Carl Pei’s London startup is now working on a more affordable smartphone called Nothing phone (2a).
This news comes from the Nothing’s Community Update of 2024 where the company also introduced Jullian, new VP of Marketing, and Glyph Developer Kit.
The announcement about the phone (2a) came via Akis Evangelidis, Nothing co-founder and marketing lead, in the later part of the video.
Nothing phone (2a) Teaser
He confirmed that Nothing’s next smartphone would be a phone (2a) and that it is codenamed Aerodactyl.
That’s right, Nothing phone (2a) is nicknamed after a Pokémon.
For those unaware of the lore, Aerodactyl is a dinosaur-era flying Pokémon resurrected using DNA.
So, how does it connect to the phone?
Well, we don’t know for sure. Still, I think it has something to do with the phone (2a) position in the company’s smartphone lineup.
Aerodactyl is the initial form of Mega Aerodactyl just like how phone (2a) will be toned down version of the phone (2).
Nothing phone (2a): Everything We Know So Far
Eangelidis even confirmed that the 2a is “kind of leveraging some of the most loved features of the phone (2).”
He also said that the 2a will double down on core user needs, which is a nice way of saying it will offer the Nothing experience at an affordable price point.
While Nothing did not lay out any specific technical specification of the smartphone, it has specified that it will be a clear upgrade over the phone 1 in every department.
Rumours Roundup
It would be wrong to say we didn’t see this announcement coming. After all, the phone (2a) leaks have been making rounds for quite some time now.
Dimensity Processor
We already know that it would be the first Nothing phone to be powered by a non-Qualcomm chip. Every leak so far points to the phone (2a) packing the Dimensity 7200 chip. The first benchmark score of the phone (2a) has now emerged.
Dual 50MP Samsung Camera
As far as the camera, we are looking at a dual rear setup led by the 1/1.5″ 50MP Samsung S5KNG9 image sensor.
It will be paired with another 50MP sensor in the form of a 1/2.76″ Samsung ISOCELL JN1 sensor (S5KN1) for ultrawide shots.
There will be a 32MP Sony IMX615 camera housed inside the center-aligned punch-hole cutout on the front.
Display and New Gylph Interface
The display will most likely measure 6.7 inches in diagonal length. It would be an AMOLED panel by BOE refreshing at 120Hz.
The phone (2a) will have a new Gylph interface with a modest 3 LED light stripes.
Leaked Specifications:
- Display: 6.7-inch FHD+ BOE OLED 120Hz
- Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 7200 5G
- Memory: 8/12GB RAM
- Storage: 128/256GB UFS
- Rear Camera:
- Primary: 50MP
- Ultrawide: 50MP
- Front Camera: 32MP Sony IMX615 (punch-hole)
- Software: Nothing OS 2.4 based on Android 14
Nothing phone (2a) Price
There will be two memory configurations of the Nohting phone (2a).
The base variant will have 8GB of RAM coupled with 128GB of internal storage. It is said to cost around $400, making it cheaper than the Google Pixel 7a.
Likewise, the premium variant will boast 12GB of RAM and double the storage. There is no hint at its pricing so far.
Nothing phone (2a) Release Date and Availability
Nothing phone (2a) is set to launch on March 5. There will be separate launch events for India and Europe. The phone will not be commercially available in the US, at least for now.