Widely known as one of the most reliable (and prolific) mobile tech leakers in the world for several years now, Steve Hemmerstoffer uncharacteristically dropped the ball a couple of weeks ago with Nothing Phone (2a) renders that quickly proved to be fake, purportedly pertaining to a design that was considered and ultimately rejected in the handset's pre-production process.
While there's obviously no way to verify the authenticity of this fresh batch of leaked product depictions either, they certainly fit Nothing's "Fresh Eyes" tagline, looking considerably more distinctive and eye-catching than the previous images.
If anything were to prove inaccurate this time around, we're probably going to talk about minor details rather than something as major as, say, the horizontal alignment of the two shooters on the back of the Nothing Phone (2a) or the presence of glyph lights around that one-of-a-kind circular camera island.
Love it or hate it, this bad boy's rear panel is definitely... original, even compared with how the "regular" Nothing Phone 2 looks from behind. The size of the imaging sensors strongly suggests the impending mid-ranger will be no pushover in the photography performance department, a theory supported by a number of rumors calling for both rear-facing cameras to offer 50MP resolution.
On the front, there's really not a lot of unexpected (or unconventional) to expect, with exquisitely thin bezels surrounding a screen tipped to measure 6.7 inches in diagonal and a hole punch present in the middle of said display's top to house the same 32MP selfie snapper as the non-a-branded Nothing Phone 2.
Of course, you'll have to look away from the semi-transparent design at the back of the Phone (2a) to notice the somewhat unremarkable screen in the first place, which seems easier said than done, especially as those two cameras may well feel like they're looking back at you in an undeniably hypnotic way.
Expected specs and pricing
Whether you find this newly leaked Nothing Phone (2a) design compelling or... creepy, there's really only one way to look at the handset's rumored value proposition right now: with admiration and delight.
If all the latest gossip pans out, we're dealing with a very strong candidate for the title of best budget 5G phone in 2024 here, which is likely to start at the rough equivalent of $290 in India with a respectable 8GB RAM count, 128 gigs of internal storage space, a hefty 5,000mAh battery equipped with blazing fast 45W charging technology, FHD+ screen resolution, 120Hz refresh rate support, and pre-installed Android 14 software with a proprietary Nothing OS 2.5 touch.
Perhaps the most important technical detail revealed today is the possible use of an as-yet-unreleased MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro processor, which would corroborate Carl Pei's rejection of the "standard" Dimensity 7200 rumored to go inside the Nothing Phone (2a) for quite some time now.
Yes, India and the US are two very different markets, which makes us expect the Nothing Phone (2a) to set you back at least $400 stateside in an entry-level configuration and... significantly more with 256GB storage and 12GB RAM. What's worse is that US availability is rumored to be "limited" right off the bat and unlikely to vastly improve down the line, but of course, that shouldn't harm the affordable phone's mass appeal elsewhere.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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