Budget phones are a bit like a treasure hunt—poke around and you’ll usually find where manufacturers cut corners to keep the price down. The key is to find the phone with trade-offs you can live with. If you’re all about solid build quality and great cameras, the iPhone SE might be your best bet, though it sacrifices screen quality and battery life. If you crave a big, vibrant display, the Samsung Galaxy A54 has you covered. For those who need excellent software and camera performance, the Pixel 7A is a strong choice at $350. And if you’re looking for something that stands out visually, this particular phone is worth considering.
This phone might not win any awards for the best specs or camera quality in the budget category, and its performance won’t blow you away. But when it comes to looks, it could easily be the most stylish $350 phone out there. Nothing has been all about that transparent, unique design, and this phone definitely keeps up with that trend. There’s even a white version that I think looks great with its contrasting black buttons, but the dark version has its own cool vibe.
The design features dual cameras placed centrally and high up, almost like eyes, with an NFC coil wrapping around them. The LED bars around the camera circle create a glyph design that’s pretty eye-catching. The phone sports a split design that’s inspired by PCB elements and, supposedly, the New York City subway map. Reactions to this design are mixed—some people love it, while others are not fans. It’s definitely unconventional and visually interesting, with its textures, exposed screws, and a little red square that’s there just for style.
If you like the look but aren’t ready to switch phones, dbrand has “Something” skins that mimic this design, available in both light and dark modes. Check out the link below if you’re interested. Even with its standout appearance, remember that in this competitive price range, you’ll have to make some trade-offs.
So, first things first—the back of this phone is made of clear plastic, not glass. It’s probably going to scratch more easily than glass would, but it’s also less likely to shatter if you drop it. Personally, I think it’s a fair trade-off. The frame is textured plastic that looks like aluminum, and it gives the phone a surprisingly light feel despite its size.
Speaking of size, this phone is huge. It’s definitely on the jumbo side, and while that might not be everyone’s cup of tea, a lot of people really dig those big screens. The perks are pretty clear: a larger screen means a bigger battery and a more immersive display. You’re looking at a massive 6.7-inch screen here—pretty much an ultra-phone. It gets bright enough, too, with a peak brightness of 1300 nits, which is plenty for most indoor lighting situations, even if it’s not quite at flagship levels.
The bezels are nice and slim all around, giving the phone a sleek look. And despite the affordable price, the front of this phone is pretty impressive. You’ve got an AMOLED display, an optical fingerprint reader under the glass, a refresh rate that goes up to 120Hz, and even 2160Hz PWM dimming. So, while the back might not win any beauty contests, the front is definitely worth the $350 price tag.
One of the biggest strengths of this phone is definitely its battery life. You know, battery performance usually comes down to three main things: having a big battery, good software, and an efficient chip. We’ll dive into the software later, but let’s talk about the battery first. This phone has a massive 5000-milliamp-hour battery, which is actually bigger than what you’ll find in their flagship models from Nothing. It doesn’t support wireless charging, but it does come with 45-watt wired charging, which means you can go from zero to full in about an hour.
Now, let’s talk about the chip. It’s running on the MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro. I have to admit, I was a bit worried about this because Nothing tends to hype up their specs. When I found out it was a MediaTek chip, I wasn’t sure how it would stack up against other phones I’ve used. Nothing showcased some benchmark results, but they only compared it to the older Nothing Phone 1, which had a Qualcomm 778G Plus.
I wasn’t expecting top-tier performance at a $350 price point, but I was curious to see how it would perform in real life. I’ve been pleasantly surprised. While it might not win any awards for raw specs or benchmark scores, it actually performs quite well. The real highlight here is how well the software and hardware work together.
This phone runs on Nothing OS 2.5 with Android 14. If you’ve seen Nothing Phone’s unique design with those dots and clean interface before, you know what to expect. It’s minimalistic, with no bloatware, and really focuses on speed and smoothness. It kind of reminds me of the old OnePlus phones in terms of user experience.
