British smartphone upstart Nothing is readying a new smartphone that will hit the shelves later this year. The Nothing Phone 2a seems to be a direct successor of the Nothing Phone 1, which is likely targeting a value-centric midrange status.
“With Phone 2a, we’ve really doubled down on the core user needs — performance, camera, you need it,” says co-founder Akis Evangelidis. He further adds that with the Nothing Phone 2a, the company is leveraging the core niceties of the Nothing Phone 2, which chased flagship standards. Nothing confirmed the Nothing Phone 2a’s existence in a “Community Update” video uploaded to its YouTube channel.
The Nothing Phone 2 has spent just over two quarters on the shelves, while the Nothing Phone 1 has spent over 1.5 years in the market. So, it only seems natural that a successor for the latter would be more likely.
The naming scheme for the Nothing Phone 2a also seems to follow in the same footsteps as Google, which has been releasing Pixel-A budget phones for over half a decade now.
Leaks suggest that the Nothing Phone 2a will serve two rear cameras and take a fresh design approach, including the LED glyph interface. Notably, the company is also extending the whole setup to developers, allowing third-party apps to work with the LED lights in their unique way.
Another reliable leaker predicts MediaTek’s Dimensity 7200 chip for the Nothing Phone 2a, a 50-megapixel dual camera setup, and a 120Hz OLED screen. Nothing is reportedly eyeing a reveal at MWC later this month, and it could be priced somewhere around $400.
But do keep in mind that these are early leaks and that the final product could turn out entirely different in terms of looks and internal hardware. Also, it would be great to see Nothing ditch these stylized names in brackets. A simple alphanumeric jambalaya works equally fine as long as the phone’s hardware does the talking and leaves a good impression.
