Google Pixel 9 Pro vs Nothing Phone (4a) Pro

Google Pixel 9 Pro

A 6.3-inch LTPO Super Actua OLED at 120Hz with a 3,000-nit peak — class-leading brightness in a compact phone.

• The Pixel 9 Pro introduced 3,000-nit peak brightness while the iPhone 16 Pro/Pro Max still topped out at 2,000 nits.
• Measured peak brightness of over 2,000 nits keeps the screen legible in all conditions.
• The 6.3-inch Super Actua display is a daily highlight in a phone that's still genuinely pocketable.
• Around an 87.6% screen-to-body ratio with slim, even bezels.

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro

A 6.83-inch 1.5K AMOLED at 144Hz with 2,160Hz PWM dimming — reviewers agree it's the best screen Nothing has built, with realistic outdoor brightness around 1,600 nits. The headline 5,000-nit peak, though, only materialises with special HDR test files; everyday brightness is far lower.

• Nothing's best-ever display: a 144Hz panel with 1,600 nits of outdoor brightness and a claimed 5,000 nits peak; the main camera is solid too with nice detail and well-reproduced colours.
• A claimed 1,600-nit outdoor brightness is realistic — no major visibility issues outdoors even in strong sunshine, putting it among the best affordable phones, and Nothing OS has some of the best design consistency of any Android UI.
• The 4,500-nit HDR peak was only validated with specific HDR test files, not actual video playback — real-world output is around 700 nits in SDR and 1,550–1,600 in HDR.
• The '5,000-nit peak brightness' spec means nothing in practice — a marketing figure pulled from a single-pixel measurement.
• 144Hz refresh (vs 120Hz on the regular 4a) and 1,600 nits white brightness / 5,000 nits peak, marketed as 66% brighter than the Phone (3a) series — though there's no extra output on a small 10% window.
• High-frequency PWM dimming makes it better suited to users sensitive to screen flicker, although slight flickering is still present.

Google Pixel 9 Pro

A 50MP wide, 48MP ultrawide and a much-improved 48MP 5x telephoto plus a 42MP selfie — the system reviewers say cements the Pixel as the best camera phone.

• With a refined design, much-improved telephoto camera and great battery life, the Pixel 9 Pro cements its status as the smartphone with the best camera.
• The Pixel 9 Pro has arguably the best camera among the big three flagships, plus Google software like Night Sight and Magic Eraser.
• Camera spec: 50MP wide, 48MP ultrawide, 48MP telephoto and a 42MP front camera.
• In an iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Pixel 9 Pro XL shootout the iPhone won — its images were brighter and preserved highlights better.
• Reviewers were unusually critical of camera and especially video quality for a Pixel, and the camera hardware wasn't noticeably updated.

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro

The headline value play: a 50MP Sony LYT-710 main with OIS, a true 50MP 3.5x periscope telephoto (80mm) with OIS, and an 8MP ultrawide — flagship-tier hardware Samsung and Apple don't put in phones at this price. Output is characterful and the telephoto is a genuine win, but reviewers consistently flag inconsistency, average low-light and a gimmicky 140x digital zoom.

• Triple rear system: 50MP Sony LYT-710 main (f/1.9, OIS), 8MP ultrawide, and a 50MP periscope telephoto with 3.5x optical zoom (80mm, f/2.9, OIS).
• Both the main and periscope-zoom cameras are 50MP and deliver strong results for this price range; the zoom in particular stands out from competitors and even allows for extreme digital zoom.
• Having a proper dedicated telephoto shooter is a genuine love, although the camera experience itself is a little bit inconsistent at times.
• It's not clinically the best camera, but the shots have a bit more soul to them.
• Low-light performance isn't the best, and image quality when you zoom right in isn't the best out there — not bad, just not class-leading.

Google Pixel 9 Pro

A compact ~4,700mAh battery that reviews praised as 'great' but heavy users find can't last a day — the Pixel 9 Pro's most polarising trait.

• Engadget rated the Pixel 9 Pro's battery life as 'great,' a key part of why it recommends the phone.
• Google advertises it as a 24-hour battery on the 6.3-inch Super Actua model.
• For light/moderate use the battery is 'fantastic,' but heavy users call it the worst they've owned — it can't make it through an entire day.
• One owner got about 3h11m screen-on-time from 37% battery in mixed use — modest for heavy days.
• New 45W-class wired charging plus wireless and Battery Share carry over from the Pro line.

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro

The ~5,080mAh cell reliably gets through a day and endurance improved across all of GSMArena's tests versus the 3a Pro — but it's only an 80mAh bump over last year and looks small next to 6,000–7,000mAh budget rivals. 50W wired charging is the trade-off win; there is no wireless charging at all.

• Endurance has improved across the board in all tests compared to last year's Nothing Phone (3a) Pro; with a 68W USB-PD charger the phone peaked at around 42W.
• The review unit gets through a day without problems, but it'll certainly be into the red and close to done after about 15 hours of use; the OnePlus 15R has a much meatier battery to last longer.
• It's only an 80mAh increase over last year — small fry next to budget rivals like the Poco M8 Pro, which uses silicon-carbon tech to reach 6,500mAh.
• 50W wired charging is very respectable at this price — besting anything Google, Apple or Samsung offers below £500.
• Because the processor isn't power-hungry and the battery is large for the chip, real-world battery life is excellent.

Google Pixel 9 Pro

The Pixel 9 Pro's defining strength — the best Gemini/AI suite on any phone, plus seven years of updates and a year of Gemini Advanced.

• Google put its AI features front and centre this year, alongside a refined design — superb cameras 'with a side of Gemini AI.'
• It has AI infusion all over the software and camera tricks that rival the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
• You get all of Google's software features including Night Sight and Magic Eraser, plus the deepest AI toolset on any phone.
• Some units suffered post-Android-16 connectivity loss until a restart — an OS-update reliability concern.
• Even stripped of Gemini, the just-hardware Pixel 9 is a strong phone — but AI is the headline reason to buy it.

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro

Nothing OS 4.1 on Android 16 is the universal favourite: near-stock AOSP functionality with a distinctive monochrome visual identity, almost no bloatware, and AI that's present but not forced. The one hard reservation is update length — only 3 years of OS upgrades against 6 years of security patches.

• Nothing OS sticks close to a clean, near-stock Android (AOSP) experience in functionality, but stands out with its distinctive visual identity.
• After a week the phone is 'absolutely brilliant'; software is where Nothing phones shine, even if the camera 'window' at the top of the display is basically a pseudo-iPhone look.
• Software is where Nothing phones absolutely shine — the clearest reason to pick this over rivals.
• There's a smattering of AI here, but it's not shoved down your throat — and the software is basically the same clean setup as the regular Nothing Phone (4a).
• Unlike Samsung's Galaxy AI which is in your face from day one, Nothing's AI stays out of the way — an impressive, restrained package overall.