What Happened
Consumer Electronics · Benchmarking · Taiwan · Five-Way ComparisonTaiwan retail · NT$ · launches Apr 2024–Apr 2026, priced to 2 Sep 2026
Five phones, two brands · executive brief
One Phone Has Quietly Left the Field
Five phones, two brands, one Taiwan market: Nothing's Phone (2a) and (4a) Pro against POCO's X8 Pro, X8 Pro Max and M8 5G. Manufacturers' own material and Taiwan's own retail trackers settle where they actually differ — and the sharpest finding is not a spec at all. The 2024 baseline, the Phone (2a), no longer appears on Nothing's Taiwan or global store, carries no price at Taiwan's own comparison platform, and the one live figure found for it matches the brand's brand-new (4a). Every other phone here is a priced, discounted Taiwan retail option today.
By the Numbers re-derived from manufacturer spec pages and live Taiwan retail pages, 2 Sep 2026
- 2.57×the gap between the cheapest and priciest live Taiwan price among these five phones — NT$6,990 to NT$17,990
- 4 / 3major OS upgrades promised — POCO/Xiaomi's three phones here against Nothing's two, per independent reporting on each brand
- −84%the ultrawide-camera cut every phone here that still has one carries — 50 MP to 8 MP. The cheapest of the five has none at all.
- 0tracked Taiwan discounts recorded for either Nothing phone across three snapshots six months apart — every POCO/Xiaomi model is 12.6–17.4% below list today
The Five, Side by Side manufacturer's own material where it is readable without script; GSMArena's independent listing where it is not
| Nothing (2a) | Nothing (4a) Pro | POCO X8 Pro | POCO X8 Pro Max | POCO M8 5G | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taiwan launch | 1 Apr 2024 | early Apr 2026 | 1 Apr 2026 | 1 Apr 2026 | 1 Apr 2026 |
| Chipset | Dimensity 7200 Pro | Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 | Dimensity 8500-Ultra | Dimensity 9500s | Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 |
| Battery | 5,000 mAh | 5,080 mAh | 6,500 mAh | 8,500 mAh | 5,520 mAh |
| Ultrawide camera | 50 MP | 8 MP | 8 MP | 8 MP | none |
| Optical telephoto | none | 3.5× | none | none | none |
| Dust/water rating | IP54 | IP65 | IP68 | IP68 | IP66 |
| Promised OS upgrades | up to 3 | up to 3 | 4 (+6 yr security) | 4 (+6 yr security) | 4 (+6 yr security) |
| Weight | 190 g | 210 g | 201.47 g | 218 g | 178 g |
| Taiwan list price | NT$9,900 | NT$17,990 | from NT$10,999 | from NT$14,999 | from NT$7,999 |
| Live Taiwan street price | no reliable figure | no tracked discount | from NT$9,190 | from NT$12,390 | from NT$6,990 |
What's Claimed, and How It Holds Up sorted by how well each figure is evidenced
| Standing | What | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Confirmed | The five spec sheets above | Confirmed at Xiaomi Taiwan's own static specification pages for the three POCO/Xiaomi models. Nothing's Taiwan and global stores render specifications by client-side script rather than static markup, so the two Nothing models are confirmed at GSMArena's independent listings instead. |
| Confirmed | The POCO trio's identical Taiwan launch hour | Dated Taiwan launch-day reports confirm the X8 Pro, X8 Pro Max and M8 5G all went on sale in Taiwan at 1 Apr 2026, 10:00 — the same date and hour, across two separate product announcements. |
| Confirmed | Zero tracked Taiwan discount for either Nothing phone | A Taiwan price-comparison platform's own price field reads “無報價” (no quote) for both the (4a) and (4a) Pro in a 26 Mar 2026 launch report, a 4 Jun 2026 hands-on review, and a live check on 2 Sep 2026 — three snapshots, six months apart, the same result each time. |
| Confirmed, but not on the manufacturer's own material | POCO/Xiaomi's “4 major upgrades, 6 years security” | Reported independently for the X8 Pro by a GSMArena review (21 Mar 2026) and for the M8 5G by Beebom Gadgets (2 Jan 2026); absent from Xiaomi Taiwan's own specification page for any of the three models. |
| Confirmed, but not verifiable here | An exact Taiwan on-sale date for the (4a)/(4a) Pro | Taiwan coverage of the launch states only “expected early April”, unlike the POCO trio's confirmed day and hour; no firmer date is on record. |
| Unconfirmed | A reliable, authorised-channel Taiwan price for the Nothing Phone (2a) | One Taiwan retailer still lists it with an active promotion, but its price loads by client-side script rather than static markup; the one figure on record, NT$14,990 via a general marketplace, is not confirmed as representative. |
Timeline
In Order first launch to today's Taiwan price check
- 5 Mar 2024Nothing announces the Phone (2a) globally.
