Skip to main content

Nothing’s next phone is the result of an unusual collaboration

The back of the Nothing Phone 2a Plus.
Nothing Phone 2a Plus Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Technology company Nothing will launch its first Community Edition smartphone at the end of October, and rather than being a collaboration with another brand, it’s the result of a collaboration with its fans. The device is the culmination of a project that started in March 2024 and involves members of the Nothing fan base suggesting and designing certain aspects of a new phone. The resulting device will be called the Nothing Phone 2a Community Edition, and it’s set to be fully revealed on October 30.

Nothing Phone 2a Community Edition preview.
Nothing

If you haven’t heard of the Nothing Community Project before, here’s a quick overview. When it was announced in March, the company explained that there would be four different stages,where members of the Nothing fan base could contribute ideas and designs to shape a future version of the Nothing Phone 2a. The first stage focused on hardware design, the second involved wallpapers, the third concentrated on the packaging for the new phone, and finally the last stage was all about the marketing.

Recommended Videos

Submissions were voted on at each stage, and you can already see the winners on the Nothing Community Edition website, so we have a good idea of what the new edition will look like. The racetrack-style design on the back of the Phone 2a will put a bright green, possibly glow-in-the-dark finish on the new Community Edition, while the wallpapers follow a similar theme with colors, along with a cool layered effect. The packaging and marketing campaigns also play on the same themes, while highlighting Nothing’s trademark lighting effects and love of minimalism.

A teaser for the Nothing Phone 2a Community Edition.
Nothing

Now that all the winners have been chosen and the design finalized, all that’s left is to fully show it off and release it. As with most other Nothing projects, an insect is part of the initial teaser campaign, and this time it’s a firefly glowing in a similar green envisioned for the Phone 2a Community Edition’s new color scheme. The specifications were never part of the Community Edition project, so we assume it’s going to be identical to the existing Phone 2a, meaning a MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro processor, a pair of 50-megapixel cameras, and a 6.7-inch, 120Hz AMOLED screen.

Nothing will reveal the Phone 2a Community Edition at 11 a.m. in the U.K., which is 4 a.m. PT and 7 a.m. ET, on October 30.

Andy Boxall
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
Is it OnePlus or Nothing? I try two brilliant bargain phones to find out
A person holding the OnePlus 13R and the Nothing Phone 3a Pro.

I’ve been using, and very much enjoying, the OnePlus 13R for the last week. But it got me thinking, I spent several weeks with the Nothing Phone 3a Pro recently too, and it’s cheaper to buy than the OnePlus phone. This was a chance to look closely at two phones which I've liked very much to find out if it's worth buying the more expensive one, or if you can save a bit of money and pick up a bargain. What's more, the two phones also share a common, but unusual link between them, just to spice things up even more.
What’s the connection?
OnePlus 13R (left) and the Nothing Phone 3a Pro Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The unusual connection linking the two together is Carl Pei. Pei co-founded OnePlus, and after moving on from the company he founded Nothing. The Nothing Phone 3a Pro is the brand’s most recent release, sitting slightly higher in the range than the Nothing Phone 3a. The brand thrives on brilliant marketing, some of it straight out of the original OnePlus playbook, and goes to great efforts to build a healthy, vibrant community around its products.

Read more
Nothing might charge you for pressing the AI button on its future phones
The back of the Nothing Phone 3a Pro, with the Glyph Lights active.

Nothing's latest smartphones, the Phone 3a and the Phone 3a Pro, come a with the company's own AI-powered dashboard, called Essential Space. It is a place to organize your screenshots, images, voice notes, and reminders, and can be activated with a dedicated button called the Essential Key. While these features are free to use at the moment, Nothing might charge you a subscription to use these services in the future.

Nothing aims to evolve Essential Space into an AI-powered second brain solution for storing stuff that you may otherwise not be too motivated to remember. While it's in beta right now, the presence of a dedicated activation button indicates Nothing is serious about making it a central feature on the future phones.

Read more
Nothing wants your help to design a unique Nothing Phone 3a
Nothing Phone 3a in White HeroRear picture

Have you looked at the Nothing Phone 3a and thought, “I wish it looked different,” or that it came with a unique accessory? Nothing is giving you the chance to make your dreams for the phone a reality with the launch of its second Community Edition Project, where you get to design your ultimate Nothing Phone 3a.

We're Letting the Internet Design Our Next Phone

Read more