Nothing Phone 2a leaks again, all but confirming the budget phone's design

A Nothing Phone 2a design leak.
(Image credit: Slashleaks)

What you need to know

  • After we saw a full design leak of the Nothing Phone 2a just days ago, a leaker now claims to have official press renders for the smartphone.
  • Nothing has been teasing the Nothing Phone 2a for a while, which is its budget version of the Phone 2. 
  • The official launch date for the Nothing Phone 2a is slated for March 5, and the leaks have been ramping up ahead of that date. 

After what seemed like never-ending teasers, Nothing is finally gearing up to officially launch the Nothing Phone 2a in early March. As that announcement gets closer, the Phone 2a leaks have started to ramp up. Earlier this week, a leaker claimed to have renders of the complete design of Phone 2a. Now, yet another leak all but confirms the look of the Nothing Phone 2a. 

Slashleaks now claims to have official press renders of the Nothing Phone 2a, and they look identical to the concept renders provided by OnLeaks just days earlier. That includes the eye-shaped camera bump, rudimentary Glyph interface, and transparent back. This latest batch of renders includes both white and black versions of the Nothing Phone 2a. 

On the front, you'll find a hole-punch camera cutout and fairly thin display bezels. In all, it's hard to tell much of a difference between the allegedly official press renders leaked today and OnLeaks' renders, which you can view below.  

Nothing Phone 2a renders

(Image credit: OnLeaks/ via SmartPrix)

This is the first time we've seen official-looking depictions of the Nothing Phone 2a in a white colorway. There have been plenty of errant Nothing Phone 2a leaks in the long lead-up to the phone's release, but they seem to be aligning now. The colors shouldn't be much of a surprise because Nothing also shipped Phone 1 and Phone 2 in white and black or gray colors. 

Aside from the design, Nothing has confirmed that it will go with a MediaTek processor over a Qualcomm one for the Phone 2a. It's said to be the eight-core, 2.8GHz Dimensity 7200 Pro chipset, and Nothing has stated that the company "co-engineered" the chip with MediaTek, but we aren't aware of any specific differences between the Dimensity 7200 Pro and the regular Dimensity 7200.

It could be a "Snapdragon for Galaxy" type of situation, where there are minor improvements and optimization points for the Nothing Phone 2a, but the bulk of the Dimensity 7200 Pro is the same. 

Nothing is trying to get back to its original mission with the Nothing Phone 2a. The brand was initially started as a budget, value company but drifted away from that identity with the Nothing Phone 2. Nothing recently started a budget sub-brand, CMF by Nothing, and that led to fears that the main Nothing brand would stick with higher prices. 

By all accounts, the Nothing Phone 2a looks to be a return to form for the company. To know for sure, we'll have to wait for the official March 5 launch.

Brady Snyder
Contributor

Brady is a tech journalist for Android Central, with a focus on news, phones, tablets, audio, wearables, and software. He has spent the last three years reporting and commenting on all things related to consumer technology for various publications. Brady graduated from St. John's University with a bachelor's degree in journalism. His work has been published in XDA, Android Police, Tech Advisor, iMore, Screen Rant, and Android Headlines. When he isn't experimenting with the latest tech, you can find Brady running or watching Big East basketball.