Tag Archives: Phone (2a)

Nothing’s Glow-in-the-Dark Phone (2a) Plus Sparks a New Design Trend: We Need Glowing Phone Cases!

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If you loved the Nothing Phone’s glyph interface, their Community Edition phone may just absolutely capture your heart. Announced today following a lengthy community-driven design competition, the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus Community Edition made its global reveal, with a unique twist on the original phone’s design. Sure, you’ve got the Glyph Interface with LEDs that glow to make the phone’s rear panel turn into a dynamic display for notifications and alerts, but the new Community-made version of the phone comes with literal glow-in-the-dark ribbon cables that are ‘nothing’ like anything we’ve seen on any phone in the past decade!

Thanks to input from community members Astrid Vanhuyse and Kenta Akasaki, this phone stands out in a crowd—but not with power-hungry LEDs. Instead, it uses a green phosphorescent material that charges up with ambient light, glowing gently in dim settings and giving the 2(a) a dose of unique, eco-friendly style.

Designers: Astrid Vanhuyse & Kenta Akasaki for Nothing

The design shift here is significant, especially if you remember the original Phone (2) and the less glowy Phone (2a). While the Phone (2) featured bright LED glyphs, the 2(a) kept things quieter, dialing back on the glow to maintain a sleeker look. This Community Edition, though, reintroduces some of that distinctive Nothing flair, swapping LEDs for a phosphorescent effect along the phone’s ribbon cables and components. It’s a subtler, softer glow that gives the phone character without the need for extra power or flashing lights. Imagine your phone lighting up on the nightstand—not enough to keep you awake, just enough to catch your eye.

The phosphorescent material works just like those glow-in-the-dark stars you might have seen as a kid. It absorbs natural or artificial light and emits a soft glow when the lights go down. Unlike typical LEDs, it doesn’t drain the battery, giving this 2(a) a style boost without impacting battery life or performance. It’s the kind of understated cool that’s right in line with Nothing’s design philosophy: thoughtful, sustainable, and practical. Plus, it makes it easier to find in a dark room, giving the design a practical edge as well as aesthetic appeal.

The collaborative effort on this phone really says a lot about Nothing’s approach to designing for their community. The company didn’t just create the effect on its own; they opened it up to the public and sorted through more than 900 design submissions from fans across 47 countries. Out of these, Vanhuyse and Akasaki’s concept shone the brightest, resulting in a design that feels distinctively Nothing while showcasing a global community’s creativity. It’s part of Nothing’s shift toward community-centric product innovation, giving fans a real voice in shaping what they carry.

Nothing also went to great lengths to ensure this glow effect wasn’t just a gimmick but a part of the Phone (2a) Plus Community Edition’s build. The phosphorescent material is durable and seamlessly integrated, meaning it won’t interfere with the phone’s performance or longevity. You get a sturdy device with an artistic edge, a blend of tech and simplicity that fits seamlessly into daily life.

The Phone (2a) Plus Community Edition is priced at $518 USD (£399 / €449 / ₹29,999), with sales beginning on November 12. If you’re located in London, you might also grab one in person at the Nothing Soho store on November 16. There are just 1,000 units available up for grabs… so if you enjoy the idea of having a phone so dazzling that you’ll never want to put a case on it, grab one while you still can. And for anybody at dbrand or Spigen, you best believe people will want glowing cases for their iPhones and flagship Androids too!

The post Nothing’s Glow-in-the-Dark Phone (2a) Plus Sparks a New Design Trend: We Need Glowing Phone Cases! first appeared on Yanko Design.

Nothing Phone (2a) special edition in Super Nintendo-inspired colors is a conversation starter

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Nothing is evolving in the right direction with its lineup of phones and audio accessories. The brand wants to a wider chunk of the consumer market who want a device that’s not flagship-grade but still has a design distinction without going too heavy on gimmicks. Yes, I’m talking about the Phone (2a) smartphone that has the right set of specifications for normal users.

Now, Nothing Phone (2a) is coming in a special edition version that looks absolutely stunning. Especially, gamers and nerds will trip over this for sure. On pure looks, it closely resembles the Super Nintendo controller with the red, yellow and blue hues in immaculate form. Make no mistake the smartphone market is saturated and being distinct has its brownie points. The colors come from the brand’s use of these colors on the first earbuds and the blue on the Phone (2a).

Designer: Nothing

On the inside, the Android 14 phone has the exact same hardware as the original version. There’s an 8-core chip Dimensity 7200 Pro chip, 20 GB RAM, and a 5000 mAh battery that’s bigger than the flagship Phone 2 device. The 6.7-inch AMOLED display having 1,300 nits peak brightness and 120 Hz refresh rate should suffice your multimedia needs without any regrets. On the rear, the phone has a 50MP camera with optical image stabilization and 4K video recording capability. Even the front selfie camera can shoot at 1080p – 60 FPS.

Interested buyers can order the Phone (2a) Special Edition from Nothing’s website or the Product drop at Soho store in London on June 1, in 12GB and 256GB storage configuration. The price tag of $444 will mostly interest Gen-Z. There’s no word about the US launch but we’ll keep you updated.

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Nothing pokes fun at Apple for discontinuing the iPhone Mini with the Phone (2a) Micro

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There are some people who still buy the iPhone 13 Mini in bulk because it’s the last small smartphone Apple ever made. In the pursuit of ‘bigger and better’, smartphone companies have abandoned the very concept of ergonomics, and phones nowadays are so large and heavy, people quite literally have indented pinky fingers as a result. The iPhone 13 Mini and perhaps the Asus Zenfone 9 were perhaps the last ‘small’ phones before the concept was retired – so Nothing decided to do something about it. Or rather, poke fun at it at least.

Meet the Phone (2a) Micro – an alternative to the Plus and Max phones of today’s world. Announced as a rather fitting April Fool’s Prank, the Phone (2a) Micro is functionally miniscule, measuring probably no larger than a Zippo lighter. However, it still manages to hold up rather well considering its size. The prototype (although we’re 99% certain it’s CGI) features a rather usable (yet tiny) screen that still somehow manages to be usable. The video above is a tiny (no pun intended) demonstration of the phone in action… and it also takes aim at major smartphone companies for abandoning the relatively large (again, no pun intended) audience of people with small hands!

Designer: Nothing

Roughly 3 inches tall, the Phone (2a) Micro comes with the same design as its predecessor, albeit scaled down. It ditches the dual camera on the back for a single one (there’s really no real estate for 2 lenses), but still retains every aspect of the phone’s design including even its Glyph Interface (which apparently works, in the video demo). Flip the phone over and you’ve got a virtually bezel-less screen (clearly even the tiniest of bezels weigh heavily on a phone that size), but the lack of bezels is made up by a whopper of a front-facing camera, which eats into a significant portion of the display. I guess good selfies are an important part of owning a phone, right?

I’ll be honest, April Fool’s Day jokes have all but died down ever since the pandemic, when corporates decided it just wasn’t worth the effort. Sure, sometimes a company like Volkswagen DOES crack a joke about rebranding to Voltswagen, sending economies and stock markets into a flurry, but overall, larger companies have sort of lost their sense of humor (Google used to crack elaborate jokes every year before Sundar Pichai took the reigns). However, it’s good to see newer companies taking things in their stride and trying to engage with their fans and communities using humor. Whether it’s Nothing’s tiny phone, or Razer’s chair with robotic arms, a good corporate joke just makes large brands feel more human, allowing people to resonate and connect with them on a deeper level… but as far as the Phone (2a) Micro goes, does it have a 3.5mm audio jack, though??

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