With two phones under its belt, the Phone 1 and Phone 2, Nothing is rumored to be developing a new handset which will be more affordable and could be unveiled during MWC 2024. The report includes an image of the rear of the Phone 2a which shows a different Glyph light design and claims that the ‘Phone 2a' could eschew Qualcomm in favor of MediaTek for its choice of processor.
More Affordable?
Nothing's Phone 2 is decidedly more premium in terms of hardware than its predecessor being powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset and featuring an upgraded camera setup. But, according to Dylan Roussel's post on X (formerly Twitter), the Phone 2a will be a move in the opposite direction to appeal to the more budget-conscious consumer with MediaTek's Dimensity 7200 processor being tipped as the handsets' powerplant.
This makes sense in terms of bang-for-your-buck with the Dimensity 7200 offering greater performance than Qualcomm's Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chipset.
As with previous handsets, Nothing is continuing to give its models video game-themed codenames. The Phone 1 was “SpaceWar”, the Phone 2 was known as “Pong”, and the Phone 2a is codenamed “Pacman” and has the model number of A142.
Hopefully, the Phone 2a will be priced similar to the Phone 1 which launched with a £399 ($500) price tag so it can compete with the likes of the Pixel 7a and OnePlus Nord 3.
Phone 2a Design
As you can see from Roussel's rendered video above, the Phone 2a Glyph design is somewhat different to that on the Phone 2's rear panel with the three lighting elements located around the now-centered camera housing. The top left element would appear to allow for granular control, ostensibly for use with app notifications.
When Will The Phone 2a Launch?
While Nothing hasn't officially said it's working on the Phone 2a, the brand has given notice that it will hold an event during MWC 2024 in Barcelona on February 27. This event carries the “Nothing to see” tagline which is a nice play on words by Nothing. Frankly, it's great to see a brand have fun with its marketing strategies in a world where most other smartphone makers will probably just say something about being smoother or faster.
Details on just how affordable the Phone 2a will be and where it will be released are still under wraps and will likely stay that way until the February 27th event. From the leaked information we can assume that Nothing is moving to a two phone lineup consisting of a budget-friendly model and then a more premium model such as the Phone 3 later in 2024.
As well as launching the Phone 2a at MWC 2024, we expect Nothing to tease the more premium Phone 3 as well.
Final Thoughts
One thing we can be sure of is that Nothing will start its customary marketing strategy of drip-feeding features and specifications of the Phone 2a in the runup to MWC 2024. In the meantime, let us know in the comments below what you think of the Phone 2a's reported switch from Qualcomm to MediaTek's Dimensity 7200, and if it would affect your decision to upgrade from the original Phone 1.
