Summary
- Nothing Phone 2a boasts AMOLED display, MediaTek chipset, and 50MP dual cameras, but faces carrier issues, materials, and camera concerns.
- Despite flaws, the modestly priced Nothing Phone 2a is a hit, surpassing sales expectations and facing global stock shortages.
- Founder Carl Pei announces production ramp-up from May to June, promising improved availability for eager buyers in the coming weeks.
The Nothing Phone 2a, which is available in the US through the company’s developer program, features a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a 30–120Hz refresh rate, paired with a MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro chipset, 8/12GB of RAM and dual 50-megapixel rear shooters. However, its unreliable compatibility with US carriers, questionable material choices, and mediocre camera performance left a lot to be desired. Despite the various compromises, the Nothing Phone 2a, with its modest price of $350, has been selling like hot cakes, and getting your hands on one is even more difficult now.
Nothing Phone 2a review: Nothing you’re missing out on
In an about-face from Phone 2, Nothing’s latest is made for Europe and Asia
In a world where some of the best mid-range and budget phones like the OnePlus 12R, Samsung Galaxy S23 FE, Pixel 7a, and more exist, the Nothing Phone 2a has become an unexpected hit, smashing through the company’s sales expectations. According to founder Carl Pei on X (formerly Twitter), there’s a global stock shortage for the Nothing Phone 2a, with most SKUs being out of stock (via 9to5Google).
This, however, doesn’t come out of the blue. Pei’s thread on X regarding stock shortages started back in mid-March, when he said that the Phone 2a was selling better than expected. “We expect to face stockouts in the next few weeks,” he wrote at the time. Subsequently, in late March, Pei stated that the company had started experiencing stock outs for the white colorway globally. Fast-forward to now, and reportedly “most SKUs are out of stock.”
Expect more stock soon
Pei says that Nothing is ramping up production of the smartphone from this month into June, and potential buyers can expect availability to get less sparse in the coming weeks. Both colorways appear to be completely out of stock as of writing. Despite its trade-offs, it seems that pricing the device a tad bit lower than other mid-range competition has worked out for Nothing.
While the exact sales statistics for the Nothing Phone 2a are currently unknown, we know that Nothing sold more than 60,000 units within one hour of the Nothing Phone 2a going live, and that number grew to over 100,000 within the first 24 hours. Even if the sales maintained a fraction of that initial momentum, it wouldn’t be surprising to note that Nothing is facing difficulty maintaining enough stock.
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