In everyday use, the phone feels smooth and responsive. There might be a slight hiccup with the fingerprint reader at first, but other than that, tasks like texting, switching between apps, browsing the web, and taking photos are all handled effortlessly. It’s pretty similar to what you get with the Nothing Phone 1 and the 778 chip. For daily use, it’s solid, though if you’re into high-end gaming, you might notice some frame drops. But honestly, for a $350 phone, it’s hard to complain.
Nothing has had time to really develop its unique style and identity, and it shows. Whether you love or hate their approach, it’s definitely distinct.
The phone’s design revolves around a dots theme. You’ll see it in the stock apps, with a sleek, thin font and even the back arrow in Android made up of dots. They’ve also expanded their selection of Nothing-themed widgets, all keeping to this dot pattern, which helps create a unified look on your home screen.
There are some neat touches, like the option to enlarge a single app icon so it takes up four spots on your home screen, giving you a unique grid layout. And if you’re into animations, the folders on the home screen come with a cool little animation. Plus, there’s a new feature that lets you add a glass effect to your wallpaper, making it blurred behind your home screen for better visibility. I actually think this is a pretty nice touch.
The phone now offers AI-generated wallpapers, so you can whip up some eye-catching art with just a few taps. It might be a bit generic at times, but it’s a fun feature. You can also use third-party icon packs with instant previews right on your home screen. And, of course, the phone still has those signature glyph lights.
This model has fewer lights than the flagship Phone 2, but it still packs a punch. You’ve got a vertical light on the right, a small one on the bottom left, and a big arc-shaped one on the top left. This last one works with the glyph countdown timer, which could be handy.
The notification glyph lights up when your phone is idle, though I’d love to see more customization options. It’s stuck with white lights, but if it had RGB, I’d be all in for different colors for different notifications. Despite that, it still does a great job and even syncs with your music for some cool visual effects.
Some of these features might seem a bit gimmicky, and you might only use them once in a while. For example, I rarely use the countdown clock, but when I do, it’s actually kind of fun. I had some trouble with the glyph composer on this phone—the UI worked, but the lights on the back didn’t activate. The glyph fill flash can be handy for close-up shots, though it’s hit or miss.
Now, let’s talk about the camera. The rear cameras on this phone are pretty practical. They’re not going to blow your mind, but they do the job. When we review budget phones, we expect the cameras won’t be top-notch, but it’s still worth testing them out.
This phone comes with a new 50-megapixel primary camera, plus the same ultra-wide and selfie cameras as the Nothing Phone 2. The pictures are decent—nothing extraordinary, but good enough. Even though it has a 50-megapixel sensor, the photos can sometimes be a bit soft, and the dynamic range and depth of field aren’t impressive. It’s not a phone for capturing the most artistic shots.
What it does well is being functional. The camera is quick enough for autofocus, capturing moments, scanning documents, making video calls, and sharing photos. It handles all these tasks just fine, and I can’t really complain.
What’s nice is that this budget model keeps many of the features from the flagship phones. The only real thing missing is macro mode. I appreciate that they haven’t stripped away too many features to cut costs, making this feel like a more affordable version of the Nothing Phone experience.
Of course, there are some trade-offs: no wireless charging, IP54 instead of IP68, and plastic instead of glass and aluminum. But when you use the phone, especially with its software features, it doesn’t feel like there are as many cutbacks compared to other budget phones.
So, you’re not missing out on anything with the camera on this budget phone. It has all the advanced settings, experimental features, and home screen goodies you’d get with Nothing OS on their pricier models. At first, it might seem like they’re comparing this to the older Phone 1 just to make it look better, and your instinct might be to think, “Of course, they’re comparing it to an old model.”
But when you really look at the two, the improvements become clear. The Nothing Phone 2A has a bigger, brighter screen with thinner bezels, a larger battery with faster charging, a faster processor, a higher-resolution front camera, and more refresh rate options than the Phone 1. It’s no wonder they’re showcasing the difference.
In a nutshell, if you’re after a solid, reliable budget phone, this one’s a great pick. With Nothing promising three years of Android updates, the Phone 2A should be a fantastic choice for the next few years. Well done, Nothing!
