Nothing unveiled the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus in the sub-Rs 30,000 price range with an upgraded processor, front camera, and faster charging tech. The smartphone rivals Realme’s offering, the Realme 13 Pro 5G, which banks high on the AI-based HYPERIMAGE+ camera system. In this article, we’ll compare them side by side across several key aspects, including performance, cameras, and more. Let’s dive right in to help you choose the best value device for your money.
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus vs Realme 13 Pro 5G: Specs at Glance
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4.1 ★
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4.4 ★
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₹ 20,059
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₹ 18,999
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| Expert Score | -- | 8.2/10 by Expert |
| Processor | MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro | Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 |
| Display | 6.7″ (17.02 cm) 120Hz Display | 6.7″ (17.02 cm) 120Hz Display |
| Rear Camera | 50+50 MP Rear | 50+8+2 MP Rear |
| Front Camera | 50 MP Front | 32 MP Front |
| RAM & Storage | 8 GB RAM 256 GB Storage | 8 GB RAM 128 GB Storage |
| Battery | 5000 mAh 50W Charging | 5200 mAh 45W Charging |
| OS | Android v14 | Android v14 |
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus vs Realme 13 Pro 5G: Price in India
| Smartphone | Configuration | Price |
| Nothing Phone (2a) Plus | 8GB+256GB | Rs 27,999 |
| 12GB+256GB | Rs 29,999 | |
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Realme 13 Pro 5G |
8GB+128GB | Rs 26,999 |
| 8GB+256GB | Rs 28,999 | |
| 12GB+512GB | Rs 31,999 |
The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is cheaper if we consider the 8GB+256GB variant. However, buyers will be required to purchase an adapter, which would be an added cost. The Realme 13 Pro offers slightly lower and higher storage configurations, becoming a better choice than the Phone (2a) Plus.
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus vs Realme 13 Pro 5G: Design
| Nothing Phone (2a) Plus | Realme 13 Pro 5G | |
| Dimensions | 161.7 x 76.3 x 8.5mm | 161.34 × 73.91 × 8.41 / 8.23mm |
| Weight | 190 grams | 183.5 / 188 grams |
| IP Rating | IP54 | IP65 |
The Realme 13 Pro 5G is thinner and lighter and comes in glass back and vegan leather editions. We got the Monet Gold shade with a glass back and it offers a unique and premium in-hand feel. Realme equips the device with curved edges on the front and back, which adds to the comfort.
The golden circular ring on the camera module also blends well into the Monet Gold, offering a classy design. The IP65 dust and water resistance will protect the phone from accidental water drops.
In contrast, the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is slightly heavier and has a unique semi-transparent design with a Glyph interface. The slight curve on the device makes it appear fully curved, which offers comfort while holding the smartphone for longer durations. The side frame of the Phone (2a) Plus sports a texture similar to a silicone cover, offering a premium finish. The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus has an IP54 rating, which could have been better.
The Realme 13 Pro 5G has a couple of advantages, which include a lighter design, a premium finish, and an advanced IP rating. However, if you like Nothing’s signature design, it will appeal to you more.
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus vs Realme 13 Pro 5G: Display
| Nothing Phone (2a) Plus | Realme 13 Pro 5G | |
| Display | 6.7-inch AMOLED | 6.78-inch AMOLED |
| Resolution | 2412 x 1080 pixels | 2412 x 1080 pixels |
| Refresh Rate | 120Hz | 120Hz |
| Peak Brightness | 1300 nits | 2000 nits |
| Display Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | Corning Gorilla Glass 7i |
The Phone (2a) Plus has a flat AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and an older Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. It has a slightly prominent bezel, which looks dated and in our practical tests, we encountered occasional stutters while scrolling at a 120Hz refresh rate. Nothing has yet to bring HDR capabilities to Netflix, despite the smartphone supporting Widevine L1 certification.
The flat AMOLED panel on the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus prevents mistouch and produces brighter and more vivid colours. The primary speaker grille produces excellent sound while the secondary grille produces distorted sound, hindering the overall experience.
