Nothing Phone (3a) vs Nothing Phone (4a) Pro

Nothing Phone (3a)

A 6.77-inch 120Hz AMOLED that punches well above its price — bright, smooth and a consistent highlight.

• It's a 6.77-inch AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+, rated 800 nits typical / 1,300 nits HBM / 3,000 nits peak with Ultra HDR support.
• The brighter AMOLED hits up to 3,000 nits peak in HDR — one of the highest figures seen on paper at this price.
• The display holds up well watching content indoors and outdoors, a genuine class highlight for a budget phone.
• It's a 1080p panel at 387ppi with a 19.93:9 aspect ratio — sharp and smooth, with the usual budget-tier 1080p ceiling.

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 (3a)

A 50MP main co-engineered with Samsung plus a genuinely useful 2x telephoto — strong for the price, though the 8MP ultrawide is weak and it can't match the Pixel.

• It packs a 50MP main with OIS, a 50MP 2x telephoto, an 8MP ultrawide and a 32MP front camera.
• The dedicated 2x telephoto is a clear upgrade over the Phone 2a and takes genuinely good-looking shots at 2x.
• A telephoto camera at this price is a good one to have — unusual for a sub-$400 phone.
• It's a shame the camera doesn't stack up against the Pixel 9 series, and the weaker zoom is a real downside versus pricier rivals.
• The 8MP ultrawide is pretty bad — it's really only there for the occasional wide perspective shot.
• Video tops out at 4K30 on the main and telephoto (no 4K60), with 1080p60 on the front camera.

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 (3a)

The Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 handles everyday use and casual gaming at 60fps, but it can stutter under heavier loads and the UFS 2.2 storage is slow.

• It runs a Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 with 8GB RAM and up to 256GB UFS 2.2 storage.
• You can find ways to make it stutter when gaming or moving through heavy apps, but the performance still can't be faulted for the price.
• Gaming is solid for a budget phone — Call of Duty Mobile, Genshin Impact and Asphalt all held ~60fps at default settings (33–37°C).
• Demanding titles like Genshin or Wuthering Waves can't hold a constant 60fps for more than 30 minutes or at higher settings.
• The slow storage and processor raise real questions about long-term performance expectations.
• Nothing's software is well optimised — there are occasional stutters when heavily loaded, but overall it runs nice and smooth for the price.

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.

Nothing Phone (3a)

A 5,000mAh cell that comfortably lasts a day to a day and a half with no overheating, plus fast ~50W wired charging — though there's no wireless charging and no charger in the box.

• The 5,000mAh battery easily delivers a day and a half, sometimes two, with zero overheating.
• Real-world screen-on time ran roughly 6.5–8.5 hours, including an 8.5-hour run on mobile data with hotspot use.
• Even with the 5,000mAh cell it's still a one-day battery champ, comfortably ending the night with 25–30% left.
• A measured charge test took it 1% to 90% in exactly one hour on a 45W charger, with a 50W charger faster and a full charge in ~1h10–15m.
• It supports up to 50W wired charging but there's no wireless charging — a notable omission even at this price.
• Against newer 6,000–7,000mAh competitors the 5,000mAh capacity is starting to look modest, though it's far from bad.

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.

Nothing Phone (3a)

Nothing OS is the phone's quiet superpower — clean, minimalist and one of the best Android experiences outside a Pixel, with strong long-term support — but the Essential Key underwhelms and ads/bloat are creeping in.

• After 100 days, Nothing has the balance right — good hardware married with a very good software experience; of all Nothing's 2025 products the Phone (3a) is their best.
• Nothing promises 3 years of OS updates and 6 years of security patches — reasonable and better than most budget competition.
• Nothing OS is one of the cleanest, most distinctive Android experiences — Pixel-clean but even more minimalist.
• The Essential Key still isn't very useful even months in — and the rumoured ~$120/year Essential Space cost is unwelcome.
• Nothing has started diluting what makes it special with bloatware and lock-screen ads being added across the lineup.

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.

Nothing Phone (3a)

At $379 it's repeatedly called the best-balanced, most distinctive phone in its class — beating the iPhone 16e on spec-sheet and trading blows with the Pixel 9a and Galaxy A56.

• Starting at $379/€379, it aims to deliver a premium experience without breaking the bank — and largely succeeds.
• Coming straight from the iPhone 16e, the Phone (3a) spec sheet on paper makes the 16e's look terrible.
• It's better than most, if not the best, at the price — a phone reviewers are glad exists.
• After a few weeks the reviewer was truly impressed: snappy mid-range performance, good gaming, clean Android, unique design, excellent battery and guaranteed long-term support.
• It's become one of the best-selling Nothing phones of all time, with an enduring battery and clean UI — though recent bloatware additions mar the experience slightly.
• Against the Galaxy A56 it's the better pick for a unique experience, while the A56 wins purely on longer software updates.

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.