From the budget CMF Phone 1 which launched recently to the most premium Phone 2, Nothing has had almost every vital price segment covered. But, the significant price gap between the Phone 2a and the Phone 2 demanded to be filled, and now, the newly launched Phone 2a Plus makes it happen in a rather odd fashion.
The latest Nothing Phone 2a Plus is quite literally the Phone 2a’s doppelganger, stealing almost everything on the design front. But, is it all that there is to the new device? If you are planning on spending Rs 27,999 for the Phone 2a Plus, should you go for it or settle for the Phone 2a instead? That’s what this comparison should clear out for you, so let’s get right into the comparison between Nothing Phone 2a Plus vs Nothing Phone 2a
Nothing Phone 2a vs Phone 2a Specs at a Glance
| Specs | Nothing Phone 2a Plus | Nothing Phone 2a |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 161.74mm x 76.32mm x 8.55 mm | 161.74mm x 76.32mm x 8.55 mm |
| Weight | 190 grams | 190 grams |
| Processor | MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro (4nm) | MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro (4nm) |
| RAM/Storage | 12GB LPDDR4X/ 256GB UFS 2.2 | 12GB LPDDR4X/ 256GB UFS 2.2 |
| Display | 6.7-inch FHD+ 120Hz AMOLED, 1084 x 2412, 394 ppi, up to 1300 nits peak brightness | 6.7-inch FHD+ 120Hz AMOLED, 1084 x 2412, 394 ppi, up to 1300 nits peak brightness |
| Rear Camera | 50MP Main + 50MP Ultra-wide | 50MP Main + 50MP Ultra-wide |
| Front Camera | 50MP | 32MP |
| Video | Up to 4K at 30FPS | Up to 4K at 30FPS |
| Dual SIM | Yes; Does not support eSIM | Yes; Does not support eSIM |
| Connectivity | 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC | 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC |
| Port | USB Type C 2.0 | USB Type C 2.0 |
| Battery | 5,000 mAh | 5,000 mAh |
| Charging | 50W fast charging, 5W reverse wired charging | 45W fast charging |
| IP Rating | IP54 | IP54 |
| Software | Android 14-based Nothing OS 2.6 3 years of OS updates | Android 14-based Nothing OS 2.5 3 years of OS updates |
Nothing Phone 2a Plus vs Phone 2a Design and Build
I’ve called the Phone 2a Plus a doppelganger of the Phone 2a (Review) for pretty solid reasons. Both phones are a tad too similar, starting from sharing the same dimensions, and weight, down to even the build quality. Yes, the Phone 2a Plus is made out of plastic as well, so don’t expect to see a fancy glass back with a metal frame here.
The volume rocker and power buttons are still aluminum though, in case you’re wondering. There’s been no improvement in the IP rating either, with the Phone 2a Plus sporting the same IP54 resistance.
However, the Phone 2a Plus is the shinier son, featuring a glossier metal-like finish on the internal coiling at the back. So, due to all that transparency, it certainly looks more premium and almost made me hallucinate it to be a glass back.
The Phone 2a Plus also stays truer to its colors, with the brownish metallic glossy tinge coating the power button and volume rockers. But, the premium mirage is real until it’s not.
Everything else, from the camera module design to the three glyph lights at the back is borrowed by the Phone 2a Plus, down to the T. I really do wish that the Phone 2a Plus had something unique going for it to stand out, like the CMF Phone 1 (Review). Sadly, that’s clearly not the case.
Nothing Phone 2a Plus vs Phone 2a Display and Speakers
If you are not impressed by the design changes either, wait till you hear that both phones arrive with the EXACT SAME displays. Yes, there’s a 6.7-inch flexible AMOLED with a 120Hz fast refresh rate support. There’s Gorilla Glass 5 protection on top of both displays, but I really do wish the Phone 2a Plus had at least used Victus here.
The display quality, although nice, is no upgrade, and that’s a pretty big con of the Phone 2a Plus. The segment it belongs to has phones offering 1.5K displays, with a lot of them like the Realme GT 6T and Motorola Edge 50 Pro even offering curved panels. So, you can see where my disappointment is coming from.
Even the brightness levels are identical here. Also, both phones have stereo speakers as well, with the receiver doubling down as the second speaker. So, for a detailed understanding of the displays, you can simply head over to my Phone 2a review.
Nothing Phone 2a Plus vs Phone 2a Software Experience
Both phones come with Android 14-based Nothing OS right out of the box and will get to see Android 17. With the latest Nothing OS 2.6, both phones get to see cool new additions like a Game Mode, pop-up view for apps, and a couple of other features that were long pending.
However, the Phone 2a Plus gets an extra AI News Reporter widget, which I’m a bit on the fence about. So, this particular widget offers you 1-minute AI-generated news story summaries from across 8 different genres. But, you get just 8 story summaries per day, rendering it pretty useless, if you ask me.
Everything else remains the same, from those fluid app opening and closing animations to that truly bloatware-free experience. The bad thing is that there’s still no haptic feedback integration in the UI, making it feel very hollow in comparison to a lot of other skins out there. Besides, the Nothing OS, although clean, is not nearly as feature-rich as skins like Motorola’s Hello UI and OxygenOS.
Nothing Phone 2a Plus vs Phone 2a Performance
One important point to note for Nothing Phone 2a Plus is that it starts with the 256GB variant as compared to the 128GB base variant of Nothing Phone 2a.
