Could the Nothing Phone 2a blow the Pixel 8a and Galaxy A55 out of the water?

Could the Nothing Phone 2a blow the Pixel 8a and Galaxy A55 out of the water?،

The Nothing Phone 2a has been making headlines recently, with the most recent story giving us a glimpse of its sexy looks. Likely aimed at a mid-range price point, the device is in an ideal position to take on models like the Galaxy A55 and Pixel 8a, which have yet to be announced.

Will the Nothing Phone 2a be able to carve out a notable place among these well-known phones? Or will he even be able to evict them from their otherwise secure positions? Let's discuss it!

Before we dive in, it's important to mention that these three phones are not yet announced, so the information we have comes from rumors, hidden in the corners of the internet, and leaks.

Nothing Phone 2a prepares its Glyphs: facing the Galaxy A55 and the Pixel 8a for design points

In recent years, phone designs (including mid-range phones but also flagship phones) have suffered from what I call “design fraternity”: all designs looking very similar and exciting design changes are… well, missing.

Yes, we have little brand-specific design aspects to shake things up. Small differences in the appearance of the camera island, small changes in the hue of the main color… but nothing dramatic, nothing that makes people care about the device you're holding in your hand.

Did I not say anything? Well, we have something from Nothing… (those puns are simply irresistible). But let's be serious. Nothing in itself is capable of carrying the burden of bringing something energizing to the market. The phone maker is offering a new look for the phones with its slightly sci-fi rear design that definitely sets it apart from the competition.

I mean, even in black, this phone looks great!

Speed games: can the Nothing Phone 2a beat the Pixels and Galaxies?

But phones aren't just about looks. These are devices, after all, that we use every day (over 100 times a day). They must therefore perform. Let's talk about it.

Geekbench results for the Galaxy A55 leaked

On the other side, we have Google's competitor, the Pixel 8a. Rumors indicate that it will sport a Tensor G3 chipset, the one that currently powers the Pixel 8 series, but an underclocked version of it:

Pixel 8a Geekbench results leaked – Could the Nothing Phone 2a blow the Pixel 8a and Galaxy A55 out of the water?

Geekbench results for Pixel 8a leaked

And then comes our main character. In an interview with Digital Trends, Nothing's Carl Pei revealed that the Phone 2a will sport a bespoke Dimensity 7200 Pro chipset, manufactured using a 4nm process. The new chip is said to offer an 18% increase in performance over the Phone 1 (with Snapdragon 778G+) with 16% lower power consumption.

Overall, expect to see Nothing Phone 2a performance somewhere between Phone 1 and 2:

*We added the Galaxy A54 results to this table for more context. The A55 would be better, as you can see above. The Pixel 7a is also here for reference.

Here's how things look with the Geekbench results:

Pixel 8a (allegedly): single-core: 1218 (I wonder why?) against 1437 on Pixel 7amulti: 3175 against 3461 activated Pixel 7a.
Galaxy A55(allegedly): single-core: 1180 against 994 on A54, multi: 3536 against 2765 on A54.
Nothing Phone 2a: we do not yet have concrete results, but expect performance 18% higher than that of Phone 1 (single 1035, multi 2933)

Of course, Geekbench results, numbers, and percentages don't always reflect the actual experience with a device. Software optimizations are also essential when we talk about performance. In the same interview, Carl Pei mentions some software optimizations that the company used to optimize performance. One example is Smart Clean which helps increase read/write speeds after prolonged use. What this all boils down to is that it's quite possible that the Nothing Phone 2a is a very capable device. If Nothing does things right, it could be just as good as the A55 or the Pixel 8a. Once released, we will test these phones and make sure.

Last but not (certainly, not at all) least: the price

Price is, of course, one of the main motivations for people to choose mid-range models: you probably don't want to spend more than $1,000 on a phone. And if the Nothing Phone 2a is able to undercut the competition, while delivering the promised great performance and great design, we might have a winner.

As we've already mentioned, none of these three phones have been released yet, so they don't have an official price. So here's what we know from the leaks and rumors.

The expected price for the Galaxy A55 is the same as its predecessor – $449. Rumors also speak of a possible price hike of $50 (this is not confirmed, however). If that turns out to be the case, the A55 could cost $500.

On the other hand, the Pixel 8a should be around the same price, $499. Judging by the price rise on the Pixel 8 However, it's possible that the price of the 8a could climb even further, to around $549.

And then comes the Nothing Phone 2a. Rumors here speak of a more attractive price, around €349 for the 8/128 GB model, and €399 for the 12/156 GB model. Yes, the disclosed price is in euros… and when we talk about phones, the price is not always directly converted (for financial reasons that I will not discuss for the moment). But even though the Phone 2a starts at $400 in the US, it still steals the show.

As you can see, the Phone 2a is shaping up to be a serious contender for the boys from Google and Samsung. The compelling design, promising performance, and excellent price (if all of this turns out to be true!) could be just what mid-range buyers need. And in general, what the smartphone market needs.

Overall, these are just my guesses based on rumors and expectations. Only time will tell whether I'm right or not – but as the release of the Nothing Phone 2a draws near, I'm eager to find out if I was right. And most likely, many mid-range buyers will be happy to know this too!