- 1 Apr 2024Phone (2a) goes on sale in Taiwan, Taiwan Mobile carrier-exclusive, NT$9,900 (8/128 GB).
- 8 Jan 2026POCO announces the M8 5G and M8 Pro 5G globally.
- 5 Mar 2026Nothing announces the Phone (4a) and (4a) Pro globally.
- 17 Mar 2026POCO announces the X8 Pro and X8 Pro Max globally.
- 25 Mar 2026Taiwan pre-orders open for the X8 Pro series, ahead of the Taiwan price reveal.
- 26 Mar 2026Nothing reveals Taiwan prices for the (4a) and (4a) Pro — NT$14,990 and NT$17,990.
- 1 Apr 2026, 10:00POCO X8 Pro, X8 Pro Max and M8 5G all go on sale in Taiwan, the same date and hour.
- early Apr 2026Nothing (4a) and (4a) Pro go on sale in Taiwan — no firmer calendar date is on record.
- 4 Jun 2026A Taiwan hands-on benchmark comparison of the (4a) and (4a) Pro is published (updated 7 Jun).
- 24 Jul 2026A report claims Nothing will exit 12+ global markets; Taiwan is named in neither the exit list nor the retained-markets list.
- 27 Jul 2026Nothing's co-founder denies the report, calling it “fake news”; the original outlet stands by its story.
- 25 Aug 2026Nothing OS 5.0 (Android 17) begins open beta with the Phone (3); the (4a) Pro, (4a) and (2a) are scheduled for beta and general release through September–November.
- 1 Sep 2026POCO's separate, higher-tier F9 series launches globally — it does not replace or discontinue the X8 or M8 series.
- 2 Sep 2026Live Taiwan check: all three POCO/Xiaomi models sit 12.6–17.4% below list; neither Nothing phone shows a tracked discount; the Phone (2a) is absent from both Nothing storefronts.
Two developments sit beside this five-phone field without belonging to it. POCO's separate, newer F9 series — a tier above the X8 series — launched globally on 1 Sep 2026, the day before the price check above, and neither discontinues nor replaces any phone in this set. No Taiwan launch of a POCO X9 successor is on record as of 2 Sep 2026: the only related coverage found is unverified rumour, for a different market, dated into September 2026.
The Argument
Two Brands, Two Different Retail Propositions what the price data actually shows
The five phones split cleanly into two retail patterns, not by chipset or camera but by how their price moves once they are on sale. Every POCO/Xiaomi model here — the M8 5G, the X8 Pro, the X8 Pro Max — carries a live, tracked Taiwan street price below its own list price, by 12.6% to 17.4%, at the same comparison platform. Neither Nothing model does: the (4a) and (4a) Pro show only their unchanged list price, NT$14,990 and NT$17,990, on every check run from launch week to six months later. That is a genuine difference in how each brand's Taiwan retail actually behaves, not a claim about which phone is better built.
