Nothing Phone (4a) vs OnePlus Open

Nothing Phone (4a)

Nothing

8.3

The mid-ranger that stands out

OnePlus Open

OnePlus

8.7

Best book-style foldable of 2023 — thinner, lighter, better cameras than Z Fold 5

Nothing Phone (4a)

What Reviewers Agree On

Distinctive Glyph design that stands out in a sea of black slabs — widely called one of the best-looking phones at its price
Excellent big screen for the money: a 6.78-inch 120Hz AMOLED, HDR10+, ~1,600 nits outdoor and a 4,500-nit HDR peak
Near-stock Nothing OS ranked among the best Android experiences, highly customisable and clean
A rare 3.5x (80mm) periscope telephoto at this price, adding real flexibility most budget rivals lack
A clear, substantial upgrade over the Phone 3a / Phone 3, fixing earlier design problems
Strong value — cheaper than the $500 Pixel 10a while feeling more premium than the price suggests

Pros & Cons

Nothing Phone (4a)

Pros

Distinctive Glyph design that stands out in a sea of black slabs — widely called one of the best-looking phones at its price
Excellent big screen for the money: a 6.78-inch 120Hz AMOLED, HDR10+, ~1,600 nits outdoor and a 4,500-nit HDR peak
Near-stock Nothing OS ranked among the best Android experiences, highly customisable and clean
A rare 3.5x (80mm) periscope telephoto at this price, adding real flexibility most budget rivals lack
A clear, substantial upgrade over the Phone 3a / Phone 3, fixing earlier design problems

Detailed Comparison

Cameras

Nothing Phone (4a)

A standout 3.5x periscope telephoto at this price and a solid main camera, undercut by an under-optimised zoom and a basic ultrawide.

A triple setup — 50MP main, a 50MP periscope telephoto and an 8MP ultrawide — undoubtedly one of the best experiences at this level.
The telephoto has been tweaked to a much better 3.5x (80mm) zoom factor.
A telephoto with optical zoom at this price is great, but this is the worst optimisation I've seen on a 3.5x camera — expect disappointment if you buy for the zoom.
The 3.5x optical-zoom telephoto is one of the biggest highlights, adding much more flexibility than most competitors in this price range, and the cameras are surprisingly capable.
Each camera here feels better than what you'd get on Samsung at the price, and the main is solid with nice detail.

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OnePlus Open

What Reviewers Agree On

Best book-style foldable hardware of 2023 — thinner (5.8mm unfolded), lighter (245g) than Z Fold 5 (253g)
Cover screen aspect ratio (20:9) finally works like a real phone, unlike Z Fold 5's narrow 23.1:9
Inner display crease is meaningfully less visible than the Z Fold 5's — most-praised hinge design of the era
Hasselblad triple cameras (48MP main + 64MP 3x telephoto + 48MP ultrawide) outshoot the Z Fold 5 noticeably
67W wired + 50W wireless charging — dramatically faster than Z Fold 5's 25W wired / no wireless
OxygenOS Open Canvas multitasking — best foldable software outside Samsung One UI

Deal Breakers

IPX4 water resistance only — no dust rating; Z Fold 5 has IPX8 (full water immersion)
Only 4 OS + 5 years of security — short vs Pixel Fold's 7 years
No S Pen support — Samsung Z Fold 5's biggest software advantage
Alert Slider is missing from this OnePlus model (only foldable without it)
$1,699 launch was 'less expensive than Z Fold 5 by $100' but still steep for a first-gen foldable

OnePlus Open

Pros

Best book-style foldable hardware of 2023 — thinner (5.8mm unfolded), lighter (245g) than Z Fold 5 (253g)
Cover screen aspect ratio (20:9) finally works like a real phone, unlike Z Fold 5's narrow 23.1:9
Inner display crease is meaningfully less visible than the Z Fold 5's — most-praised hinge design of the era
Hasselblad triple cameras (48MP main + 64MP 3x telephoto + 48MP ultrawide) outshoot the Z Fold 5 noticeably
67W wired + 50W wireless charging — dramatically faster than Z Fold 5's 25W wired / no wireless
OxygenOS Open Canvas multitasking — best foldable software outside Samsung One UI

Cons

IPX4 water resistance only — no dust rating; Z Fold 5 has IPX8 (full water immersion)
Only 4 OS + 5 years of security — short vs Pixel Fold's 7 years
No S Pen support — Samsung Z Fold 5's biggest software advantage
Alert Slider is missing from this OnePlus model (only foldable without it)
$1,699 launch was 'less expensive than Z Fold 5 by $100' but still steep for a first-gen foldable

OnePlus Open

Hasselblad-tuned triple-camera system clearly outshoots the Z Fold 5: 48MP main (LYT-T808 1-inch-class sensor) + 64MP 3x telephoto periscope + 48MP ultrawide. Best foldable cameras of 2023.

Cameras: 48MP main (LYT-T808 1-inch-class, f/1.7, OIS), 64MP 3x telephoto periscope (f/2.6, 70mm), 48MP ultrawide (f/2.2), 32MP cover selfie + 20MP inner.
Hasselblad color tuning delivers more natural shots than Z Fold 5; periscope telephoto reaches 3x optical / 6x quality-preserving.
Best foldable cameras of 2023 — clearly outshoots Z Fold 5 in main + telephoto; on par with Pixel Fold for ultrawide.
Still trails slab flagships (S23 Ultra, iPhone 15 Pro Max) on absolute camera quality — physical sensor limits remain a foldable constraint.

Battery & Charging

Nothing Phone (4a)

A ~5,080mAh cell with 50W wired charging — reviewers call endurance strong, but a notable group of owners report disappointing screen-on time.

The Nothing Phone (4a) features a ~5,080mAh cell which delivers very strong endurance in everyday use.
The battery grew slightly — about 80mAh in most markets but a more meaningful 400mAh in India — with a 50W PD unit recommended on the box.
Several owners report only 4–6.5 hours of screen-on time with moderate use — worse than other phones with similar ~5,000mAh batteries.
Battery life on this phone is excellent in everyday use.

OnePlus Open

4,805mAh dual battery + 67W SuperVOOC wired + 50W wireless — class-leading charging for a foldable. Real-world endurance ~5-6h SOT typical, comparable to Z Fold 5.

4,805mAh dual battery + SD 8 Gen 2 efficiency — comparable endurance to Z Fold 5 (4,400mAh).
67W SuperVOOC wired charging — full in ~42 minutes. Dramatically faster than Z Fold 5's 25W (~1h-1.5h to full).
50W wireless charging — vs Z Fold 5's 15W. The fastest wireless charging in any foldable of 2023.
Real-world SOT ~5-6 hours typical — fully a day for most users, comparable to Z Fold 5.