Maroc - THECEKODOK.COM - A La Une - 12/Sep 18:56

Nothing Phone (2a) Plus Review – More and More!

I've been using the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus for a few weeks now as a daily phone. All I can say is that it's a perfect iteration of Nothing OS's premium mid-range device. The Phone (2a) Plus should be launched instead of the Phone (2a), so is it worth buying this device or should I just stick with the Nothing Phone (2a)?SPECIFICATION AND DESIGN6.7″ AMOLED screen, 1084 x 2412 (394 PPI)Gorilla Glass 5, 30Hz-120Hz, 1300 nitsMediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro chip (4nm)2x 3.0 GHz Cortex-A7156x 2.0 GHz Cortex-A510Mali-G610 MC4 GPURear Camera 50 MP, f/1.88, OIS & EIS50MP, f/2.24K 30fps, 1080p 60fps1080p 120fps (Slo-Mo)TrueLens Engine, Ultra XDR,Portrait OptimizerFront Camera 50 MP f/2.2Audio Stereo speakersBiometrics Under-screen fingerprint scannerIP54 protection5000mAh battery50WPrice RM1,999 12/256 GBThere is no difference in the design except the color choice of the device. On the back of the Phone (2a) Plus, there are still three white LED strips for the Glyph system and the design elements also remain the same, taking inspiration from the map of the New York subway system. The color I tested was Gray, which looks neater and has a bit of retro futuristic style.It's a bit disappointing that there aren't more cheerful color options or Glyph RGB lighting since this is a Plus model. According to Nothing, this device is for those who want a more powerful Nothing OS device than a typical mid-range device but don't want to spend more for a flagship device. The arrangement of physical buttons, screen design, camera arrangement and others are still the same as Nothing Phone (2a).Another color option is black which I find less attractive because it is too dark making the back pattern more hidden. Nothing also still does not use a dull finish that contributes to a lot of sweat, oil and fingerprints on the back panel of the device.SCREENIf you've read the specification table above, yes it's true – the device still uses an AMOLED screen sized with FHD+ resolution with Gorilla Glass 5 protection, 1300 nits brightness and an adaptive refresh rate of 30Hz-120Hz. The screen supports HDR 10+ display but does not support any HDR streaming on streaming platforms. Instead it is limited to displaying Ultra HDR videos and photos through Google Photos only.The screen of this device is quite good, the quality of the OLED used is also without any problems and the use for several weeks is fast and smooth. Despite not using LTPO technology, the adaptive system in Nothing OS is quite good at displaying appropriate content without sacrificing battery usage.BIOMETRIC SYSTEMAlthough the same fingerprint scanner is still used, which is the optical type, it feels faster than the Nothing Phone (2a). This is probably due to good software optimization.USAGE AND SOFTWARE – NOTHING OS, DIMENSITY 7350 PROI said in the review Phone (2a), it is a device that can!. On this Phone (2a) Plus I'm sure it's getting better! There aren't many major changes given to Nothing OS 2.6 running apart from some new widgets and new AI features that other Nothing devices have received in the new update as this article is being written.Nothing OS brings a concept more or less the same as OnePlus, that is, an operating system on a mid-range device brings a user experience similar to a flagship device. The only noticeable difference is in the Glyph setting which does not support automatic brightness. Virtual memory is also now supported with user configurable up to an additional 8GB. Widget News is an AI news reader that sums up the 8 latest news based on the user's favorite topics.The Android version is also still 14 with Android 15 now in the internal testing stage and with selected community members only. Nothing OS 2.6 on the Phone (2a) Plus also allows Gemini to be accessed if you have a Google One AI Premium subscription. There aren't many changes to Nothing OS right now because Nothing wants to keep the changes in the upcoming Nothing OS 3.0 as well as the AI ​​version of Nothing OS for Phone (3) next year.PERFORMANCE AND BENCHMARKS – Dimensity 7350 ProSince the Phone (2a Plus) is still a mid-range device, gaming performance will still be limited and more or less the same as the Phone (2a). It only supports Geekbench AI, Geekbench 6, AnTuTu 3D as well as 3DMark Wild Life Extreme. More annoyingly, the benchmark score of this device with the Dimensity 7350 Pro chip is about the same as the Phone (2a) with the Dimensity 7200 Pro chip.In addition I also include the benchmark scores of Dimensity 8200 Ultimate (Infinix GT 20 Pro), and Dimensity 7200 Ultra (Redmi Note 13 Pro+),Antutu 3DNothing Phone (2a) Plus – 774,822Nothing Phone (2a) – 685,115Infinix GT 20 Pro – 933,015Redmi Note 13 Pro+ – 757,180Geekbench 6Nothing Phone (2a) Plus – 1175/2604Nothing Phone (2a) – 1110/2589Infinix GT 20 Pro – 1244/3516Redmi Note 13 Pro+ – 