Nothing Phone (4a) Pro vs Sony Xperia 1 VI

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.

Sony Xperia 1 VI

The headline change: Sony dropped its signature 4K panel for a regular FHD+ 21:9 LTPO OLED. Reviewers frame it as a net win — far better efficiency and brightness — even if it loses a bragging right.

• Forbes' framing question captures the debate: does the new regular display make it the best Sony yet?
• The new, more efficient 1080p+ LTPO OLED (paired with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3) makes a big difference to overall endurance versus the old 4K panel.
• Top-tier display quality is one of the reasons the phone is worth considering for those who demand more than everyday performance.

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.

Sony Xperia 1 VI

A triple system — 48MP main, a unique continuous 85–170mm zoom telephoto with 120mm telemacro, and a 12MP ultrawide. Strong in good light with Sony's no-over-processing look and pro controls; weaker at night and for macro.

• 48MP f/1.9 24mm main (1/1.35"), a 12MP telephoto with stepless 3.5x–7.1x (85–170mm) optical zoom and 4cm telemacro at 120mm, plus a 12MP 16mm ultrawide.
• The longer zoom reach is the highlight — stepless 3.5x (85mm) to 7.1x (170mm), up from 3.5x–5.2x on the Xperia 1 V; telephoto photos are excellent in good light with great dynamic range and accurate colors.
• Sony's lack of the extreme processing you'd find on Pixel or Samsung — combined with a now-capable easy automatic mode — produces brilliant, natural results without forcing manual mode.
• Notebookcheck rated it one of the two best camera smartphones (alongside the OnePlus 13) for travel photography.
• Night photography is a weak point — cameras struggle to focus, results are often grainy or noisy, and Sony's algorithms don't fully kill handheld motion blur.

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.

Sony Xperia 1 VI

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 with 12GB RAM delivers flagship performance that stays snappy, and — unusually for older Xperias — the VI runs cool rather than hot under load.

• Flagship performance — Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 with 12GB RAM and microSD expansion up to 2TB.
• Unlike the notoriously hot Mark III/V, the Xperia 1 VI 'doesn't really feel like it's getting toasty at all' under sustained use.
• Handles even the highest-quality games without struggle unless pushed beyond 15–20 minutes of continuous play.

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.

Sony Xperia 1 VI

The standout: the same 5,000mAh cell now lasts dramatically longer thanks to the FHD+ panel — most reviewers reach two days, some a third. Charging is modest at 30W (~80–90 min to full).

• Advertised as a two-day battery despite 5,000mAh — on light use it stretched to the end of a third day, only needing a charge on morning four.
• ~17h20m of PCMark screen-on time, typically rounding into the night with ~30% left — very good going.
• 30W wired gives a full charge in ~80 minutes and ~50–54% in half an hour; an 80% charge limit is available to protect long-term battery health.
• GSMArena: a 30-minute charge replenished 50% and a full 0% charge took around 90 minutes — Sony shaved a few minutes off the Xperia 1 V despite unchanged hardware.
• Dissenting datapoint: one reviewer couldn't reach a second day even with light usage — real-world endurance varies with workload.

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.

Sony Xperia 1 VI

A pricey, niche flagship that finally made a small splash for the Xperia line. Its value case rests on being the only true creator/enthusiast phone left — not on out-spec'ing mainstream rivals.

• The Xperia series didn't make much of a mainstream splash until the Xperia 1 VI — a turning point for the line.
• It's a creator-first phone with features you just don't see on rival flagships anymore — expandable storage and a headphone port — justifying its niche appeal.
• Sony's declining sales even in its home country leave reviewers torn between gratitude for the variety and concern about the line's future.
• For day-to-day use the Mark 6 is the better phone; the Mark 5 remains the pick specifically for video content creation.