregard the telephone with out having to fret you have missed one thing vital. It is an ideal setup you simply cannot get on telephones from different producers.

I am as huge a fan of Nothing OS on the Cellphone 2a Plus as ever. By means of distinctive dot-matrix model design thrives and a few considerate UI tweaks, Nothing manages to make Android really feel distinct with out including any visible muddle or redundant apps. Nothing OS additionally presents a bunch of visually cohesive nerdy and trendy widgets — a tricky steadiness to strike.

My one extraordinarily particular grievance about Nothing OS is that its Climate app — a wrapper for information from AccuWeather — does not embody a lot information about hourly precipitation. It will inform you what kind of climate is anticipated hour by hour, however not the estimated likelihood it will rain, or the anticipated quantity. As slick because the app appears, it is not very helpful with out that information.

The Cellphone 2a Plus’s show, the identical 6.7-inch, 1080p AMOLED as the usual Cellphone 2a, is sort of good. Colours are punchy, and animations look clean due to the show’s 120Hz refresh fee.

Efficiency on the unique Cellphone 2a was good for a funds telephone, so it is unsurprising that the Cellphone 2a Plus delivers equally good efficiency with its newer (chip), an improve from the 2a’s (chip). I am not probably the most demanding consumer, however the 2a Plus by no means stutters, heats up, or slows down in my day-to-day.

The Nothing Cellphone 2a Plus is IP54 rated.

Battery life’s been actually stable, too. On a very gentle couple of days — largely shopping the web and messaging over Wi-Fi — I bought 5 hours of display time throughout 48 hours off the charger. Relying in your utilization, you can simply get six or seven hours of display time in a single day.

What’s dangerous concerning the Nothing Cellphone 2a Plus?

All the pieces that was dangerous concerning the Nothing Cellphone 2a

The Nothing Cellphone 2a Plus is a greater telephone than the Nothing Cellphone 2a was, however sadly, not one of the enhancements deal with any of the problems I had with the earlier mannequin.

Digital camera efficiency on the Nothing Cellphone 2a Plus will not be superb. The Plus has a higher-resolution selfie digicam than the unique Cellphone 2a, however the rear digicam expertise is unchanged. The Cellphone 2a Plus actually struggles with dynamic vary — highlights are sometimes blown out, and mid tones are usually too shiny.

The way in which these cameras deal with shadows is somewhat in every single place. Usually, shadows come out trying unnaturally shiny — which does not look good, however does no less than make the contents of the picture extra legible. However I’ve additionally seen the Cellphone 2a Plus crush shadows to black after they have been nowhere close to that darkish on the day. For instance, the photograph of my canine beneath has virtually no element left in his coat.

This is not a flagship telephone, however I feel the bar for midrange digicam efficiency is greater than this in 2024. The Pixel 8a, for instance, is out there on sale for a similar $399 the Cellphone 2a Plus prices within the US, and is leagues forward relating to digicam efficiency.

The selection of shiny, clear plastic for the Cellphone 2a Plus’s rear panel makes it really feel low cost. It positively appears good out of the field, however the very reflective plastic collects smudges and scratches simply.

However most critically to our US viewers, the Cellphone 2a Plus is, just like the Cellphone 2a earlier than it, not being offered at retail right here. You may get your arms on the telephone by means of Nothing’s developer program for $399, nevertheless it’s not made to run on US wi-fi networks. I have been utilizing the Cellphone 2a Plus on T-Cellular’s community, and I would not know the distinction, nevertheless it’s lacking a number of vital bands for Verizon and AT&T.

Additionally value mentioning is that the Nothing Cellphone 2a Plus comes with Android 14, and Nothing is pledging three years of OS updates and 4 years of safety updates. You may do worse, however Nothing’s dedication right here is not spectacular. The $300 Samsung Galaxy A25 is about to get three years of updates and 4 years of safety patches, and the $500 Pixel 8a is about to get updates nicely into 2031.

Must you purchase the Nothing Cellphone 2a Plus?

In the event you dwell in america, most likely not

Digital camera complaints apart, I typically just like the Nothing Cellphone 2a Plus. Nothing OS is a deal with, and for $400, the Cellphone 2a Plus performs greater than nicely sufficient.

Given the Cellphone 2a Plus is not made for US networks and is not offered by means of US retail channels, it is not an excellent decide for our American readers. In the event you’re a developer or fanatic searching for a midrange telephone to tinker with, grabbing the Nothing Cellphone 2a Plus by means of Nothing’s developer program may make sense. However should you’re simply searching for a good, reasonably priced telephone within the US, the 2a Plus probably is not a match.

I do not essentially suppose the Cellphone 2a Plus is a greater purchase than different telephones in its worth vary in nations the place it is formally out there, both. But when Nothing sells it in your nation and also you’re coming from one thing older than the common Cellphone 2a, the Nothing Cellphone 2a Plus is an attention-grabbing possibility — offered you do not take lots of photographs, anyway.