Nothing will manufacture its upcoming Phone 2a locally in India, the London-based consumer tech brand announced today. The company aims to “harness the rich manufacturing ecosystem of the country while investing in the local economy and creating job opportunities”, it said, adding that it aims to “build India as an export hub” in the long term.
The Phone 2a won’t be the first Nothing smartphone to be manufactured in India. The Phone 2 was also made locally. The company’s taste for all things transparent makes manufacturing tricky something that it reiterates by saying “Nothing’s unique transparent design, where even a speck of data can cause rejection, requires adherence to the highest global quality standards,” adding that it has brought these “processes” to India.
Nothing opened its first exclusive service centre in India in August 2023 just ahead of Phone 2 launch. The service centre located in Bengaluru, Karnataka, offers repairs and support for all Nothing products.
The Phone 2a is launching globally on March 5 and India will be key to its success story. Nothing has onboarded Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh as brand ambassador ahead of launch. Chief Carl Pei said it’s because “We want to sell more phones bhai,” a comment that went viral on social media. Pei and co. were quick to cash in on the trend, adding the word “bhai” to their X handles urging others to do the same to build hype around their third smartphone.
The Phone 2a is largely expected to be a budget affair relative to the Phone 1 and Phone 2. Having said that, it will still stick to signature Nothing design choices including glyph lighting and unadulterated Android software. Its full design was revealed and showcased at the MWC 2024 in Barcelona. The Phone 2a will be powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro processor and come with a dual camera setup on the back. Watch this space for more details.
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