The Nothing Phone (2a) was announced this week – the first attempt at a mid-ranger from the company. Nothing has been a stylish value-for-money brand since its inception and it’s quite clear with the (2a).
This £320 mid-ranger packs a large 6.7” 120Hz AMOLED display (10-bit colors) with FHD+ resolution with Gorilla Glass 5 (and IP54 dust and water resistance). It has a very similar 50+50MP rear and 32MP front camera setup to the more premium Phone (2).
Inside is a larger 5,000mAh battery with 45W charging (but no wireless charging). The phone’s Dimensity 7200 Pro chipset beats the 778G of the original Phone (1), though it’s not as fast as the chipset in the Phone (2). Note that 4 extra gigs of RAM and double the storage cost only £30 more – well worth the upgrade. Also, you can pick up the phone with a free pair of CMF Buds Pro (worth £50 on their own).
Right now the 12/256GB Nothing Phone (2) is £550 and the 512GB variant is £620. We’ve seen it lower at £530 and £560 in recent weeks, but it’s still quite a premium over the a-model. That premium does buy some nice things – the faster Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, for one, which also enables 4K @ 60fps video recording (the Dimensity tops out at 4K @ 30fps). And the 6.7” display is an LTPO panel (still FHD+ resolution, though), plus there is 15W wireless charging.
For £555 you can have a Pixel 8 with 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage. It will be supported for 7 years, however, unlike the Nothings, which are only getting 3 OS updates and 4 years of patches. The Pixel doesn’t have a 50MP ultra wide camera, just 12MP. This phone is noticeably smaller with a 6.2” display (120Hz FHD+ OLED) and a 4,575mAh battery (27W wired and 18W wireless charging). The phone is rated IP68, which is much better than the IP54 of the two Nothing phones.
The Honor 90 is a closer alternative to the Nothing Phone (2a) with an 8/256GB model going for £350. It also has a 6.7” 120Hz 10-bit OLED display, but with slightly higher 1,200 x 2,664px resolution. The main camera has a 200MP sensor with great 2x in-sensor zoom and a 12MP ultra wide. A standout on this one is the 50MP selfie camera with a 100° lens. The battery is just as big at 5,000mAh and a bit faster with 66W wired-only charging. The Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset trades blows with the Dimensity, though it is a bit weaker overall.
For a lot less money you can have the Honor 90 Lite instead. This one switches to a 90Hz LCD for its 6.7” display and drops the resolution to FHD+. The Dimensity 6020 chipset is noticeably weaker too. The main camera has a 100MP sensor, but the ultra wide has just a 5MP sensor and the selfie camera is a 16MP module with a basic lens. The 4,500mAh battery supports 35W wired charging. In short, the Lite is not nearly as good as its sibling, but it does cost 45% less for the same RAM and storage configuration.
If you’re bored with bar phones and scrolled past the ones above, here’s a flip foldable – the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra. It has the same Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset as the Nothing Phone (2) and a larger 6.9” 165Hz LTPO AMOLED display (also FHD+). This tucks neatly inside when folded, leaving you with a 3.6” 144Hz OLED cover display. The 12+12MP camera is a letdown and the 3,800mAh battery doesn’t last very long (it does 30W wired and 5W wireless charging).
Last week we looked at some new iPhone and iPhone Plus models, this week Amazon has an offer on refurbished iPhone Pro Max units on offer. These are sold as “renewed premium”, meaning that they come with a one-year Amazon Renewed Guarantee and a battery with at least 90% life.
The Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max is the priciest of the bunch, of course, but the gap between the 256GB and 512GB model is small (around £30), so you may as well get the extra storage.
Only 128GB units are left from the iPhone 13 Pro Max. This one lacks the 48MP main camera of the 14 Pro Max and the satellite SOS feature. Also, this generation was the last one before the switch to LTPO Displays with Dynamic Island.
The iPhone 12 Pro Max is available with 256GB storage for a bit less. This one is largely similar to the 13 Pro Max save for the older chipset and shorter zoom (2.5x vs. 3x).
There are also some iPhone 12 Pro units left over, starting at £500 for the 128GB model (with a few 256GB examples available too). This one is smaller with a 6.1” display and has only a 2x zoom camera (52mm).
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