The Nothing Phone 2a Plus arrives with the 4nm-based MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro SoC. Now, according to Nothing, this chipset is 20% faster than the Dimensity 7200 Pro powering the Phone 2a. The chipset on both phones is paired with up to 12GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage. We’ve done an in-depth comparison of both chipsets. Check out Deminsity 7350 Pro vs Dimensity 7200 Pro. That’s about it for the technicalities. I’ve done some proper testing, so let’s take a look at the real deal now:
Benchmarks
When it comes to benchmarks, apart from the general AnTuTu and Geekbench tests, I also ran AITuTu for the phones as they come with a few AI features as well. Here’s a rundown:
So, while you do get to see around the promised 20% increase in performance, it’s not as impressive. Besides, it does not even reflect in any way during day-to-day usage and games. That brings us to the next sections.
Daily Usage
Since the performance increment is nothing spectacular on the Phone 2a Plus, you can’t tell it apart from the Phone 2a. They perform exactly the same, no matter how many apps, games, and Chrome tabs I have open in the background. Both phones manage to handle it all without breaking much sweat.
I remember how the Phone 2a used to lag back when it had first launched. But, after all those updates, it’s very stable. So, it’s good to see how stable the Phone 2a Plus is right out of the box, and I didn’t face any stutters or lags during my time with it.
Gaming
The gaming performance is exactly the same on both phones. You get to see the same settings and frames on all the games. Take a look:
| Games | FPS/Settings |
|---|---|
| Genshin Impact | High Graphics + 60FPS: 40-55FPS (Mostly averaging out at 40FPS after 15 mins of gameplay) |
| CoD Mobile | Low/Ultra Settings: 90FPS (Multiplayer), 90FPS (Battle Royale) High/Max Settings: 60FPS (Multiplayer and Battle Royale) |
| BGMI | Smooth + Extreme Setting: 60FPS HDR + Ultra: 40FPS |
| Warzone Mobile | Low Visual Quality+ Uncapped FPS + High Resolution (51 FPS, looks pixelated and horrible) |
Nothing Phone 2a Plus vs Phone 2a Cameras
The familiarity is deeply rooted, extending well into the camera systems of the two phones. You see the same 50MP Samsung JN9 primary sensor with OIS, coupled with another 50MP Samsung JN1 ultra-wide.
So, as much as I’d like to say there’s some difference here, there’s not. Both phones capture shots that are impossible to tell apart. The good thing is that, unlike the Phone 2a, the Phone 2a Plus doesn’t have those terrible camera optimization issues at launch.
From a good dynamic range to good details on both sensors as well as natural colors, these two phones have pretty commendable rear camera setups. There’s a very slight color disparity in the two phones, with the Phone 2a Plus boosting the colors very slightly.
However, when it comes to human subjects, both phones are very inconsistent in capturing skin tones. But, mostly, while the Phone 2a Plus lightens the skin tones, the Phone 2a darkens them out a little too much.
However, it’s the selfie shooter on the Phone 2a Plus that has gotten a bit of an upgrade, straight from 32MP to 50MP. But, the results are rather perplexing, with the Phone 2a’s shooter capturing better selfies.
While the Phone 2a Plus captures a bit more detail, it completely annihilates them with washed-out colors and strangely grainy photos. The Phone 2a Plus selfie shooter definitely needs quite a bit of work. On the other hand, the Phone 2a captures pretty natural skin tones.
As for videos, both phones can shoot at up to 4K 30FPS through the rear setup, and at up to 1080p 60FPS through the front.
Nothing Phone 2a Plus vs Phone 2a Battery and Charging
At this point, I think we’re done being surprised. Yes, the battery capacity is the same as well, with both phones packing a 5000mAh unit. And, they both end up delivering similar screen-on-times as well, averaging at around 7 hours.
However, the Phone 2a Plus offers 50W fast charging compared to the Phone 2a’s 45W charging tech. That barely offers any significant difference in the charging speeds, with a 5-minute difference at most. Both phones will take you around an hour to fully charge.
Nothing Phone 2a Plus vs Phone 2a: Which Should You Buy?
You know it’s not an upgrade when a phone feels more like a limited edition extension of the base model. And, well, that’s the case here, with the phones sharing almost (if not over) 85% similarity in terms of both design and specifications.
The Rs 4,000 price jump from the Phone 2a’s base 8GB/128GB variant (Rs 23,999) to the Phone 2a Plus’ 8GB/256GB base variant (Rs 27,999) is just not justified. You get double the storage, sure. But, that’s not what we’re here for. These are not supposed to be the same phones, and the Phone 2a Plus is supposed to be a proper upgrade.
But, the weak upgrades in the design, performance, camera department (which is also unoptimized right now, to remind you), and the addition of 5W reverse wired charging support are just not enough. This was a big miss by Nothing, and they could have easily made this a great device by simply the addition of a better IP rating, build quality, and a solid glass back + metal frame build.
Well, it is what it is, and if you ask me, settle for the Phone 2a instead. Then, get your hands on a good-quality charger preferably Nothing’s own 45W GAN charger (Buy Here), which costs Rs 2,500, which will still cost you less than getting the Phone 2a Plus. So, there you go. That wraps up this comparison.
Otherwise, this price segment offers several other good options like Motorola Edge 50 Pro and the top-of-the-segment OnePlus Nord 4. Yes, we did pit the Phone 2a Plus against the all-metal Nord 4, check out the Nothing Phone 2a Plus vs OnePlus Nord 4 comparison.
Now, if you have any related queries, do drop them in the comments down below and I’ll get right back to you. Also, what’s your take on the comparison? I’d like to hear your side of the argument, so do let me know of that too.
