If you want to buy a cheap phone in 2024, Nothing Phone (2a) will be one of the best choices. The phone has the same bold styling as the Phone (1) and Phone (2), and even has LED lighting on the back that matches the Glyph port. Having had the phone for less than a week, it’s clear that Nothing wants to deliver a similar level of experience to its more expensive phones, but in the budget segment.
There’s just one problem: the Phone (2a) didn’t launch in the U.S. Last year, the Phone (2) wasn’t available for purchase through its U.S. website, but the Phone (2a) was sold in limited quantities in the region, and you had to register as a developer to be eligible to claim it the device. Even so, there’s no official warranty.
I asked Nothing co-founder Akis Evangelidis why he hadn’t launched the Phone (2a) in the U.S., and he said it wasn’t the right time to “go all-in” in the United States. “We’re still only a three-year-old brand, so we have to be strategic about our efforts. While we need to maintain some presence in the U.S., now is not the time to go all-in. But there’s also the market to consider scale.”
As for limited presence, Nothing sells its audio products in the United States, and Evangelidis confirmed that the Ear (1) and Ear (2) are selling very well in the region. But when it comes to the mobile phone space, I hear a similar refrain from almost every phone manufacturer that doesn’t have a major presence in the country: Deal with the carriers.
Unlike most global marketplaces, Nothing can’t just sell phones through its website and hope to make a dent in the budget segment. Carriers control the U.S. smartphone industry, and Evangelidis noted that the brand is in “no rush” and is looking to secure the right partnerships with carriers ahead of a full rollout in the country. “The market that’s open is very limited, so as an independent brand there’s only so much you can do. We need to find the right partners who understand our strategy and believe in our brand. You can only enter the market once and we want to do Good thing – we’re in no rush.”
Regarding the Phone (2), which is available unlocked on the Nothing website, Evangelidis said that since the device is aimed at early adopters, it was an easy decision to sell it outright. But the Phone (2a) is intended to be a mass-market device, and without a carrier partner, it wouldn’t make sense for the brand to launch it in China.
Evangelidis has good reason to be cautious when working with U.S. carriers. Evangelidis and Carl Pei were working at OnePlus when the Chinese manufacturer partnered with T-Mobile to launch the OnePlus 6T in the country, but what was originally being hailed as a major win for the company came as T-Mobile’s demands didn’t match up. The results have deteriorated. OnePlus’s strategy at the time.
It’s my understanding that T-Mobile wants the phone to be on sale for at least 12 months, while OnePlus’ devices are only available for six months – and that’s during the T-series refresh period. The result is that the OnePlus 7T was only available on T-Mobile after stocks sold out elsewhere around the world, and today OnePlus only sells its entry-level Nord N series through the carrier, with its flagships like the OnePlus 12-piece It is sold unlocked on its website and on Amazon.
As for Nothing, Evangelidis said the brand will take its time selecting carrier partners before selling the phone in the region. He talked about how this partnership is working in other regions and praised India’s Flipkart as a “benchmark” in this regard. Ultimately, the Phone (2a) is one of the cheapest phones of 2024, but US users are missing out on the device along with dozens of other phones due to a unique carrier-led ecosystem.