Carl Pei teases a new Nothing with a Pokémon: Is that the Phone 2a?

“New year, new me… new year, N… new Y… new phone”

This is how Carl Pei begins 2024. Judging by his momentum and actions so far, he's actually going to keep his promise and won't forget his New Year's resolutions like the rest of us.

With the X/Twitter post above, Carl Pei officially confirms something everyone hopes is none other than the Nothing Phone 2a: a budget mid-range that offers the same unique design as the flashy Nothing Phone 1 and the Nothing Phone 2. There's a silhouette cut out from that of Carl Pei. Post What a flying Pokémon dragon has in common with the alleged Nothing Phone 2a is not yet revealed, and there may be no need to dive deep into it, as 2024 is the Chinese Year of the Dragon.

The Nothing Phone 2a (any similarity to Google's budget Pixel 'a' line is… well, decide for yourself whether that's deliberate or not) is expected to appear soon, and it's making a lot of noise. Rumor has it that this gadget will cost half the price of its VIP sibling, the Nothing Phone 2. Tech soothsayer Roland Quandt says there will be two variants available – a not-too-shabby 8/128GB and a slightly fancier 12 . /256 GB.

If the stars align and Nothing Phone (2a) hits the US market for under $400, it will be quite a bargain with a MediaTek Dimensity 7200 chipset under the hood, a dual camera setup consisting of two 50-megapixel sensors on the back, alongside a rather generous 32-megapixel front camera. Coming to the display, it features a 6.7-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with an expected refresh rate of 120Hz.

The big reveal is rumored for MWC 2024 on February 27, during the curiously named “Nothing to See” event.