The Realme 13 Pro 5G sports a curved AMOLED display with similar resolution and refresh rate. However, the smartphone comes with advanced Corning Gorilla Glass 7i protection. The phone has minimal bezels, offering a better viewing experience. The 120Hz refresh rate on the smartphone also ensures scrolling is smooth and snappy.
In our testing, the Realme 13 Pro 5G produces accurate colours and deep blacks and supports Widevine L1 certification, which can playback UHD videos on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and more. The panel offered adequate brightness in indoor conditions, despite the brightness level being set to 50%. However, we wish the device could offer slightly more brightness in dark mode in outdoor conditions.
The dual stereo speaker setup on the Realme 13 Pro 5G is well-placed and doesn’t block audio while playing games. The speakers also offer an immersive audio experience and can articulate each word while playing podcasts.
We prefer the Realme 13 Pro 5G over the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus in this department.
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus vs Realme 13 Pro 5G: Cameras
| Nothing Phone (2a) Plus | Realme 13 Pro 5G | |
| Primary Camera | 50MP Samsung S5KGN9 primary camera with OIS and f/1.88 aperture | 50MP Sony LYT 600 primary camera with OIS and f/1.88 aperture |
| Ultrawide Camera | 50MP Samsung S5KJN1 ultrawide camera with f/2.2 aperture and field of view of 112˚ | 8MP Sony IMX 355 ultrawide camera with f/2.2 aperture and field of view of 112˚ |
| Tertiary Camera | NIL | 2MP |
| Front Camera | 50MP selfie camera with f/2.2 aperture | 32MP front camera with f/2.45 aperture |
The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus has an advantage on paper as it comes with slightly higher-res ultrawide and selfie cameras. The smartphone produces bright and vibrant photos with both primary and ultrawide cameras with a distinctive shutter sound. The daylight images come with rich details, accurate colours, and excellent white balance in well-lit environments.
However, the image quality degrades on the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus with images captured using the 2x zoom. Nothing also captures impressive pictures using the primary camera in low-light conditions with minimal noise. The ultrawide camera doesn’t perform well and captures average photos with oversaturated colours in low-light situations.
We also captured human subjects with the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus with excellent edge detection but this isn’t consistent. The 50MP selfie snapper on the device captures inaccurate skin tones. The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus smoothens the face, offering an artificial skin tone.
The Realme 13 Pro 5G captures amble details, accurate colours, controlled saturation, and balanced dynamic range on a cloudy day. The device also captures excellent indoor shots with a better primary camera with enough detail and balanced saturation. In low conditions, the smartphone captures excellent shots in well-lit areas, which include streets with ample lighting.
The noise levels are also lower on low-light shots as the device has slightly increased sensitivity for the cameras. Realme also keeps the image texture after post-processing by avoiding excessive noise reduction and offering slightly grainy and acceptable detail. It captures portrait images with excellent edge detection in indoor and outdoor conditions.
Realme also equips the smartphone with the ability to capture images with 5x digital zooming, which lacks details and contains noise. The 2x images from the smartphone capture excellent pictures with great detail and less noise. The 8MP ultrawide camera on the device produces images with a slight shift in colour tones. However, the smartphone has managed to maintain good detail despite sporting a lower-res ultrawide camera.
The 32MP selfie camera on the Realme 13 Pro 5G captures images with accurate skin tones and sharp details.
To conclude, the Realme 13 Pro 5G captures better pictures in practical conditions and comes with multiple AI features, including AI Eraser, AI Ultra Clear, and more to improve the quality of the images.
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus vs Realme 13 Pro 5G: Performance
| Nothing Phone (2a) Plus | Realme 13 Pro 5G | |
| Processor | MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro | Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 |
| Graphics | Mali G610 MC4 | Adreno 710 |
| RAM | 8GB / 12GB LPDDR4X RAM | 8GB / 12GB LPDDR4X RAM |
| Storage | 256GB UFS 2.2 | 128GB / 256GB / 512GB UFS 2.2 |
| Manhattan Test | 3647 frames (59 fps) | 2924 frames (47 fps) |
As you can refer to the above benchmarking widgets, the MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro, exclusive to the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus, scores higher in the AnTuTu v10 and Geekbench benchmarking platforms. In the Manhattan test, the latest Nothing smartphone scores more frames at a higher fps than the Realme competitor. For the uninitiated, the Manhattan test is used to evaluate the graphic performance with multiple render targets, geometry instancing, and more.
