This is stopping the Nothing Phone (2a) from mass US availability

Getting the Nothing Phone (2a) – currently one of the Big Kahunas in the budget segment – is not that easy. At least in the US of A, that is. To snag the Phone (2a) for $349 (12GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage), one has to sign up for Nothing’s Developer Program via their official website.

But why? Isn’t the Phone 2 available in the US?

There’s a reason for the Phone (2a)’s absence, despite the fact that its “premium-er” sibling, the Nothing Phone (2), is available in the Land of the Free and the Brave.

Android Central has the answer from Nothing co-founder Akis Evangelidis who says that it isn't the “right time to go all-in” in the U.S. just yet:



In contrast, the Ear 1 and Ear 2 (Nothing’s earbuds) are selling well in the US. Phones, however, are different, because of… carriers.

Evangelidis highlights that Nothing isn't “in a rush” and that it is looking to secure the right carrier partnership before making a full-fledged debut in the country:



The difference between the Phone (2) and the Phone (2a)’s presence in the US is that, per Evangelidis’ words, the Phone (2) was aimed at early adopters, so it was a straightforward decision to sell it directly through their site. The Phone (2a), in contrast, is intended as a mass-market device – this is where things get complicated, and the brand needs a carrier partnership.

Once upon a time, when Evangelidis and Carl Pei were at OnePlus, the Chinese brand teamed up with T-Mobile to launch the OnePlus 6T in the US. This turned sour because T-Mobile wanted phones to be available for at least 12 months after launch, and OnePlus would only sell its devices for six months — this was during the T series refresh…