Nothing (2a) – a nothing special smartphone for the masses (review)

The Nothing (2a) comes from Nothing, which proudly states, “We’re building a world where tech is fun again”. And the Nothing (2a) kinda is with its Glyph lights.

I am sure they have heard every joke and pun about nothing, so we will refrain from taking the piss out of them.

By rights, Nothing should fail when pitted against the might of Samsung, OPPO, Motorola, et al., yet its gear is good enough for JB to allocate shelf space (sure, it pays for that) and go from nothing to cult hero in practically no time (2020).

Let’s compare the Nothing (2a) to the competition (the Motorola Edge 50 Fusion in brackets).

• $529 for 8/128GB or $599 for 12/256GB ($599 12/256GB inc. charger and bumper case)
• 6.7” 2412 x 1080, 10-bit/1.07 billion colours, 120Hz OLED (6.7” 2400 x 1080, 10-bit/1.07 billion colour pOLED)
• MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro [similar specs to SD870] (QualcommSD7S Gen 2)
• 4/5G city and suburbs reception only (City/suburb/regional/rural reception)
• Wi-Fi 6 and BT 5.3 (Wi-Fi 5 AC and BT 5.2)
• 5000mAh battery, 1 hour/45W charge capable, no charger supplied (5000mAh, 52minutes/ 68W charger in box)
• 50+50+32MP camera (50+13+32MP Sony Lytia)
• Android 14 and 2+3+4 Warranty/OS upgrade/Security patch (same)

The Nothing (2a) was one of the best-value mid-range phones (still is) until the Motorola Edge 50 Fusion – the best value smartphone with Edge benefits kinda blew its specs out of the water.

Seeing a ‘new’ phone has been interesting, and we applaud their efforts to be different (and have fun). It has a big brother – the $999 Nothing 2 with a Qualcomm SD8+ Gen 1, which should give it good phone signal coverage, but again, it has just been outclassed by the $999 Motorola Edge 50 Pro – an excellent upper-mid-range smartphone.

Warning – do not buy grey market

Nothing is a trendy phone brand with a huge grey market. Only buy the Australian-certified version for Telco networks and an Australian warranty from Nothing (it has an Amazon store) or JB Hi-Fi. You can check its bonafide by an R-NZ C-Tick on the packaging and under Settings, About Phone, and Regulatory labels.

Read Don’t buy a grey market smartphone.

New review format

We are experimenting with our review format. Where we used to put all the raw data in tables at the end, we will now break them up and briefly comment on the various parts. Why? Readers who want to know more will paw over the tables. Readers who wish to see if it’s a good phone can just read the comments. Of course, we still have CyberShack’s’ View and rating explanation at the end – do make sure you read that.

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

We are also tightening up on grading. From now on, Pass, for example, means meeting expectations for the price bracket. We consider a Pass mark to be 70+/100 with extra points added for class-leading and excellence.

Australian review: Nothing (2a), 8/128GB (or 12/256GB), dual SIM, Model A142

Brand	Nothing
Model	Nothing 2a
Model Number	A142
RAM/Storage Base	8/128GB
Price base	$529
Price 2	$599 12/256GB
Colour	Black Milk Special Edition
Warranty months	24-months
Tier	Mid-range
Website	Nothing AU Product page
From	JB Hi-Fi or Amazon AU Nothing Store
Country of Origin	China
Company	Nothing (Est. 2020) is London-based and is manufactured in China.
More	CyberShack smartphone news and reviews
Test date	1-20 July 2024
Ambient temp	8-15°
Release	March 2024
Other models not for Australia (Don’t buy)	Only buy from Nothing Online or JB Hi-Fi. The rest are grey market.

First Impression – interesting

Nothing wanted to get our attention among a sea of glass slabs. It succeeded. The ‘good’ is the interesting transparent rear panel with Glyph lights and its two ‘eyes’ (2 x 50MP camera sensors). The front has a 6.7” OLED screen. It follows Nothing’s ‘design language’.

