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

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 VII

A bright 6.5-inch 120Hz OLED that's a clear highlight — though Sony dropped the 4K/21:9 panel that defined earlier Xperia 1 models.

• Peak brightness is up ~20% over the VI — measured ~800 nits manual boosting to over 1,470–1,500 nits in auto.
• Outdoors in sunlight watching HDR content you get just shy of 1,500 nits — a meaningful step up.
• Sony continues to produce some of the best screens in the industry, and the bright 120Hz OLED carries that legacy.
• Long-time fans lose the 4K and 21:9 panel that earlier Xperia 1 models were known for — a real reason some won't upgrade from the VI.

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 VII

The most divisive area: a genuinely standout new ultrawide and great selfies, but a continuous-zoom telephoto that's an engineering marvel undermined by mediocre image quality.

• The trio is a 52MP (48MP effective) IMX888 24mm main, a new 50MP IMX906 16mm ultrawide and a 12MP periscope covering 85–170mm continuous optical zoom.
• The new ultrawide is arguably the one camera that delivers truly standout results — and the selfies are awesome too.
• The upgraded ultrawide is clearly sharper than the competition, in the centre and at the edges.
• The super-advanced continuous-zoom camera is a unique feature, but it's a shame it's bad — it just doesn't produce the photo quality to justify its existence.
• The one-lens 85–170mm continuous optical zoom is an engineering marvel, on par with top-tier ultra flagships at 3x, but only usable to about 10x where Samsung/Xiaomi stay sharp to 20x.

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 VII

Excellent endurance is a genuine strength — but the 5,000mAh non-silicon-carbon cell pairs with lethargic 30W charging and nothing in the box.

• It scores highly for battery life, beating even the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max and topping the comparison pack.
• It earned an active-use score of ~14h44m and ~17h20m in PCMark screen-on testing — typically ending the day with 25–35% left.
• Even gaming Wuthering Waves non-stop at max settings you still get about 4.5 hours before the battery is fully drained.
• Charging is lethargic 30W wired — 0–51% in 30 minutes and a full charge in ~80–90 minutes — plus 15W wireless.
• It's the same 5,000mAh cell as last year and not silicon-carbon, with no power adapter or USB-C cable included.

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 VII

An extortionate price for a deliberately niche phone — superb for the right enthusiast, hard to recommend to a mainstream buyer over a Pixel or Galaxy.

• There's plenty to like, but one of the problems is the absolutely extortionate asking price.
• It's not for everyone, but for creators, photographers and multimedia enthusiasts it could be one of the best Android flagships of 2026.
• It's a dream smartphone for enthusiasts — versatile zoom, very long battery, bright OLED, high-quality build, fast SoC and 6-year updates — but with low charging, only 256GB and a mediocre telephoto.
• Notebookcheck's verdict: a professional camera smartphone not suitable for everyone — but a very strong high-end device for its target buyer.