Nothing Phone (4a) Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S24

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 S24

A 6.2-inch FHD+ Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X at 120Hz, jumping to a 2,600-nit peak (up from the S23's 1,750). Small but excellent.

• 6.2-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 2,600 nits peak at 1080x2340 (416ppi) with always-on display.
• Peak brightness is 2,600 nits, up from 1,750 on the S23 — a big real-world improvement.
• It gets jaw-droppingly bright at 2,600 nits max, excellent for outdoor use.
• Coming from a Pixel 6, the S24's screen is a dramatic upgrade and the speaker is far louder.

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 S24

A 50MP main, 10MP 3x telephoto and 12MP ultrawide (identical to the S24+). Competent and consistent, but not the line's strength.

• Triple camera: 50MP main, 10MP 3x optical telephoto, 12MP ultrawide and a 12MP selfie, with strong portrait shots.
• The main camera captures fantastic detail and accurate colours; pro mode produces shots that look from a much more expensive camera.
• Run through DXOMARK's full camera suite for photo, video and zoom quality (Exynos variant).
• A Samsung owner notes the camera is the one clear downside versus a Pixel.
• Featured among the best camera smartphones of 2024 for its hardware-plus-software point-and-shoot results.

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 S24

A 4,000mAh cell (up from the S23's 3,900) with markedly better endurance — but charging is still capped at an unchanged 25W.

• Battery grew from 3,900mAh to 4,000mAh; video playback hit 17:46h (~4h more than the S23 and beating the Pixel 8), browsing 9:46h, gaming 7:34h.
• Charging remains 25W wired / 15W wireless / 4.5W reverse with no UWB — unchanged from the S23.
• In a multi-phone endurance test the Snapdragon S24 outlasted a Pixel 8 that has a 22%-bigger battery — Tensor G3 is clearly less efficient than the Exynos 2400.
• After a year of charging, gaming and streaming the battery still measured 100% health at 302 cycles (Samsung's hidden diagnostics).
• The Exynos S24 ran hotter (43°C even on Wi-Fi) and was the first to die in the multi-phone drain test.

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 S24

Launched at $799 (128GB) — $50 cheaper than the S23 — and now an exceptional sub-$400 used buy. The recurring criticism is the 256GB upcharge.

• 'The best small Android smartphone gets cheaper but not better' — $799 for 128GB, $50 less than its predecessor.
• It's safe to assume the S24 is still worth buying in 2026, much as an iPhone 15 is worth owning after the iPhone 17.
• After serious testing, USA Today's Reviewed recommends the Samsung Galaxy S24 to most people.
• At around $400 used in 2026 it's an excellent device that still feels like a flagship — just expect some battery degradation.
• At $800 the fingerprint sensor, GPS and Bluetooth modules should be better, and the 256GB-over-128GB upcharge is 'theft.'