The Lava Agni 3 5G has launched in India as the latest Agni series smartphone from the brand. The latest sub-Rs 30,000 smartphone from the brand has several segment first feathers in its hat, including a customisable Action key, a secondary AMOLED display, and a brand new MediaTek processor. But how does it fare against an existing stalwart in this price segment? To find out, we will compare the Lava Agni 3 5G specifications with the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus. So, without any further ado, let’s find out.
Table of Contents
Lava Agni 3 5G vs Nothing Phone (2a) Plus: Specs at Glance
Lava Agni 3 5G vs Nothing Phone (2a) Plus: Price in India
Model
Variants
Price
Lava Agni 3 5G
8GB+128GB (without charger)
Rs 20,999
8GB+128GB (with charger)
Rs 22,999
8GB+256GB (with charger)
Rs 24,999
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus
8GB+256GB
Rs 27,999
12GB+256GB
Rs 29,999
Lava is offering the 8GB+128GB variant with the option to buy a charger. The flexibility of buying the smartphone for Rs 2,000 less if you already have a charger at home makes Lava more value for money.
The top-end Lava Agni 3 5G and base Nothing Phone (2a) Plus have the same configuration, but the latter costs Rs 3,000 more. However, if you need a smartphone with 12GB RAM, the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is your only option.
Lava Agni 3 5G vs Nothing Phone (2a) Plus: Design
The Lava Agni 3 5G is a standout device in this price segment. It has a customisable action key and a secondary AMOLED display on the back. The smartphone is available in Heather Glass and Pristine Glass colour options. It’s 8.8mm thick and weighs 212 grams. For durability, the handset features an IP64 ingress protection rating.
The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus also stands out with a transparent back panel featuring a Glyph interface with 26 individually addressable zones, a Glyph timer, a Glyph Fill Light, and more. It’s available in Black and Grey colourways, is 8.5 mm thick, and weighs 190 grams. The handset flaunts an IP54 rating for dust and water resistance.
The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is lighter and thinner than the Lava Agni 3 5G, which some will prefer. However, the functional secondary AMOLED display, customisable Action key, and IP64 rating make the Lava Agni 3 5G a better choice.
Lava Agni 3 5G vs Nothing Phone (2a) Plus: Display
The Lava Agni 3 5G sports a 6.78-inch curved AMOLED main display with a 2,652 x 1,200-pixel screen resolution and a 1.74-inch secondary AMOLED display on the back. The front panel offers a 120Hz refresh rate, 10-bit colour depth, HDR, Widevine L1 support, and 1200 nits peak brightness. The back panel can be used to take selfies using the rear camera, receive calls, reply to notifications, control music, and more.
The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus sports a 6.7-inch flexible AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. Other features include a peak brightness of 1300 nits, 100% DCI P3 colour gamut, 2160Hz PWM dimming, HDR10+ certification, 240Hz touch sampling rate, and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection.
With the primary display being almost similar on both smartphones, the secondary display on the Lava Agni 3 5G cinches a win in the display department. That being said, if you want a smartphone with a durable display, then the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus with Gorilla Glass 5 protection is the one you should pick.
Lava Agni 3 5G vs Nothing Phone (2a) Plus: Performance
The Lava Agni 3 5G debuts the segment-first 4nm MediaTek Dimensity 7300X SoC with 8GB LPDDR5 RAM, 8GB RAM expansion, and UFS 3.1 storage up to 256GB. The smartphone also flaunts a VC Cooling technology featuring a 9-layer copper-plated heat dissipation module, 5000mm² liquid-cooled VC chamber, and 3D high-performance graphene film.
The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus features a 4nm MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro SoC, LPDDR4X RAM, and UFS 2.2 storage. It also features an advanced liquid cooling system with a 3200mm² vapour chamber.
According to brand claims, the Lava Agni 3 5G scored over 7,00,000 on AnTuTu, whereas the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is claimed to have scored 8,05,000+. We will soon run detailed benchmark tests on both devices to gauge their real-life performance, so stay tuned. However, based purely on the brands’ claimed numbers, this round goes to the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus.
Lava Agni 3 5G vs Nothing Phone (2a) Plus: Software
The Lava Agni 3 5G boots Android 14. It will receive three Android version upgrades and security updates for four years. The company takes pride in bloatware and ad-free interface.
The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus comes with NothingOS 2.6 based on Android 14 and will receive three major Android updates and four years of security patch updates.
Both smartphones are identical in terms of software and update policy. They both offer a minimalistic UI and a bloatware-free interface. However, the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus also has an advantage because of the ChatGPT integration.
Lava Agni 3 5G vs Nothing Phone (2a) Plus: Camera
The Lava Agni 3 5G has a 50MP primary lens, 8MP telephoto lens, and 8MP ultrawide lens. There is a 16MP front camera for selfies.
The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus has a 50MP primary camera, and a 50MP ultrawide camera on the back. For selfies, Nothing equips the smartphone with a 50MP snapper.
The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is the obvious choice here, with 50MP cameras across the board. While one can argue in favour of the Lava Agni 3 5G, stating it has a more versatile camera system with an additional telephoto lens, the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus gets the edge here.
Lava Agni 3 5G vs Nothing Phone (2a) Plus: Battery and Charging
The Lava Agni 3 5G is powered by a beefy 5,000mAh battery and supports 66W fast wired charging.
The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is also powered by a 5,000mAh battery but with support for 50W wired fast charging tech.
Thanks to the slightly faster charging technology, the Lava Agni 3 5G wins in the battery department.
Lava Agni 3 5G vs Nothing Phone (2a) Plus: Verdict
Both Lava Agni 3 5G and Nothing Phone (2a) Plus offer solid performance, a unique design element, a clean interface, and powerful batteries. However, the Agni 3 5G is much more affordable and offers great features like a useful secondary display and a customisable Action button, which makes it a better choice between the two.
But the Phone (2a) can be a choice if you want the signature Nothing design, dependable cameras, and ChatGPT integration.