Taking a page from the unconventional marketing playbook of OnePlus, Nothing (which just so happens to be owned by a OnePlus co-founder) continues to build buzz around its next big phone in the most unorthodox of ways, debunking rumors on Twitter and going on record with tech publications to reveal various details and selling points ahead of said handset’s proper March 5 announcement.
Widely expected until very recently to pack a MediaTek Dimensity 7200 processor, the Nothing Phone (2a) is now confirmed to opt for a different chipset from the same manufacturer. This is the Dimensity 7200 Pro, which Nothing says will make a world of difference… even though the name may not exactly suggest a major improvement.
Interestingly, this is a processor no other device has ever used, in part because it was “co-engineered” by MediaTek in partnership with Nothing specifically for the (upper) mid-range 2a. This is actually the smartphone maker’s first collaboration with the China-based semiconductor giant after the Nothing Phone (1) and Phone (2) both employed Qualcomm Snapdragons, and according to Carl Pei, the decision to go on a different route this time around relied largely on finding the best “balance between power efficiency and speed.”
Of course, one can safely assume that production costs played an important role in the decision-making process as well, especially given that we (naturally) expect the Nothing Phone (2a) to be priced lower than its slightly higher-end forerunners.
How much lower we don’t yet know (for sure, at least), but excitingly enough, Pei claims that “the Phone 2a is a clear upgrade from Phone 1”, providing 13 percent more raw power and a 16 percent gain in efficiency “in terms of battery consumption.”
The Nothing Phone (2a) is not being pitted against the Nothing Phone (2) in the same departments just yet for… fairly obvious reasons, and while Carl Pei is ready to reveal this next mobile device will also pack up to a whopping 12GB RAM, its target audience will apparently be composed of “people less concerned about the latest specs, and more about core functionalities matched with great performance and Nothing’s signature design both inside and out.”
You can probably consider that an indirect corroboration of the most recently leaked design, which is arguably a lot flashier and more in tune with Nothing’s “core” aesthetic values than what previously made the rounds on social media, although you’ll have to wait a bit more for actual, proper, and complete confirmation of… everything that’s not etched in stone at this moment.