The camera story is a trade, not a straightforward decline. Every phone in this set that still carries an ultrawide lens — both Nothing phones released since the (2a), and both POCO X8 models — carries the same 8 MP sensor, an 84% cut from the (2a)'s 50 MP ultrawide; the M8 5G removes the second rear lens outright. But the (4a) and (4a) Pro are also the only two phones here with a real optical telephoto — a 3.5× periscope lens absent from all three POCO/Xiaomi models. Nothing's two current phones traded ultrawide resolution for reach; POCO's three did not gain the reach and kept the same reduced ultrawide regardless.
- 12.6–17.4%the range every POCO/Xiaomi model here sits below its own Taiwan list price, today
- NT$0the discount ever recorded for either Nothing model, on the same platform, across six months
- 3.5×optical zoom on the (4a) and (4a) Pro only — the trade for their shared 8 MP ultrawide
A price gap is not automatically a value gap
Nothing's two current phones cost roughly 1.7× to 2× the cheapest POCO/Xiaomi model here at official list price, with no tracked Taiwan discount ever narrowing that gap, and they promise one fewer major OS upgrade. In exchange, the (4a) and (4a) Pro are the only two phones in this set with a real optical telephoto, a distinctive Glyph lighting interface, and — on the (4a) Pro — the brightest screen and only aluminium unibody here. Neither fact cancels the other; both are true at once.
What Others Add
Nothing's Own Pair, Independently Benchmarked in Taiwan one Taiwan reviewer, both phones, same test suite
| Nothing (4a) | Nothing (4a) Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6, single / multi / GPU OpenCL | 1,252 / 3,334 / 3,533 | 1,375 / 4,213 / 4,657 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Stress Test, best / worst / stability | 4,262 / 4,224 / 99.1% | 7,563 / 7,535 / 99.6% |
| AITUTU Benchmark v3.6.1 | 382,647 | 740,344 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 battery test | 18 h 02 min | 18 h 12 min |
The 10-minute battery-life gap between the two phones, against a much larger gap on every performance test, is itself informative: the (4a) Pro's faster chip and brighter, higher-refresh screen cost almost nothing in Taiwan's own battery test despite drawing more power on paper. Both phones are rated 8.0 out of 10 by the same reviewer, who names each phone's long battery life and shared 3.5× telephoto as its strengths and each phone's 8 MP ultrawide as a weak point.
A Company Dispute, and a Manufacturer's Own Footnote neither Taiwan-specific; both worth recording plainly
A report on 24 Jul 2026 claimed Nothing would exit 12 or more global markets and cut its workforce by roughly 40%, citing the Phone (4b)'s sales at only 20,000 units. Three days later, Nothing's co-founder called the report “fake news”, describing a regional-hub reorganisation instead and stating the (4b) sold 29,537 units on its first day alone — directly contradicting the original figure. The original outlet stood by its story. Neither side names Taiwan, in either direction, and this is recorded as an unresolved disagreement between two published sources, not evidence for or against Nothing's position in the Taiwan market specifically.
POCO M8 5G's own Taiwan specification page states its rating two different ways in the same paragraph: the headline reads IP66 (dust-tight, protected against powerful water jets); the manufacturer's own footnote directly beneath it describes testing to IP64 (dust-tight, protected against water splashes only) under the same IEC 60529 standard the footnote itself cites. IP66 and IP64 are different, non-overlapping test conditions — this is the manufacturer's own material disagreeing with itself, not an aggregator's transcription error.
Where the Phone (2a) Actually Stands four independent observations, read together
Four independent checks point the same way. Nothing's own Taiwan and global storefronts list every current phone in the range and no ordinary Phone (2a) at all — only a named limited-run drop survives on the global site. Taiwan's own price-comparison platform carries no price field for it, list or street, unlike every other phone here. One Taiwan retailer still runs an active promotional bundle for it, but its price is not readable without running the page's own script. And the one concrete figure found for a new unit — NT$14,990, through a general online marketplace rather than an authorised channel — is identical to the Phone (4a)'s current list price. None of this is a claim that the (2a) has been formally discontinued; it is what four independent, dated checks each separately show, on 2 Sep 2026.