The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus also maintained 92% of its maximum performance, displaying its CPU strength. The smartphone performs smooth and snappy with everyday tasks, including calling, messaging, and more.
The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus achieved a maximum and minimum fps of 59fps and 57fps in Very High Quality + Very High Fps settings on Call of Duty: Mobile without major lags. We also tested both smartphones in the Car Chase test, where it scored 2,199 frames (37fps) and 1450 frames (25fps) displaying Nothing’s advantage in performance.
We played Call of Duty: Mobile with ‘High graphics and Max’ frame rates on the Realme 13 Pro 5G and it had a smooth run without any major frame drop or stutter. Realme also equips the device with a 3D vapour chamber cooling system, which allows the device to stay cool during extensive gaming. In our day-to-day practical usage, Realme 13 Pro 5G was also snappier and offers a smooth experience in our day-to-day usage, which includes messaging, social media scrolling, and more.
Our tests indicate that the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus, with its better CPU cores and GPU, has an advantage over the Realme 13 Pro 5G in the performance department.
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus vs Realme 13 Pro 5G: Software
| Nothing Phone (2a) Plus | Realme 13 Pro 5G | |
| Software | NothingOS 2.6 based on Android 14 | Realme UI 5 based on Android 14 |
| OS Updates | 3 years of OS updates | 2 years of OS updates |
| Security Updates | Four years of Security updates | Three years of Security updates |
The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus offers a clean software experience without bloatware or pre-installed applications. Nothing also equips the UI with a cool and minimalistic design for the app widgets. The smartphone also gets a longer Android update and security patch update policy, which makes it futureproof.
The Realme 13 Pro 5G comes with several pre-installed and bloatware apps that hinder the user experience. However, Relame doesn’t push any spammy notifications and gives an option to remove the applications. Realme also equips the smartphone with multiple AI features related to general and camera usage.
The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus has an advantage here as it comes with a longer software update policy and a bloatware-free experience.
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus vs Realme 13 Pro 5G: Battery and Charging
| Nothing Phone (2a) Plus | Realme 13 Pro 5G | |
| Battery | 5,000mAh | 5,200mAh |
| Charging | 50W | 45W SuperVOOC |
| Charging Time | 56 minutes | 1 Hour 5 Minutes |
As you can see from the above table, the Realme 13 Pro 5G comes with a slightly larger 5,200mAh battery. During the PCMark Battery Test, the Realme 13 Pro 5G lasted 16 hours and 30 minutes. In contrast, the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus lasted for 15 hours and 25 minutes owing to its smaller battery capacity.
In our practical tests, the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus offers a battery life of more than a day with light to moderate usage. We used a 65W PD charger, which can charge the smartphone from 0 to 100% in 56 minutes. In contrast, the Realme 13 Pro 5G with its proprietary charger took over 1 hour to charge from 0 to 100%.
The Realme 13 Pro 5G also lasted more than a day of usage with light to moderate usage. In heavy usage, the smartphone offered a single day of battery life with around 20% juice left at the end of the day.
So, here, the Realme 13 Pro 5G has an advantage as it comes with a larger battery and charger in the box.
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus vs Realme 13 Pro 5G: Verdict
The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus packs a faster MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro SoC, and the super performance is evident in the gaming performance. Nothing also equips the smartphone with faster wired charging support. The NothingOS 2.6 on the device offers a clean and minimal experience.
The Realme 13 Pro 5G has a lightweight design with an advanced IP rating. Realme also equips the device with superior cameras and AI features, which enhance the camera performance. The device has a better display with advanced Corning protection and excellent stereo speakers, making it an ideal choice for media consumption.
The better pick among the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus and the Realme 13 Pro 5G will depend on the buyer’s preferences. The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is recommended if you prefer faster performance and a minimal and clean user interface. In contrast, the Realme 13 Pro 5G is an ideal choice if you’re looking for a smartphone with better cameras and multimedia capabilities.