The Nothing (2a) is unashamedly plastic, from the back to the rather prominent chassis. Its appearance is reminiscent of the colourful Nokia Lumia Windows phones of the past—and I liked that.

As the review testing progressed, I started to see a subplot emerge. Nothing is not out to create the biggest, best, fastest, most innovative phones. Its tech (apart from the Glyph lights) is the same as in every other Android phone, making it easy to compare ‘speeds and feeds’. It is why we can say that, at least on paper, it is better or worse than other phones.

We suggest you read this review to realise what it can do and decide from there.

Screen – Pass+

It is a bright, daylight-readable, colour-accurate, 10-bit OLED screen that can display HDR10+, but it is wasted as it cannot decode HDR10+ or Dolby Vision metadata.

It has Gorilla Glass 5 and a pre-applied TPM screen protector.

Size	6.7″
Type	AMOLED (Not LTPO)
Flat, Curve, 2D, 3D	Flat with centre o-hole
Resolution	2412 x 1080
PPI	394
Ratio	20:9
Screen to Body %	87.6%
Colours bits	10-bit/1.07 billion colours
Refresh Hz, adaptive	High: 120Hz maximum Standard: 60Hz Dynamic: 60/90/120Hz Note that the screen only supports 60/90/120Hz stepping, not LTPO AMOLED. It advertises a 30Hz base – we could not find that.
Response 120Hz	240Hz
Nits typical, test	700 (Test 675)
Nits max, test	HBM 1100 (Test 985) Peak HDR 1300
Contrast	Infinite
sRGB	100+%
DCI-P3	Claim 100%
Rec.2020 or other	N/A
Delta E (<4 is excellent)	3
HDR Level	HDR10+ (no Dolby Vision decode)
SDR Upscale	No
Blue Light Control	No – unusual
PWM if known	Claim 2160, but we measured 100Hz cycles at low brightness. PWM-sensitive users must try this screen first.
Daylight readable	Yes
Always on Display	Yes – basic info
Edge display	No
Accessibility	Usual Android 14
DRM	L1 FHD SDR – not Netflix certified for HDR
Gaming	The processor power and screen response (.79 GtG) is sufficient to play HD games up to 60fps. But it is not really designed for heavy gaming. See https://nothing.community/d/7183-games-on-nothing-phone-2a
Screen protection	Pre-applied TPM protector Gorilla Glass 5 MOHs hardness 6
Comment	The Nothing Glyph interface includes 26 individually addressable zones. The three lights support the Glyph Timer, notifications, the Glyph Torch, and Glyph Progress.

Processor – Pass

To use a car analogy, it is a naturally aspirated 4-cylinder, perfectly fit for daily commutes.

Brand, Model	Like SD860 or Exynos 1380 Benchmarks
nm	4nm TSMC N4P
Cores	2 x 2.8GHz & 6 x 2.0GHz
Modem	MediaTek 3GPP R16 5G modem
AI TOPS OR Multi-thread Integer Operations Per Second (INOPS) GINOPS = billion	NPU 650 is around 4 TOPS – only sufficient for AI photo post-processing. 10.26 GFLOPS 14.47 GINOPS
Geekbench 6 Single-core	1115
Geekbench 6 multi-core	2571
Like	Like SD860 or Exynos 1380 Benchmarks
GPU	Mail-G610 MC4
GPU Test
Open CL	3289
Like	SD870
Vulcan	3274
RAM, type	8GB as tested plus up to 8GB virtual ram
Storage, free, type	128GB (or 256) UFS 3.1, 95GB free
micro-SD	No
CPDT internal seq. Read MBps sustained	995 Jazz maximum 1032.26
CPDT internal seq. write MBps sustained	488 Jazz maximum 533.89
CPDT microSD read, write MBps	N/A
CPDT external (mountable?) MBps	Files find it as an OTG for cut and paste but not as a mountable device and will not speed test.
Comment	It is a 7-series SoC—one step above the 6-series entry-level SoC. Above it are the 8 and 9 series. In some respects, it is close to Qualcomm SD4 and Exynos 1380; in others, it hits older SD8 series benchmarks. It is best to think of this as a typical 4-cylinder car.

