The Nothing Phone 2a was a unique, affordable phone that stood out due to its unique Glyph Lights, customizable software, and colorful photos. When Digital Trend’s Andy Boxall reviewed it, he recommended it highly, saying, “The Nothing Phone 2a’s low price, fun design, colorful photos, strong performance, and masses of customization make it a brilliant buy.”
All this may have given you high hopes for something really unique with Nothing’s newest smartphone, the Nothing Phone 2a Plus. Unfortunately, the company has just teased the device, and it looks virtually identical to the Nothing Phone 2a — down to the transparent back that shows the wireless charging coils and the distinctive Glyph Lights that give you customizable LEDs.
The color option here is a sleek and shiny silver; Nothing calls it “silver surfer,” which seems like a fitting comparison. Overall, it’s not a bad-looking phone; it’s just not very distinctive in appearance, and it’ll be easy to confuse the Nothing Phone 2a and Nothing Phone 2a Plus if you see them in the wild.
On the plus side, there are significant spec changes that will be a step up from the Nothing Phone 2a. According to Nothing, the Plus model will have the new MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro processor with 8 cores that can clock to 3.0Ghz. In theory, that should make the Nothing Phone 2a Plus 10% faster than the Nothing Phone 2a and 30% faster for gaming/graphics with the Mali-G610MC4 GPU.
It appears we’re also looking at 12GB RAM with an 8GB RAM booster, which turns some of your storage into memory for more intensive tasks, though this seems like something of a gimmick, with many users of the Nothing Phone 2a recommending that you turn the feature off.
Cameras are also getting a bump up, with an upgraded 50-megapixel selfie camera replacing the 32MP front sensor on the Nothing Phone 2a. You can expect similar camera performance as the Phone 2a since it seems like neither of the dual 50MP rear sensors has gotten an upgrade, which isn’t a bad thing since the Nothing Phone 2a took solid, colorful photos and was enjoyable to use.
The Nothing Phone 2a Plus is expected to be officially launched on July 31, so we’ll soon have all the details about the phone, including its availability and pricing.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.
Apple's next cheaper iPhone could get a brand-new processor while keeping its most stubborn display compromise. Digital Chat Station tips the iPhone 18e for a 2027 release with a 2nm A20 chip and a 6.12-inch OLED screen still limited to 60Hz.
The rumored camera setup includes a single 48MP rear camera and a possible 24MP selfie camera. There's new hardware to consider, but buyers hoping Apple would extend that upgrade generosity to smoother scrolling could be disappointed.