This is the Nothing Phone 2a. If there is a world’s most beautiful cell phone tournament, it has the chance to win. And this is Nothing Phone’s former brother, OnePlus’ new Ace 3V. Coincidentally, we both got them for $330. And this Nothing Phone (2a) has been getting a lot of positive reviews lately, so I guess you’re also wondering, is this phone really as unbeatable as they say it is? The OnePlus Ace 3V should be taking on the challenge.
Unbox experience
The Nothing Phone really does a good job in the unboxing experience. With the eco-friendly material, customized charging cables, and card pins, there should be no one else in the same price range that can do better than this phone.
In comparison, the Ace 3V is rather ordinary and nothing special. However, the Nothing Phone (2a) doesn’t come with a free charger, while the Ace 3V gets one away, and it’s a 100W. Which one has a better unboxing experience varies from person to person, but I’m definitely the one who prefers having a charger included.
Design & Display
When I put the two phones side by side, they don’t seem to be in the same price range. Of course, the Nothing Phone’s strong point is the unique look. A lot of Youtubers have already explained in great detail about its design and how cool the LED lights on the back. I won’t repeat it. They didn’t lie, it’s indeed a flagship phone design caliber.
Look at the Ace 3V next to it, that’s the average level of most $300 phones. With that really hilarious flash, I’m sure anyone would have no hesitation in picking up the Nothing Phone (2a).
The front of the 2a is also as good as ever. If I am not wrong, it was the first phone under $400 with equal-width bezels on all four sides. Even the Ace 3V has thin bezels, but the overall look is still far behind the 2a. The bad news is that the specs aren’t as good as they look on the outside. It’s not bad, it’s just not that good. the Ace 3V is a little bit better in terms of screen quality, but the difference is barely noticeable. Personally, I’m willing to give the 2a a thumbs up.
Benchmark & Gaming
Well, the next part is a bit cruel for Nothing Phone (2a). Because Qualcomm recently released the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3, the Dimensity 7200 Pro from Nothing Phone (2a) looks …… too weak. As for the appearance, it’s hard to believe that these two phones are in the same price range.
While playing big games, I could feel the 2a begging me: Please, stop torturing me. Meanwhile, the Ace 3V is challenging those flagship phones. Even if the temperature gets higher, its gaming experience has touched that line of flagship phones. To take care of Nothing Phone (2a)’s little heart, let’s play some games where the load isn’t as heavy.
PUBG Mobile is a game that runs smoothly on any phone. Although Nothing Phone (2a) can only have extreme frame rates at smooth graphics, at least it’s finally smooth to play. I must say, the 7+ Gen 3 is a great processor. Even if the smoothness is all about the same, the power consumption can be lower. If you are a big gamer or want your phone to last longer, the OnePlus Ace 3V is definitely the better choice.
Camera
Both phones have a camera system that uses a combination of a main camera plus an ultra-wide camera. There is no telephoto camera and no macro camera. Let’s talk about the ultra-wide camera first. the Nothing Phone uses a larger 50 MP sensor, and the Ace 3V still has that 8 MP one. So whether it’s day or night, the clarity is definitely better on the 2a.
Sadly though, just when I thought the Nothing Phone was going to win, it surprised me. Take a look at this photo, check the corners, then check the center. Em…… this chromatic aberration problem is much worse than I thought. The edges are all red. It’s even more noticeable in this photo, you can see the leaves with some ringing artifacts.
Let me show you something a little funnier. In the video recording, the sky in 2a’s footage looks like it’s burning. By the way, this is a video recorded by the main camera, which means that the main camera also has this problem.
So as long as you don’t shoot at the sky and leaves, most of the photos from the main camera don’t have this issue, and every photo is vibrant and bright. But the color fringing issue is so overwhelming that I’d be hard-pressed to say the Nothing Phone (2a) has a great camera.
The Ace 3V is as stable as ever, without too many highlights and no unacceptable drawbacks to be found. Other than the ultra-wide camera being a little less sharp, it’s not much different than the 2a. I’ll vote for the Ace 3V in the camera session, just because I don’t want to screw up when I need to capture the great moments.
Charging & Battery
The 100W of wired charging wins the race for the Ace 3V, no doubt about it. But there is one thing, the Nothing Phone (2a) doesn’t need a special charger. A random PD charger can charge it at full power, which the Ace 3V can’t do.
But the Ace 3V has a 5,500mAh battery, which is also something the 2a can’t do.
In addition to the regular battery life test, we also found Nothing Phone’s standby power consumption to be particularly high in use. With AOD turned on and the background cleared, 1 hour of standby consumed 4% of the power, which is the same amount of power that other phones consume in a night of standby. This is the most unacceptable thing about this phone.
So for the charging and battery session, I would give the score to the OnePlus Ace 3V.
Conclusion
After a series of comparisons, the Nothing Phone (2a) does perform well in some areas, such as the beautiful design and screen. The weak point is that the processor is outdated, which makes you worry about lagging after a few years of use. The camera and battery life also need to be improved. The OnePlus Ace 3V is really impressive with its high performance and big battery. Unfortunately, it’s a little bit uglier, making it look inferior to the 2a. There’s also no global version at the moment, so you can’t buy it anywhere except China.
Which one is better, I’ll leave the answer to you. But I’m sure that Nothing Phone (2a) is not as good as “they” say it is.
At least it won’t be the best mid-range phone of 2024, because there are still 8 months left for the big brands to create their best mid-range phones.
