Oppo F25 Pro, OnePlus Nord CE 3, More

There has been a fair deal of ado about Nothing. That’s because the brand co-founded by Carl Pei (of OnePlus fame) has just released a new phone. What’s more, it is its most affordable phone yet. The Phone 2a comes at a price tag of Rs 23,999, which is well below the Rs 32,999 at which the Phone 1 was launched in 2022 and the Rs 44,999 at which the Phone 2 hit the market last year. It is not just the price that is different. The Phone 2a also looks different from its predecessors. It sports a different-shaped LED arrangement on its back (Nothing’s famous Glyph UI) and also a different camera arrangement with dual cameras lined up next to each other like a pair of eyes. 

The specs are very respectable for the price too — the Phone has a 6.7-inch AMOLED FHD+ display with 120Hz refresh rate and runs on the very capable mid-segment MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro chip, with RAM and storage variants of 8GB+128GB, 8GB+256GB, and 12GB+256GB. Those two camera ‘eyes’ on the back contain a 50-megapixel main sensor with OIS and another 50-megapixel ultrawide camera, with a 32-megapixel selfie camera. 

The Phone 2 also packs in a large 5,000mAh battery, the largest seen on a Nothing Phone, although it comes with support for 45W charging (slow by the standards of this segment) and there’s still no charger in the box. Round that off with stereo speakers, squeaky clean Android 14 (no malware)and that famous LED-laden interface on the back, and the Phone 2a might seem like an excellent proposition to those looking for a “different” phone under Rs 25,000.

But excellent though it seems to be, it is by no means the only proposition for those looking for a phone in that range. Notwithstanding its different design and impressive spec sheet, the Nothing Phone 2a does face some very stiff competition, most notably from these five phones:

Oppo F25 Pro 5G: The Stylish Red Warrior

Price: Rs 23,999 onwards 

If your interest in the Nothing Phone 2a stems mainly from its stand-out design, then the Oppo F25 Pro should be on your radar too. It comes with a similar price tag, and while its design is broadly conventional, it comes with a very striking Lava Red shade that back made of a polycarbonate resin mixed with glass fiber, which changes from dark wine to a slightly more diluted one when light falls on it. It is available in blue too, but take it from us, the red is the one that will turn heads.  

The phone is also a mere 7.54 mm thin, but is no delicate darling – it comes with IP65 dust and water resistance. The specs are decent too — a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a MediaTek Dimensity 7050 chip which is not in the same league as the Dimensity 7200 Pro but is a decent performer, a 64-megapixel main sensor with an 8-megapixel ultrawide and a 2-megapixel macro on the back and a very good 32-megapixel camera for selfies. 

And despite being so slim, it packs in a 5,000mAh battery and even charges faster than the Phone (2a), thanks to support for 67W charging and a charger in the box too. 

Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G: The Note-able Presence 

Price: Rs 25,999 onwards

Any phone that is released in the range of Rs 25,000 will have to deal with a Redmi Note, so it is hardly surprising that Nothing’s first delivery to come in that price segment faces a Note in its path — the Redmi Note 13 Pro. 

It might not have the curved display or vegan leather feels of the Nioe 13 Plus, but it brings very good specs to the table at a lower price — a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with 1.5K resolution and 120 Hz refresh rate, a very good Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chip, stereo speakers, a 3.5 mm audio jack (remember those), and most impressive of all, a massive 200-megapixel main camera with a Samsung Isocell HP3 sensor with OIS (mind you, the secondary 8 and 2 megapixel cameras are barely worth mentioning). 

It has the biggest battery in this list — a 5,100mAh one — which it charges at 67W and also packs in a 67W charger. There’s enough here to give those considering the Phone 2a something to think about, even though the phone is still stuck on Android 13 (HyperOS is expected soon). 

Realme 12 Pro 5G: The Good-Looking Camera Expert 

Price: Rs 23,999 onwards

The Realme 12 Pro’s blend of luxury smartwatch-inspired design with a vegan leather finished back and a circular camera unit with highlights of gold, in combination with a very good camera arrangement is Nothing Phone 2a headache material. 

The phone features a curved 6.7-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with 120 Hz refresh rate. It looks premium, although it is not the brightest we have seen. The camera arrangement is one of the most versatile in the segment with a 50-megapixel Sony IMX709 sensor paired with a 32-megapixel telephoto lens and an 8-megapixel sensor. 

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 processor running it is not the most the most powerful but you do get Android 14 and a 5000 mAh battery with a 67W charger in the box. 

OnePlus Nord CE 3 5G: Never Settler In The House 

Price: Rs 24,999 onwards

OnePlus’ Nord series is emerging as a major player in the Rs 20,000 — Rs 30,000 zone, and the Nord CE 3 is the one that stands in the path of the Nothing Phone 2a. 

It looks relatively routine, but it is one of the best performers in the segment, thanks to its powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 782 chip and a 6.7-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate.  

A flagship-level Sony IMX890 50-megapixel camera with OIS handles most of the photography very well indeed, although the 8-megapixel ultrawide and 2-megapixel cameras are of little use, and its 16-megapixel selfie camera takes some very good selfies. 

Round that off with OnePlus’ clean OxygenOS interface and a large 5,000mAh battery that charges at a super quick 80W, and this phone from the brand Carl Pei previously co-founded has what it takes to challenge the latest phone from his current one. 

Poco X6 Pro 5G: The Beast In The Mid-Segment 

Price: Rs 25,999 onwards

Thanks to its flagship-level MediaTek Dimensity 8300-Ultra chip, the Poco X6 Pro is the phone that every other device in its segment must be heartily sick of. Combined with fast LPDDR5X RAM  and UFS 4.0 storage (generally found at much higher price points), that chip makes the Poco X6 Pro hands down the closest thing you can get to a flagship in gaming and high-end tasks in the sub-Rs 30,000 range. 

The phone also has a brilliant 6.67-inch display with 1.5k resolution and 120 Hz refresh rate, although its 64-megapixel main sensor with OIS is decent rather than outstanding, and its secondary cameras are not too great. 

It also has stereo speakers and a large 5,000mAh battery with 67W fast charging. If looks matter, you can get this one in a bright yellow vegan leather variant, although this is a phone that is way more about substance than style.