Nothing Phone (4a) Pro vs Samsung Galaxy A55 5G

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.

Samsung Galaxy A55 5G

A 6.6-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED at 120Hz — vibrant and the highlight of the experience, but caps at ~1,000 nits, below flagship brightness.

• 6.6-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED at 120Hz, the same bright, smooth panel class as the A35.
• The viewing experience is basically what makes this phone 100% worth the money.
• It can't match the S24's 2,600-nit peak, maxing at 1,000 nits in High Brightness Mode.
• The AMOLED gets very dark at night, which photophobic users particularly appreciate.

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.
• The 140x zoom headline grabs attention, but in use it's more about how far the camera can push digitally than something you'd rely on day-to-day.
• Not super impressed by the camera or the giant protruding bumps the lenses sit in.

Samsung Galaxy A55 5G

A 50MP f/1.8 OIS main, 12MP ultrawide and 5MP macro, plus a 32MP selfie. Dependable with strong low-light for the class, weaker against true flagships at night.

• Triple rear: 50MP f/1.8 OIS main (1/1.56"), 12MP ultrawide and a 5MP macro.
• Dependable camera performance with excellent videos, per the GSMArena review.
• Versus the iPhone 13 it holds its own in almost every scenario, and clearly wins in low light with less noise.
• Night mode isn't on par with the iPhone 15 or Pixel 8 Pro, but it's a clear improvement and competitive at the price.
• Video records up to 4K 30fps on the main, ultrawide and front cameras, with smoother FHD 60fps available.

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.

Samsung Galaxy A55 5G

Exynos 1480 with up to 8/12GB RAM — solidly midrange. Smooth for daily use thanks to 120Hz, but with occasional micro-stutter under load.

• The A55 ups the ante with more memory (8GB), a faster Exynos 1480 and a superior camera setup over its predecessor.
• There's occasional lag or micro-stutter when launching the camera in social apps or switching between apps.
• 120Hz is well optimised and the UI stays smooth, with the camera even opening slightly faster than on the A56.
• It runs cooler than a Galaxy S24 in sustained tests (A55 ~31–34°C vs S24 ~37–38°C) and beat the A35 on AnTuTu.
• An owner found it ran cooler/better than an S23 FE, which heats up faster even just browsing social media.

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.

Samsung Galaxy A55 5G

A 5,000mAh battery with very strong endurance, undercut by slow 25W wired charging and no wireless charging.

• The 5,000mAh battery can stretch toward two days if you're sensible with gaming and camera use.
• It uses only ~2% battery over 8 hours of 5G standby — far better than a Galaxy S24's ~5%.
• Around 8 hours of screen-on-time means it easily lasts a full day; the battery 'just goes on and on.'
• It does not support wireless charging at all; charging is 25W wired over USB-C only.
• The lack of fast charging is the one thing owners really miss in a rush versus 90W rivals.

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.
• While the (4a)'s design is still the best in the Nothing range, the (4a) Pro is a close second, and its speakers sound better than the standard model's.

Samsung Galaxy A55 5G

A 'boring but solid' midranger that becomes an excellent value at its frequent discounts — though it's not officially sold in the US.

• A boring update, but still a solid mid-ranger for its price.
• It once again seems to be one of the best mid-tier Android devices of the year for the rest of the world.
• It packs a lot of premium features into a midrange smartphone.
• It's half the price of its flagship counterpart, but the gap between the two isn't nearly as large as you'd expect.
• It has dropped to as low as £249 in price-cut deals — exceptional value at that level.