Throttle test – Pass

We suspect it automatically throttles to 80% for heat control when it encounters a prolonged load.

Max GIPS	245115
Average GIPS	215701
Minimum GIPS	200013
% Throttle	17%
CPU Temp	50°
Comment	It has decent thermal management, although 4nm SoC does not run all that hot anyway. We suspect that Nothing (2a) deliberately throttles to prevent heat anyway – it starts strongly for three minutes and drops to a rock-solid 80% for the remainder of the test.

Comms – Pass

It has everything you need—Wi-Fi, BT, GPS, and NFC. However, the Aussie version does not support Wi-Fi 6E, so we get a maximum data speed of 1200Mbps instead of 2400Mbps.

Wi-Fi Type, model	Advertised as Wi-Fi 6 dual-band 2.4/5GHz. Test equipment shows it supports Wi-Fi 6E tri-band 2.4/5/6GHz 2 x 2 MIMO. A firmware update is needed to activate this.
Test 2m -dBm, Rx/Tx Mbps	-33/1201/1201
Test 5m	-47/1201/1201
Test 10m	-51/1201/1161
BT Type	5.3
GPS single, dual	Single band GPS, BeiDou, Glonass, Galileo, QZSS, and NavIC. 2 m accuracy is suitable for in-car navigation.
USB type	USB-C 2.0 OTG (no audio/video alt DP)
ALT DP, DeX, Ready For	No
NFC	Yes
Ultra-wideband	No
Sensors
Accelerometer	Yes
Gyro	Combo with Accelerator
e-Compass	Yes
Barometer
Gravity
Pedometer
Ambient light	Yes
Hall sensor
Proximity	Yes
Other
Comment	Someone should tell Nothing that we have Wi-Fi 6E down under. The data speeds are OK for general use but much lower than it could achieve.

4/5G – Pass

MediaTek modems usually get a solid single-tower signal, which is perfect for city and suburban use. However, they fail because they cannot see the multiple towers needed for regional, rural, and black spot use.

SIM	Dual SIM (no eSIM)
Active	DSDS (only one active at a time)
Ring tone single, dual	Single
VoLTE	Yes
Wi-Fi calling	Yes
4G Bands	B1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 66
Comment	Close to a world phone
5G sub-6Ghz	n1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 77, 78
Comment	All Australian sub-6 bands but not a world phone
mmWave	No
Test Boost Mobile, Telstra
DL/UL, ms	34.2/22/8/30ms – average
Tower 1 -dBm, fW or pW	-74 to -88 and 1.6pW to 39.8pW – excellent
Tower 2	No
Tower 3	No
Tower 4	No
Comment	Strictly a city and suburbs phone where there is good tower coverage. I have always been impressed with MediaTek’s single-tower coverage, but that does not reflect Australian conditions. You need multiple tower coverage to guarantee access, particularly in black spot areas.

Battery – Pass+ for typical users

mAh	5000mAh 3.89V/4.92A/19.14W
Charger, type, supplied	Not supplied Claim 45W, but cable is only 3A (usually 27W)
PD, QC level	PD 3
Qi, wattage	N/A
Reverse Qi or cable.	N/A
Test (60Hz or adaptive screen)	Dynamic (allegedly the best battery life)
Charge % 30mins	60%
Charge 0-100%	1 hour
Charge Qi, W Using Belkin Boost Charge 15W fast wireless charge	N/A
Charge 5V, 2A	4 hours
Video loop 50%, aeroplane	23 hours 1 minute
PC Mark 3 battery	18 hours 47 minutes Accubattery 13 hours 55 minutes
GFX Bench Manhattan battery	Hung – out of memory
GFX Bench T-Rex	857.2 minutes (14.24 hours) 3356 frames
Drain 100-0% full load screen on	4 hours and 25 minutes Accubattery: 4 hours 45 minutes
mA Full load screen on	1300-1400
mA Watt idle Screen on	300-350
Estimate loss at max refresh	N/A
Estimate typical use	Most users will get 24 hours of use, and heavy users will get between 8 and 10 hours of use.
Comment	It has excellent video loop times, but this is the least demanding test. The disparity between PC Mark (18 hours 47 minutes) and Accubattery (13 hours and 55 minutes) is more about how energy efficient the SoC is. It draws quite a lot of power under load.

