Nothing's upcoming budget phones might have Snapdragon chip, telephoto cameras, and eSim support

Nothing Phone (2) | Image credit — PhoneArena

It’s no secret that Nothing (the company) has become that brand known for seamlessly blending style and substance. Their smartphone and earbud design reveals are usually something tech enthusiasts look forward to, and their upcoming smartphones are no exception. So much so, that code sleuths are already looking into the code of the recently released Nothing OS 3.0 for hints, and what was found were some interesting specs for their upcoming budget-friendly offerings: the Nothing Phone (3a), Nothing Phone (3a) Plus, and the CMF Phone (2).Unearthed from the latest Nothing OS 3.0 builds, based on Android 15, are the likely codenames for the upcoming devices: “asteroids,” “asteroids_plus,” and “galaga.” Based on benchmark leaks, these codenames are believed to represent the Nothing Phone (3a) (asteroids), Nothing Phone (3a) Plus (asteroids_plus), and the CMF Phone (2) (galaga).

One of the most notable under-the-hood finds, is the revelation that the Nothing Phone (3a) and Nothing Phone (3a) Plus are expected to pack the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 SoC, while the CMF Phone 2 will reportedly house a MediaTek SoC.  However, even more exciting is what appears to be a big departure from previous Nothing phones.

Nothing Phone (2a) and Nothing Phone (2) | Image credit — PhoneArena

Another noteworthy change is that the Nothing Phone (3a) and Phone (3a) Plus could be the company’s first phones to offer eSIM support. Users will likely have the option to use two physical nano-SIMs or an eSIM with a physical nano-SIM for dual-SIM configurations. However, the CMF Phone (2) is expected to stick with physical SIM cards only.

This is quite interesting as it appears that Nothing is preparing to offer more flagship-like specs on their devices, akin to the iPhone, Pixels, and Galaxies that they aspire to compete with. The potential inclusion of a telephoto or periscope camera in their budget models is a significant step-up in terms of camera technology. Additionally, the introduction of eSIM support aligns with the growing trend of digital SIM cards, offering users more flexibility in certain cases.

I am also curious to see how the CMF Phone (2), positioned as a more affordable device, will balance features and performance. One thing that’s for sure is that, should these clues turn out to be what’s on the final design, Nothing will prove that they are serious about expanding their market reach and offer competitive features across different price points.