Conclusion
Which One, and Why what each phone is for, not which one wins
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro — NT$17,990
If you want the brightest screen and sturdiest build in this set, and will pay full price for it
- The only aluminium-unibody build and the only IP65 rating among the two Nothing phones, plus the highest peak brightness (5,000 nits) and refresh rate (144 Hz) of all five phones here.
- Shares the (4a)'s 3.5× telephoto and near-identical battery life (18 h 12 min against 18 h 02 min in the same test), so the extra outlay is mostly build and screen.
- Costs the most of any phone in this five-way set, with no tracked Taiwan discount ever recorded and no more promised OS upgrades than the cheaper (4a).
POCO X8 Pro — from NT$9,190
If you want a near-flagship chip at a genuinely discounted price, with configuration choice
- A genuinely tracked Taiwan discount, unlike either Nothing phone here — 12.6–17.4% below list across three configurations.
- Comes in three official configurations from 8/256 GB to 12/512 GB, plus a limited Iron Man Edition colourway unique to this model.
- No ultrawide-camera advantage over its own Max sibling or Nothing's current pair — all four share the same 8 MP sensor, and it carries no optical telephoto at all.
POCO X8 Pro Max — from NT$12,390
If battery capacity matters more than anything else in this set
- The largest battery in this entire five-phone set at 8,500 mAh, 70.0% more capacity than the Phone (2a)'s 5,000 mAh.
- A genuinely tracked Taiwan discount of 16.3–17.4% below list, the widest percentage cut of any phone here.
- Same 8 MP ultrawide and no telephoto at all, like its own Pro sibling — the extra weight (218 g, the heaviest of the five) buys battery and chip tier, not camera range.
POCO M8 5G — from NT$6,990
If price is the deciding factor and a second camera lens is not
- The cheapest phone in this entire set by a wide margin, at NT$6,990 street price — 24% under the next-cheapest phone here.
- Also the lightest and thinnest of the five (178 g, 7.35 mm), and still promises the same four-year OS/six-year security commitment as its pricier siblings.
- The only phone in this set with no ultrawide lens at all — a 2 MP depth-assist sensor is its second rear camera — and its own specification page states two different dust/water ratings for itself in the same paragraph (see §4).
Nothing Phone (2a) — an existing-owner or secondhand pick, not a straightforward new buy
The only phone in this set with a 50 MP ultrawide
- Still the only phone in this five-way set with a full 50 MP ultrawide — every phone released since, on both brands, carries an 8 MP ultrawide or none at all.
- Nothing's own reporting still schedules it a third major Android upgrade, in open beta from mid-October 2026 — software support has not stopped.
- But it is absent from both of Nothing's own storefronts, carries no price at Taiwan's own comparison platform, and the one figure found for a new unit — NT$14,990, via a general marketplace — matches the (4a)'s current list price. Whoever already owns one, or finds genuine secondhand or carrier-contract stock, keeps the best ultrawide in this set; whoever does not should not expect a straightforward new purchase in Taiwan today.
- Match the discount, not just the list price. Every POCO/Xiaomi model here is tracked 12.6–17.4% below list at the same Taiwan comparison platform; neither Nothing phone has ever shown one there. Compare the price actually on offer, not the number on the box.
- If a Phone (2a) is being offered new, ask where it is coming from. It is absent from Nothing's own storefronts; a listing at or near a brand-new (4a)'s price is not the bargain it resembles, and its origin and warranty status are worth confirming before paying.
- Decide on the ultrawide/telephoto trade before the price. The (4a) pair adds a real 3.5× optical zoom and drops ultrawide resolution to match the POCO trio's 8 MP; the M8 5G drops the ultrawide altogether. None of the five keeps the (2a)'s original 50 MP ultrawide.
What is not settled
No phone here is better in general. Which one suits a given buyer depends on what is weighed — design and reach against price and update count, battery against weight — and the cards above say which weighing points where. Three things remain genuinely open: the exact Taiwan on-sale date for the (4a)/(4a) Pro, a reliable authorised-channel price for the (2a), and whether Nothing's reported market consolidation touches Taiwan in either direction — neither published report on that names Taiwan at all.