Newly leaked renders give us an early glimpse at the Nothing Phone 2a

A picture of the Nothing Phone 2 with a customized home screen
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Even though it's confirmed that a Nothing Phone 2a is in the works, Nothing hasn't had much to say about its future device. But leaked images may have just shed some light on what we might expect from this more budget-friendly model.

A series of leaks about the Nothing Phone 2a published by MySmartPrix shows what appear to be renders of the upcoming phone. And many rumored Nothing Phone 2a details about to be confirmed by the renders, such as a dual rear-facing camera system and a large, 6.7-inch display.

But those same images, which come from leaker @OnLeaks, suggest that Nothing will remove its popular Glyph interface from the rear panel of the Nothing Phone 2a. The phone would still come with a unique design featuring a circle at the top and curved lines further down, but there are no visible lights in the renders that would confirm the presents of Glyphs.

Nothing has made a splash in the smartphone market, thanks in part to the Glyph interface on the original Nothing Phone and the subsequent Nothing Phone (2). The feature allows users to get information from their apps from the phone’s rear panel such as incoming mail, how much time is left in a meeting and more. The idea is to let you know what’s going on without requiring you to pick up the phone and sift through apps when you have the handset face-down on a table during a meeting.

Nothing Phone 2a leaked images

(Image credit: @OnLeaks/SmartPrix)

Photos claiming to show off the device also have no trace of the Nothing Phone (2)'s Glyphs. The images were posted to X, the former Twitter website, by a user named Abhishek Yadav.

alleged Nothing Phone 2a photos

(Image credit: Abhishek Yadav/X)

Nothing Phone 2a rumors suggest the phone will appear as a more affordable version of the Nothing Phone (2). According to reports, the phone should feature 50MP rear cameras, an FHD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate, and up to 256GB of storage. Other reports tip the phone to run on the MediaTek Dimensity 7200 chipset.

However, those same rumors had suggested that Nothing was also planning to bundle the Glyph interface — albeit a potentially watered-down version — into the Nothing Phone 2A. These latest image leaks suggest that may not be true.

It’s possible, though unconfirmed, that Nothing wants to find a way to better differentiate the Nothing Phone 2 and 2a, and the best way to do it is by ditching the Glyph interface. That might also help to bring the price down to a rumored $400, compared to the $599 Nothing Phone (2).

On Monday, just after the renders leaked, Nothing’s co-founder Akis Evangelidis posted nothing but a message containing an ellipsis to X. Exactly what that means is unknown, but needless to say, it caused plenty of speculation to run wild.

We’ll hopefully find out what the meaning behind the ellipsis is — and whether the renders are accurate — as we get closer to Mobile World Congress, where the Nothing Phone 2a is expected to debut.

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Don Reisinger is CEO and founder of D2 Tech Agency. A communications strategist, consultant, and copywriter, Don has also written for many leading technology and business publications including CNET, Fortune Magazine, The New York Times, Forbes, Computerworld, Digital Trends, TechCrunch and Slashgear. He has also written for Tom's Guide for many years, contributing hundreds of articles on everything from phones to games to streaming and smart home.