Sound hardware – Pass

Speakers	Stereo earpiece and down-firing speaker.
Tuning	N/A
AMP	MediaTek
Dolby Atmos decode	No
Hi-Res	N/A
3.5mm	FSA4480 UDB-C DAC
BT Codecs	SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, LDAC, LHDC v3/5 16-bit/48000Hz
Multipoint	Yes
Dolby Atmos (DA)	No
EQ	No
Mics	2 – presume one is for noise cancelling.
Test dB – all on EQ flat DA off
Volume max	84.3
Media (music)	76.5
Ring	79.5
Alarm	84
Notifications	83
Earpiece	No volume control
Hands-free	Reasonable volume
BT headphones	Average volume and channel separation

Sound quality – Passable

In summary – no bass or treble – perfect for clear voice.

Deep Bass 20-40Hz	Nil
Middle Bass 40-100Hz	Nil
High Bass 100-200Hz	Slow climb to 1kHz
Low Mid 200-400Hz	Slow climb to 1kHz
Mid 400-1000Hz	Slow climb to 1kHz
High-Mid 1-2kHz	Flattening
Low Treble 2-4kHz	Flat
Mid Treble 4-6kHz	Flat
High Treble 6-10kHz	Decline to 8kHz, slight increase to 10kHz
Dog Whistle 10-20kHz	Off the cliff
Sound Signature type	Mid for clear voice. Music quality lacks any bass or treble and lacks any vitality.
Soundstage	As wide as the phone. DA and spatial content do not give any 3D height or surround.
Comment	It is easy to be a ‘harsh’ judge, but most phones are no better. This has a decent balance between the speakers and decent left-right separation, but the micro-speakers cannot do more.

Build – Pass

The Nothing (2a) case and chassis are made of 100% plastic, which is not a bad thing and costs much less. It is also a little thicker and heavier than most.

We have two comments. The first is that there is no charger. A 45W PD charger will cost at least $60, and you will need a 5A USB-C to USB-C cable at $30 to get a fast charge.

Size (H X W x D)	161.74 x 76.32 x 8.55
Weight grams	190g
Front glass	Gorilla Glass 5 and TPM screen protector
Rear material	Transparent PMMA
Frame	PMMA
IP rating	IP54 – better than nothing
Colours	Black Milk Special Edition
Pen, Stylus support	No
In the box
Charger	No
USB cable	1m USB-C to USB-C 2.0 3W cable
Buds	No
Bumper cover	No
Comment	Use any PPS or PD charger 45W+ and 5A cable.

Teardown – repairability 5/10

Durability test

OS – Pass

It has Android 14 and should get Android 17. Nothing OS 2.5 is a quirky overlay on pure Android, meaning there are few ‘customisations’, like Motorola’s added-value gestures, etc.

Most of the text is in ‘Dot Matrix’ font. You get a choice of visual styles. Overall, things are where you expect them to be.

The under-glass fingerprint sensor was inconsistent and scored 7/10 on the repetitive test. This reflects the occasional lack of screen responsiveness when it is doing something behind the scenes.

Android	14
Security patch date	1 July 2024
UI	Nothing OS 2.5
OS upgrade policy	Three years
Security patch policy	Four years
Bloatware	It is very clean.
Other	Nothing OS is more a skin.
Security
Fingerprint sensor location, type	Under glass – 7/10 test
Face ID	2D
Other	All security is Android 14-based
Comment	Android benefits from a third-party paid program like Trend Micro, especially for its public Wi-Fi protection.

