
Nothing
The $499 phone to beat

Samsung
Best-value Galaxy S23 — same chip + 45W as Ultra, no S Pen
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
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.
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Samsung Galaxy S23+
Samsung Galaxy S23+
Samsung Galaxy S23+
Same 50MP main + 12MP ultrawide + 10MP 3x telephoto trio as the standard S23 — no 200MP main, no 10x periscope. Versatile and consistent in daylight; the Ultra's zoom range is the clearest gap.
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.
Samsung Galaxy S23+
The bespoke Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy and 8GB RAM make it indistinguishable from the Ultra for everyday use — much cooler than the Exynos S22+ and still smooth in 2026.
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.
Samsung Galaxy S23+
4,700mAh paired with the efficient chip delivers excellent real-world endurance — owners regularly hit 5-8 hours SOT and full days with 40% to spare. Charging is 45W rated (the standard S23 is only 25W) but caps out at ~1h6m to full and needs the correct PPS cable.
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.
Samsung Galaxy S23+
Launched at $999, now $400-500 used / refurbished — strong value for the chip + charging combo, but the standard S23 ($799) and the Ultra ($1,199) overshadow it inside Samsung's own lineup.