Nothing Phone (4a) vs Xiaomi 15 Pro

Nothing Phone (4a)

Nothing

8.3

The mid-ranger that stands out

Xiaomi 15 Pro

Xiaomi

8.5

Excellent

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

Design & Build

Nothing Phone (4a)

Nothing's signature transparent-inspired look with the Glyph — divisive but genuinely distinctive at a budget price, and a real step forward from the Phone 3a.

It's both a step forward and a throwback to a better era in design, fixing everything that was wrong with the Phone 3 — a big upgrade.
A budget phone that stands out from the crowd.
The Glyph circle has ~137 mini-LEDs, 57% larger and twice as bright as the Phone 3's Glyph interface — and many call it the best-looking Nothing phone ever.
Nothing's design is appreciated for trying to be more unique than a plain black glass slab, even if some find the dot-matrix display almost useless.

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Xiaomi 15 Pro

What Reviewers Agree On

Snapdragon 8 Elite delivers top-tier performance with excellent thermal management
Battery life is class-leading thanks to the 6,100mAh silicon-carbon cell and efficient display
Display quality is outstanding with 3,200 nits brightness and remarkable power efficiency
Camera system is good but not best-in-class — ultrawide is the weakest lens
China-only availability is a significant limitation for global buyers

Deal Breakers

No global availability — Chinese ROM only with no Google services out of the box
HyperOS described as bloated with unnecessary apps
Bootloader cannot be unlocked on Chinese ROM versions

Xiaomi 15 Pro

Pros

Snapdragon 8 Elite delivers top-tier performance with excellent thermal management
Battery life is class-leading thanks to the 6,100mAh silicon-carbon cell and efficient display
Display quality is outstanding with 3,200 nits brightness and remarkable power efficiency
Camera system is good but not best-in-class — ultrawide is the weakest lens
China-only availability is a significant limitation for global buyers

Cons

No global availability — Chinese ROM only with no Google services out of the box
HyperOS described as bloated with unnecessary apps
Bootloader cannot be unlocked on Chinese ROM versions

Display

Nothing Phone (4a)

A genuine highlight for the price — a big 6.78-inch 120Hz AMOLED that's bright, sharp and HDR-capable, beating similarly priced rivals.

6.78-inch AMOLED, 120Hz, 2160Hz PWM, HDR10+, 800 nits typical / 1,600 nits HBM / 4,500 nits peak at 1224x2720 (440ppi).
The 6.78-inch display is 23% brighter than the 3a, reaching 1,600 nits outdoors with a 4,500-nit HDR peak.
Brightness goes up to 4,500 nits peak, remaining easily readable outdoors — the display is very strong for this price range and one of the standout features.
In the real world it hits around 700 nits peak SDR and ~1,550–1,600 nits in HDR, with 460ppi and dynamic 120Hz.

Xiaomi 15 Pro

The 6.73-inch 2K LTPO AMOLED is a technical marvel, hitting 3,200 nits peak brightness while consuming 24% less power than the Xiaomi 14 Pro's display. The 1920Hz PWM dimming reduces eye strain, though some users report OLED smear at low brightness levels.

3,200 nits peak brightness with 24% lower power consumption than the predecessor — outstanding efficiency
2K resolution (2670x1200) with 120Hz LTPO and 1920Hz PWM dimming for reduced eye strain
Reports of OLED smear/ghosting at lower brightness levels when scrolling dark content

Performance

Nothing Phone (4a)

A capable mid-range chip that handles everyday use and casual gaming well — not a powerhouse, but appropriate for the price.

Gaming is absolutely possible on this device, with solid everyday performance for the class.
There's no shortage of substantial hardware upgrades over the 3a, even if the design doesn't stand out as much as the Pro.
After 24 hours the home screen is extremely customisable and feels massively more functional than iOS, with no responsiveness complaints.
Gesture-based navigation is fully supported and the overall experience is good thanks to Nothing's optimisations.

Xiaomi 15 Pro

The Snapdragon 8 Elite (3nm) delivers a 44% single-core improvement over the previous generation and manages thermals better than most competitors. NotebookCheck awarded a 99% application performance score, placing it among the fastest phones available.

Snapdragon 8 Elite achieves Geekbench 6 single-core of 3,157 — a 44.4% leap over Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Better thermal management and sustained performance than competitors like the Oppo Find X8 Pro
Some throttling under prolonged heavy gaming loads, though managed better than peers