There’s a lot of action in the sub Rs 30,000 smartphone segment. Most contenders in this space tend to build their aggressive sales pitch on performance, battery life or camera capabilities. It’s why we think Nothing might have hit a sweet spot in this segment with its third smartphone. Much of the pre-launch buzz might have been centred around Carl Pei’s (the CEO of Nothing) post on X (Formerly Twitter) where he unequivocally stated that ‘we want to sell more phones bhai’. Except Nothing does this within their comfort zone. The Nothing Phone (2a) isn’t just a significant smartphone in the brand’s market expansion strategy in India, it’s also an effort to bring key ingredients of the Nothing experience to a device that aims to play the volume game. And it all starts with the design.

That familiar Nothing design

Nothing seems to have taken a ‘no compromises’ approach with the design template of the Nothing Phone (2a) and it has largely worked. It might be an all-plastic back and yet it exudes a cool, almost premium vibe. It’s very similar to the design aesthetic that we liked in the first two Nothing smartphones. Nothing keeps the heft at 190 gm despite the aluminium construction. This device feels really good in your hand. We’re torn between the black and white colour options (we checked out the black colour way) but might suggest black primarily for how the brand’s Glyph interface plays out.

Nothing’s Glyph interface is its calling card of sorts. This device gets a slightly skinned down version – with three lights, and yet it’s still enough to get you attention at the office or at the pub. We dig the semi-transparent design template and approve of Nothing’s minimalist user interface that complements the overall hardware. Nothing is one of the few brands that manages to find the blend between the software user experience and the hardware.

Bright lights

It’s not just the Glyph interface, Nothing also scores with the 6.7-inch Flexible AMOLED display (1084 x 2412 pixels / 394 PPI) with a 120Hz refresh rate. The device offers support for HDR10+ and maxes out at a peak brightness of 1300 nits. It’s one of the more immersive displays at its price. This gorgeous display is backed by a robust 5000 mAh battery that won’t let you down. The battery supports 45W charging (we took about an hour to power the device with a third party charger) but there’s no charging brick in the box.

Checks most boxes

Nothing makes a departure of sorts with the Nothing Phone (2a). It becomes the first Nothing smartphone to opt for by a MediaTek processor. At its heart is a MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro chipset that aces most everyday tasks. It may not get a nod from serious gamers but it’s enough firepower (the device notched up a score of 2558 in our Geekbench multi-core test) for most average users. We’d recommend opting for the top-end 12GB/256GB variant for the best results. The Nothing Phone (2a) comes with a dual rear cam combines two 50MP lenses including an ultra-wide lens. The camera gets a boost with OIS. Lowlight performance is a tad disappointing but that apart, the camera doesn’t miss a beat. The 2a opts for the same 32MP selfie cam that we saw on the Nothing Phone (2). It adds to the device’s overall appeal as a solid contender at its price point with a standout user experience.

The Nothing Phone (2a) comes in black and white. The device costs Rs 23,999 (8GB/128GB), Rs 25,999 (8GB/256GB) or Rs 27,999 (12GB/256GB