Nothing Phone (2a) Launch Event | Delhi

Nothing’s first phone launch event in India!

Of course, I was excited about it 😄 Plus this was also the first tech event I was attending. So here’s my experience and how the event went yesterday:

My friends & I had the Community Phase 1 pass which we received for a discounted price, thanks to the Nothing Community emails ✨

Event Date: 5th March, 2024 Timing: 5 PM (IST) onwards

The keynote was also streaming LIVE on YouTube >

So we reached the place by 4 PM and got our bands and 2 coupons for drinks (to be redeemed after the keynote was over). The Nothing team also informed us to collect the goodies when the event ended.

The whole setup was cool but right off the bat, we could see that the place was already overcrowded. Nevertheless, we moved towards the seating area and found Carl bhai meeting everyone, taking pics etc. Now moving on to the actual keynote, we were asked to have a seat 20 minutes before the show began. But the problem was, that there was very less seating available 😆

Luckily me and friends found a spot to sit down but the majority of the folks had to keep standing through the whole keynote, which was around 1 hour. We could hear people discussing and getting annoyed already during the whole show. The bars there were fully packed with people and it was indeed chaotic. We had to think twice if it was really worth using those coupons to get the drinks for ourselves 😅 Eventually we did get our drinks after a lot of waiting. Food was nowhere to be seen.

Anyway, enough about the F&B, let me share our hands-on experience with the device itself and here is our impression of Nothing Phone (2a) -

The phone is a good addition to the already crowded mid-range phone sector but personally the design for us is a bit polarizing. The specs are on par with other phones in the same price segment but the symmetrical display bezels makes it a standout in the category. The back design is very asymmetrical and does not give off that Nothing vibe that we are used to from their other products.

Although not being as premium as their previous offerings, which featured a glass and metal sandwich design, Phone (2a) doesn't sacrifice the in-hand feel of the device and it still feels premium plus well-balanced. Speaking of long term, the Phone (2a) gets 3 Years of OS upgrades and 4 Years of Security patches, which is nice to see in a sub-INR 25k segment.

Here is your go-to page for all the deets and specs you need to know about the phone;

Nothing Phone (2a) Website Link >

The event did not end on a sweet note though; the goodies which were to be received by the attendees (Nothing Community members, to be exact) were out of stock immediately due to some miscommunication by the management present there. This added more fuel to the fire for the already-agitated folks and it turned pretty chaotic (again) outside the hall!

I did get the goodie - it was a small sling bag with Nothing logo on the front, but my friends were not that lucky.

The other products revealed were:

1. CMF Buds

2. CMF Neckband Pro

Overall, the event was not exactly what I had hoped for. It was clearly visible that apart from the keynote, the whole experience was a huge turnoff. Nothing seemed to be properly organised, pun intended and it is now very important to have limited spots for such events, just to avoid overcrowding.

But all in all, I’m looking forward to attending more such tech launches and events in the future, by Nothing Tech or any other company!