Nothing Phone (2a) vs Nothing Phone (4a) Pro

Nothing Phone (2a)

A 6.7-inch 1080x2412 AMOLED at 120Hz with HDR10+ and Ultra HDR support — consistently called one of the best screens at this price.

• 6.7-inch AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1080x2412 — a strong panel for a sub-$400 phone, with Always-On Display.
• Between its gorgeous display and excellent battery life, the Phone (2a) hits enough highs to stand up to the best in its price bracket.
• It supports Google's Ultra HDR format out of the box — a feature not even guaranteed on the pricier Phone (2).
• Long-term owners call it 'one of the best screens I've seen on the phone market'.

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.

Nothing Phone (2a)

A dual 50MP system that's the phone's clearest compromise — acceptable for everyday use and decent for video, but the area where rivals and Pixel 'a' phones pull ahead.

• The camera 'isn't the best but it's more than acceptable for most' — a fair summary of the everyday experience.
• After a year, owners rate the camera best-in-class for video around the 20–25K INR price, with a detailed 50MP ultrawide.
• New owners note photo quality from the rear camera is the one area that isn't a smooth experience.
• Long-term owner score: camera 8/10 — 'not a lot to say about the camera', the device's weakest pillar alongside speakers.
• Versus the Galaxy A55, owners flag the 'okayish camera on Phone (2a)' as a key drawback.

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.

Nothing Phone (2a)

The MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro with up to 12GB RAM handles daily use and gaming well for the class, though it's not flagship-grade and a minority report stutters or app issues.

• Notebookcheck scored the Dimensity 7200 / Mali-G610 MP4 build 86.9% — strong for a phone from €329.
• Owners say it 'gives out the best performance an Android user needs' for everyday tasks.
• Long-term performance scored 9/10 with only minor stutter observed — solid mid-range muscle.
• A minority of users report apps crashing and not fitting the screen size properly — quality-control variance.

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro

The Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 with UFS 3.1 storage is a clear, tangible step up from the Phone (3a) generation — Nothing claims +27% CPU, +30% GPU and +65% AI. It's a perfectly capable everyday chip that feels noticeably quicker, but it's explicitly not a gaming powerhouse and warms up under sustained heavy load.

• Backed by OS optimisations and a custom CPU scheduler, the chipset delivers 27% better CPU, 30% better GPU and 65% better AI performance than the Nothing Phone (3a); storage is 147% faster in reads and 380% faster in writes.
• Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 is a perfectly acceptable chip across the board, and the upgrade to UFS 3.1 makes this feel noticeably quicker compared to the Nothing Phone (3a) and prior.
• The CPU performance difference between the 4a Pro and the vanilla 4a is not massive, but it is still very much notable.
• Available in 8GB+128GB, 8GB+256GB and 12GB+256GB configurations, all running near-stock AOSP-style Nothing OS.
• Like most phones in this segment, it shows some basic heat build-up during really extensive tasks like gaming or 4K editing in high-end software, though it stays responsive while gaming.
• It's by no means a top-notch gaming phone, although the processor is better than the regular 4a's and squeezes out a bit more performance and FPS.

Nothing Phone (2a)

A 5,000mAh battery — the first in the 2a line — delivers excellent all-day endurance, with reasonable if not blazing 45W wired charging (no charger in the box).

• The Phone (2a) is the first among its siblings to reach 5,000mAh, up from 4,500/4,700mAh predecessors.
• Battery test: ~13h33m web browsing and ~8h47m video — solid endurance without the Phone (2)'s extreme highs or lows.
• It refuels at 45W with the right brick (none included), reaching ~41% in 30 minutes and full in ~1h26m.
• Long-term owners simply call the battery 'very good' — comfortably all-day for normal use.

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.
• Roughly 13 hours of continuous playback at maximum brightness in a streaming test — impressive for what Nothing is doing at this price.

Nothing Phone (2a)

At $349 it's one of the best-value phones of 2024 — its design, display and software outclass rivals, though spec-sheet shoppers can find more raw hardware (camera, charger-in-box) from Redmi/Poco.

• 9to5Google: 'The $349 device offered specs better than the price suggested, with excellent hardware and software too.'
• Nothing 'makes some of the best budget phones right now' and the Phone (2a) 'was terrific'.
• Stuff's verdict: if you're determined to spend less than £350/$399, the Phone (2a) is an excellent choice.
• The spec-sheet counterpoint: a Redmi/Poco offers a better screen, camera, bigger battery and a charger in the box for similar money.
• US buyers should note limited carrier support, with T-Mobile the best option.
• Switchers are convinced — one former Apple user was 'so impressed I sold my iPhone afterwards'.

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro

At $499 it directly undercuts the experience-per-dollar of the same-priced Pixel 10a and iPhone 17e, and several reviewers would take it over the 10a without hesitation. The closest internal threat is its own cheaper sibling, the standard Phone (4a), which shares the same cameras for $150 less.

• From the design to the software and cameras, this is a phone that should absolutely not be slept on — at the price of a Pixel 10a, 'I'd take this 10 out of 10 times over a 10a.'
• Vibes and great value for under $500 — a balanced all-rounder.
• Against its immediate rivals the Pixel 10a and iPhone 17e it looks impressive: a larger, brighter, faster display, more cameras, and Nothing's unique design including the Glyph Matrix.
• A premium balanced package with polished software and really good cameras — recommended, even if it's not perfect on the IP rating or front-camera 4K.
• The biggest problem for the 4a Pro is its own little brother — the standard 4a costs much less and gets the exact same cameras.