Nothing Phone (2a) Plus vs Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)

Compared 2 smartphones : Nothing Phone (2a) Plus Manufactured in August, 2024, with display 6.7 with chipsetMediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro, vs Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018), Manufactured in January, 2018 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 7 Octa 7885. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Nothing Phone (2a) Plus
  • Larger display: 6.7in
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 3000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
  • Higher pixel density: 441ppi
  • Lighter design: 172g vs 190g
  • Supports Dolby Atmos

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/256 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 4/32 GB
- 4/64 GB

Review

Key Specs Nothing Phone (2a) Plus and Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
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Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison

Display

Display quality comparison
Type AMOLED Super AMOLED
Size 6.7 in 5.6 in
Resolution 1080x2412 pixels 1080x2220 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 18.5:9
Pixel density 395 ppi 441 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (30-120 Hz) No
Max brightness 700 nits 390 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ No
Touch Sampling Rate 240 Hz n/a
Screen-to-body ratio 87.8 % 75.5 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
n/a
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus
1097 nits
Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
586 nits
PWM (Flicker)n/a242 Hz
Response timen/a4.6 ms
Contrastn/a∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 161.7 mm (6.37 in) 149.2 mm (5.87 in)
Width 76.3 mm (3 in) 70.6 mm (2.78 in)
Thickness 8.5 mm (0.33 in) 8.4 mm (0.33 in)
Weight 190 g (6.7 oz) 172 g (6.07 oz)
Water resistance IP54 IP68
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel Plastic Glass
Frame Plastic Metal
Colors - Black
- Gray
- Black
- Gold
- Blue
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes rear
Screen-to-body ratio
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus
87.8 %
Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
75.5 %

Performance

Testing Nothing Phone (2a) Plus and Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018) In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro Samsung Exynos 7 Octa 7885
Max Frequency 3000 MHz 2200 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (2 + 6) 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture - 6/2 (Cortex-A510)
- 2/3 (Cortex-A715)
- 6/1.6 (Cortex-A53)
- 2/2.2 (Cortex-A73)
Process TSMC Samsung
Transistor Size 4 nm 14 nm
Neural Processor MediaTek APU 657 No
Graphics Mali-G610 MP4 Mali-G71 MP2
GPU Cores 256 32
GPU Frequency 1300 MHz 770 MHz
FLOPS 665.6 GFLOPS 70.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus
1111
Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
n/a
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus
2560
Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
n/a
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)1111n/a
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)2560n/a
Geekbench Compute (GPU)3304n/a
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus
753533
Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
202681
CPU22708173673
GPU21053126657
Memory15545150080
UX16047052271
NanoReview Score753533202681

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 8 GB
- 12 GB
4 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR4
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz 1333 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 32 GB
- 64 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1eMMC 5.1
Memory CardNoMicroSD

Software

OS Android 14 (Upgradeable to Android 15) Android 7.1.1 (Upgradeable to Android 9)
OS Size 27 GB n/a
UI Skin Nothing OS 3.0 One UI 2.0

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 3000 mAh
Max Charging Power 50 W 18 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No No
Reverse Charging No No
Fast Charging Yes (60% in 30 min) Yes Samsung Adaptive Fast Charge (50% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:01 h 1:35 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus
32:47
Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
17:10
Web Browsing13:26 h06:38 h
Video Playback18:52 h11:19 h
Games06:37 h04:20 h
Standby Mode163 h80 h

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 16 MP
Photo resolution 8192x6144 pixels 4920x3264 pixels
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Optical Digital
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) No
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
Slow Motion 120 fps (1080p) No
Wide-angle lens 114 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 50 MP
Standard: 16 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP16 MP
Aperturef/1.9f/1.7
Focal length24 mm26 mm
SensorSamsung GN9Samsung S5K2P6SX
Sensor size1/1.571/2.8
Pixel size1 μm1.12 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus
StabilizationOpticalDigital
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix50 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.2n/a
SensorSamsung S5KJN1n/a
Sensor size1/2.76n/a
Pixel size0.64 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitaln/a
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus
n/a
Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
82
Video quality
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus
n/a
Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
74
Overall camera score
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus
n/a
Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
79

Front camera

Matrix 50 MP 16 MP
Photo resolution 8192x6144 pixels 4608x3456 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/1.9
Focal length n/a 27 mm
Sensor Samsung S5KJN1 Samsung S5K3P8SP
Sensor size 1/2.76 1/3.1
Pixel size 0.64 μm 1 μm
Autofocus No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 30 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
Bluetooth version 5.3 5
Bluetooth features LE PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort No n/a
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoNo
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850/900/1800/1900GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900
3G BandsWCDMA 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19HSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B18/B19/B20/B26/B28/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B66)LTE (B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2300/B2500)
LTE categoryn/a11
5G SupportYesNo

Sound

Speakers Stereo Mono
3.5 mm Jack No Yes
FM Radio No Yes
Dolby Atmos No Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Nothing Phone (2a) Plus
88.1 dB
Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
85 dB

Other

Class Mid-range Mid-range
Announced July, 2024 yr December, 2017 yr
Release Date August, 2024 yr January, 2018 yr
Launch Price ($) 399 480
Sensors - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included No n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Nothing Phone (2a) Plus the clear winner in this comparison.

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