1127/2658Geekbench AINothing Phone (2a) Plus – 845/841/1650Nothing Phone (2a) – N/AInfinix GT 20 Pro – N/ARedmi Note 13 Pro+ – N/A3DMark Wild Life ExtremeNothing Phone (2a) Plus – 1172Nothing Phone (2a) – 1157Infinix GT 20 Pro – 1736Redmi Note 13 Pro+ – N/ANothing OS is very smart in memory usage. It knows when a game with high graphics like COD Mobile is being played, the power consumption in the background and memory is transferred to the game. It's just that when the play session ends, the system takes a little extra time to recover and smooth again, which makes the device lag a bit when returning to the home screen.TELEPHONY AND GPSVery good Dimensity 7350 Pro on this device has good and stable modem support. WiFi connection is good with always a full signal, while 5G or 4G mobile data usage is also stable. A small problem occurs with GPS because Waze or Google Maps takes quite a long time to lock the location.CAMERAThe camera is also hmmm... for this Plus model it still uses the same 50MP dual-camera on the back. This means Ultra HDR picture support is still possible, good portrait mode pictures are also not a problem, 2x zoom is also neater and most importantly, details can be preserved as well as possible. The big change is in the selfie camera which now uses a 50MP sensor.After using it for a few weeks, I can feel that Nothing is trying to mimic the Pixel's color profile which is focusing on HDR but unfortunately Nothing is overkill. HDR results are sometimes too orange and yellowish like a fake HDR filter. Anyway, the other mods still look good just begs the question for the price of RM1999 is the Nothing camera better or the Zeiss camera on the vivo V40? The answer is, you can see for yourself that even though the vivo V40 has Zeiss, it's only beautiful in portrait and night mode – everything else is topped by Nothing.Auto mode, indoors – close range. Neat bokeh effect, interesting colors.Auto mode, people in building – yellow light. Details are well preserved.Auto mode, 2x zoom night – good colors but not perfect details.Auto mode, night – portrait, pretty good trying to preserve details.Portrait mode, in moving train – neat, good details but inconsistent colors.Auto mode, 1x – daytime – has an HDR effect and gives satisfactory results.Auto mode during Golden Hour in Berlin is difficult to focus.Ultra wide angle mode – less distortion and beautiful colors.Eye-pleasing auto, 1x and Ultra HDR modes.Right, a selfie in a dark room with the screen as Flash. Left, portrait mode selfie in the same condition without Flash. 50MP selfie is ummphh.Video Recording ExampleFor video recording, after testing for several times I found the overall quality is still more or less the same as the Nothing Phone (2a) with not a single drastic change.AUDIOThe audio system still remains with stereo and collaboration with Dolby Atmos. The output audio is still balanced and loud when it is at 70% and above. I just don't like that the sound level on this device is not consistent with different applications like below 70% for the majority of popular applications like Facebook, TikTok and YouTube is too slow but 75% is already too loud.BATTERYIf on the Nothing Phone (2a) with extreme use I can receive 5 hours SOT and normal use over 6 hours, the Phone (2a) Plus has no problem reaching up to 7-9 hours SOT. Although the chip is only slightly more powerful, it is more efficient. I'm also thankful that the 45W fast charging has been changed to 50W giving some peace of mind charging the device when the battery starts to run low.WHAT'S IN THE BOX?1x Nothing Phone (2a) Plus1x USB-C to USB-C Cable1x SIM Pin1x Set of manual and safety bookCONCLUSIONFor the price of RM1,999, it is actually quite expensive for a mid-range device that still looks normal in the eyes of the public. While this Glyph feature is useful, it still counts as a gimmick because not many users want to relearn new ways to use the device. This makes people wonder, it is better to buy vivo V40 with Zeiss camera also for about the same price. After testing and comparison done in our lab, vivo is only strong in night and portrait mode but otherwise for Nothing Phone (2a) Plus camera is still beautiful.Don't forget that Funtouch OS on vivo is also full of ads, unlike Nothing OS which is beautiful and neat like stock Android with a few interface changes. For design, in my eyes Phone (2a) Plus looks more modern and beautiful than vivo. Then the update support by Nothing is 3+4 years while vivo is only 50 months. So in other words, for long-term use and a quieter experience – I'm sure Nothing is a smart choice.PROGood screen and fast.The design is the same, but the color choice is more interesting.Useful glyphs.Fast performance and Nothing OS is quite stable.Battery lasts longer and now charges fast.CONSThe screen does not support HDR streaming on most streaming platforms.First off not fast enough.Does not have wireless charging.No drastic changes, but prices are getting more expensive.