Last week, a series of renderings were released online, claiming to show what the upcoming Nothing Phone 2a would look like. Unfortunately, it has been claimed that these renderings are fake and may show another unannounced Nothing Phone.

The first renderings were by @OnLeaks, who is known for using leaked schematics to create renderings of upcoming phones. While these renderings are by no means 100% accurate, they tend to give us an idea of what to expect from a new phone. Unfortunately, OnLeaks itself admits on Twitter/X that it failed this time around.

So what happened then: shortly after the OnLeaks renderings were released last week, fellow leaker Evan Blass pointed out a few problems that raised suspicions. For example, the renderings were not based on standard CAD files obtained from Foxconn, as in other previous OnLeaks pieces; Blass also pointed out that the tagline for the Nothing teaser, "See the world with fresh eyes," was not consistent with the vertical He also noted that it does not match the camera array.

According to MySmartPrix, sources initially told OnLeaks that these rendered images were of the unreleased Nothing Phone 2a. This was not true, and instead the source provided images of a scrapped Nothing Phone design. After some investigation, it was revealed that this design actually appeared in the Nothing Phone 1 promo video and was probably a scrapped design of the original handset.

This certainly explains why Nothing's signature Glyph design is not seen in these rendered images. We knew that the new cheaper model would make some sacrifices, but we did not expect it to be one of them. These renderings have now been determined to be fakes, so it is possible that Glyph will return again. In any case, other design leaks also suggest this.

So let this be a lesson learned. Don't believe everything you read on the Internet, even if it comes from a reliable and reputable source. In other words, you should always be skeptical of online rumors and leaks until you get confirmation from the manufacturer.

But for now, check out our Nothing Phone 2a hub for all the other news and rumors we've heard.