Nothing (2a) camera – Pass

It is a basic point-and-shoot camera that is good in daylight, adequate in office light, and works well in auto night mode. The dynamic range and HDR details underwhelmed us.

That comes down to the two-sensor setup. The primary 50MP does all the work, leaving the secondary 50MP ultra-wide for one job only.

The Nothing 1 has a similar 50+50MP setup and scored 114 in the DXOMARK in the company of the Samsung S21 Ultra and just below the Apple iPhone 11. It found photo issues with exposure (dynamic range), colour accuracy, autofocus, noise, zoom and bokeh. Video issues included exposure, autofocus and colour.

Rear camera test shots

Rear Primary	Wide
MP	50MP bins to 12.5MP
Sensor	Samsung S5KGN9
Focus	PDAF
f-stop	1.9
um	1 bins to 2
FOV° (stated, actual)	72.5 to 85.1
Stabilisation	Gyro EIS and OIS
Zoom	8X and crop factor 4.2x
Rear 2	Ultrawide/Macro
MP	50MP bins to 12.5MP
Sensor	Samsung S5KJN1
Focus	Fixed
f-stop	2.2
um	.64 bins to 1.28
FOV (stated, actual)	114
Stabilisation	No
Zoom	No
Special	The camera app is basic. Night mode is automatic. There are photo, portrait, video, slow-mo, time-lapse, pano, and expert options. You can shoot in 50MP or binned (default). I suspect it is a reskinned Android camera app that uses Google Photos as the storage.
Video max	4K@30fps
Flash	Yes
Auto-HDR	Yes
QR code reader	Google Lens
Night mode	Auto

Nothing (2a) selfie

Front	Selfie
MP	32MP bins to 8.1MP
Sensor	Sony IMX615
Focus	Fixed
f-stop	2.2
um	.8 bins to 1.6
FOV (stated, actual)	79.3 to 92° for small group selfies
Stabilisation
Flash	Screen fill
Zoom	No – crop factor 5.2
Video max	1080p@60fos
Comments	We found selfies to be a little artificial in colour. There are no filters.

CyberShack’s view – Nothing (2a) is nothing to write home about

When I review smartphones, I try to envisage who the best owner of the Nothing (2a) would be.

Frankly, it is someone who cares more about style than substance, and that pretty well describes Gen Alpha (2010-2024), Gen Z (1997-2010) and maybe shallow Millennials (1981-1996). “Oh, look at that shiny, nice thing!”.

If ‘speeds and feeds’ mean anything, you would head straight to the Qualcomm-based $599 Motorola Edge 50 Fusion – the best value smartphone with Edge benefits. Or save money with the $449 Moto g84 5G – how does Motorola do it?

OPPO also has the $599 OPPO A98 5G 2023 – a class leader in many ways, which also has a Qualcomm SoC.

Samsung has the Exynos 1380-powered $549 Samsung A35 5G 2024 – lots of great features at a low price. It does not have the phone antenna coverage.

And no – Motorola, OPPO or Samsung don’t pay us to say that!

Nothing (2a) Ratings

Ratings	2024 rating – Pass 70/100
Features	75
	It is not class-leading in any area on speeds and feeds. However, it has everything expected of a $549/$599 phone. We would like to have rated it higher and given it an ‘A” for effort.
Value	75
	There are better-specified and more fully featured phones at similar prices.
Performance	75
	It is a decent SoC for typical users. Camera performance was average.
Ease of Use	75
	It is pure Android with Nothing’s quirky overlay. The 2+3+4 warranty/OS/security is more than adequate. We caution buyers that, unlike Samsung, OPPO or Motorola, this will have almost no resale or trade-in value in a few years.
Design	80
	I don’t mind the design language – you will love or hate it.
Rating out of 10	76
Final comment	It is a great second try focusing on price. I understand a Nothing (2a) Plus is coming that may address many of the issues we found. The key to this brand/phone’s success is to be different rather than the me-too speeds and feeds.