Nothing has been trying to make a name for itself in the smartphone space with devices that look and act high-end. However, with details of the Nothing Phone 2a leaked this week, the possibility of a new budget Nothing phone is on the horizon.

Based on what serial leaker Yogesh Brar posted on Twitter, the Nothing Phone 2a, or Nothing Phone (2a), may be on its way within the next few months. The leaker specifically cites the Mobile World Congress in Spain in February as the place to announce the new phone.

More details will surely emerge between now and then, but Blar provided enough information on the likely specs for the Nothing Phone 2a to compare it with the company's current flagship, the Nothing Phone (2a), which appeared earlier this year ...

The Nothing Phone (2) is distinguished from other Android phones by its Glyph interface on the back panel. In essence, the Glyph interface allows both first-party and third-party apps to trigger the LED array. In fact, Nothing encourages users to set up notifications and other alerts that trigger the lights to let them know what they have missed.

According to Blar, the Glyph interface will also be included in the Nothing Phone 2a, but the budget phone will reportedly scale back its features.

Blar, who has a solid track record of leaking phone details, claims to have obtained a Production Validation Test (PVT) unit, suggesting that the phone is close to launch. in addition to the Nothing Phone 2a spec leak Blar also released images of the front and back of the device. The front of the handset looks similar to the Nothing Phone (2), but the back is clearly less refined, partly due to the redesigned Glyph interface.

Below is a comparison of the initial Nothing Phone 2a and the Nothing Phone (2) based on the first specs of the upcoming handset leaked by Blar.

The Nothing Phone (2) debuted at $599/£579/$1,049, £180 more than the Nothing Phone (1). (From Blar's tweet, it appears that Nothing wants to go an even lower price route with the 2a device.

If this is accurate, it would be below the prices of mid-range US smartphones such as the Pixel 7a ($499), Galaxy A54 ($449), and iPhone SE ($429). But what we are waiting to see is whether Nothing will find a wireless partner to sell the budget model in the U.S. If you want the Nothing Phone (2), you will have to buy it directly from the phone manufacturer or from some online retail sites.

We mentioned the redesigned back of the Nothing Phone 2a and how it shrinks the Glyphs that have been the hallmark of Nothing's flagship phones. Apart from that, device details on the phone's design are scarce.

As for the display, Blar suggests that the Nothing Phone 2a will have a 120Hz OLED panel, and the fine print in the photo included in his spec submission indicates that the phone will have a 6.7-inch screen. If true, that would all match the display specs of the Nothing Phone (2), suggesting that if there is one place where Nothing is cutting costs, it is not in the phone's screen.

Camera specs for the Nothing Phone 2a are pretty sparse at this point; all Blar notes is that it will be a dual 50MP setup. This is similar to the camera on the Nothing Phone (2), which has a 50MP main camera and a 50MP ultra-wide shooter.

Brar does not mention a front camera for the Nothing Phone 2a, but it would need a 32MP sensor to be on par with the Nothing Phone (2). However, the photo in his tweet indicates that the 2a's front camera is 16 MP.

Performance may be another key area where the Nothing Phone 2a differs from its predecessor: the Nothing Phone (2) is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1, which was not Qualcomm's top-of-the-line chipset when it launched. but it was not far behind. When we tested the Noting Phone (2), it was certainly more powerful than chipsets found in mid-range phones in its class.

Brar has a newer system-on-chip in the Nothing Phone 2a than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 series, the MediaTek Dimensity 7200. However, it appears to be comparing it to a less powerful chipset in Qualcomm's lineup, rather than MediaTek's most powerful silicon. We imagine the Nothing Phone 2a will have a hard time catching up to its siblings.

We are unsure about the battery specs of the Nothing Phone 2a and the possibility of comparing it to the 4,700 mAh power pack of the Nothing Phone (2).

With several months to go before the rumored launch of the Nothing Phone 2a, there is plenty of time for more specific details to emerge about this lower-priced version of the Nothing Phone (2). Our interest is to confirm the rumored $400 price tag and learn what sacrifices Nothing is making to cut the flagship's cost by about $200.