Nothing Phone 3a Review: the brand new champion of mark

How attain you stand out from heaps of competition when building a new smartphone sign, especially when one of them is the previous firm you co-founded? This became the difficulty going by Nothing when it became formed, and four years on, the lag has been acquainted yet unfamiliar, superb like Nothing itself.

Nothing has followed the playbook susceptible by loads of the team in the early days of OnePlus, by prioritizing a grand skills at an inexpensive mark. The Phone 3a follows on this vein in abundance and the ensuing phone has blown me away. The Nothing Phone 3a prices superb $379, yet it offers an skills that’s far above this mark.

Uncommon aspects just like the Glyphs and striking create are a joy, while even the AI-powered Most important Arrangement is an keen belief, despite its wayward execution. The Nothing Phone 3a isn’t supreme — and you would possibly perchance’t inquire of perfection at this mark — but you rapidly forgive the faults even as you occur to ticket how great it does provide at one of these low mark.

Nothing Phone 3a Specs

Nothing Phone 3a Manufacture

The puns write themselves but there’s one thing in point of fact special about Nothing phones. In the identical ability that folding phones stand out for his or her unfamiliar beget element, the Nothing Phone 3a stands out for its iconic create.

It’s been a core ethos of Nothing and it’s easy to witness why. In a world the save smartphones are basically plain in create, the Nothing Phone 3a helps you stand out with its leer-by help, unfamiliar colors and camera layout. I love the blue Nothing Phone 3a, but the white version I’ve been despatched appears scheme more top class than its mark.

Unlike Nothing’s flagship devices without the ‘a’ branding — just like the rumoured Nothing Phone 3 — the A-assortment devices accumulate far fewer glyph stripes. Irrespective of having fewer LEDs and commands, glyphs on the Phone 3a never fail to face out. I’ve had a immense option of folk inquire of me “what phone is that’, in the identical ability as when I’m using a folding phone or the Clicks Keyboard.

At 8.4mm thick and 201 grams, it’s no longer basically the most svelte phone to employ on the muse, but you rapidly accumulate inclined to it. It’s handiest IP64 grime and water-resistant, which ability that this is capable of perchance face as a lot as some gentle splashes and getting caught in a rainshower, but lacks the elephantine waterproofing of competitors equivalent to the Pixel 8a.

For basically the most phase, the Nothing Phone 3a create is delightful, but there’s one create option that aloof confuses me per week later. Nothing chose the 3a to debut the brand new Most important Key, which provides a new AI-powered ability to avoid wasting and recall the things that subject most to you, but it rearranged heaps of keys to attain so.

The Most important Secret’s placed appropriate below the facility key and each are located lower than on assorted phones. The same applies to the quantity keys, and even as you occur to’re inclined to the main layouts on most phones, the transition to the Nothing Phone 3a is critically jarring. I’d inquire of it to turn into 2nd-nature in a roundabout scheme, but there’s a substantial learning curve, and even easy tasks like taking a screenshot feel scheme more awkward.

Nothing Phone 3a Squawk

The superb phone would aim every spec conceivable and cost under $500, but from my private skills with building a phone, I know that’s no longer feasible. When building a phone that prices lower than $400, phone makers inevitably must beget a assortment of compromises, but the Phone 3a reveals that Nothing in point of fact understands this market.

Nothing approached this direct in the acceptable ability, focusing on the main specs that subject to its target market. An older mid-fluctuate processor, but a brilliant and fantastic expose? Check. Broad for informal gaming and practical usage, but less level of interest on top class offers like titanium? Check.

The Phone 3a has a flagship expose without a flagship mark

The Phone 3a and Nothing Phone 3a Legit each aim the identical 6.77-flow AMOLED expose with 1,300 nits high brightness and 3,000 nits height brightness. It’s clearly designed with gaming and video playback in mind, with a dynamic refresh rate starting from 30Hz to 120Hz, and elephantine HDR10+ help. I anticipated compromises in the expose, but I would possibly perchance well be chuffed with this on most phones; it’s a flagship expose without the flagship mark.

The Phone 3a show conceal has the specs mandatory on paper, and delivers in particular person. It’s legible even in radiant sunlight, the 120Hz dynamic refresh rate is grand — especially pondering the iPhone 16e prices $600 and is proscribed to 60Hz — and the show conceal is radiant, sparkling and tender. Right here’s an skills that will perchance well befit a smartphone twice this mark.

Nothing Phone 3a Hardware and Performance

Nothing’s compromises to level of interest on expose, battery and create indicate that you just obtained’t get the absolute finest processor inner. Yet, the year-susceptible Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 is handiest a step down from final year’s flagship processor, and it’s heaps extraordinary for a huge selection of of your day-to-day tasks.

There’s a substantial difference between this processor and the one susceptible in flagship devices, but while there are stutters and moments of sluggishness, they are fewer than I’d beget anticipated at this mark. Some of here’s all of the scheme down to the amount of RAM, with Nothing packing most variants — just like the one readily in the market in the US — with 12GB of RAM.

In the event you’re attracted to gaming, it’s worth noting that the Phone 3a lacks Vulcan 1.1 help, which intended we couldn’t crawl the 3DMark Solay Bay benchmark take a look at. In reality, this means that the finest AAA video games will fight to crawl as smartly on the Phone 3a as they attain on more dear devices — especially those with hardware-essentially based ray tracing — and this isn’t a phone for hardcore gamers.

Processor apart, the Nothing Phone 3a is more of a flagship than you’d inquire of at this mark. There’s a neat battery, faster charging than the Galaxy S25 Extremely which prices three cases as great, and an under-expose optical fingerprint reader that’s surprisingly appropriate. It has the total connectivity you wish — including twin-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.4 and quad-band GPS — but there’s no Wi-Fi 6e or 7 for the fastest Wi-Fi speeds.

The Nothing Phone 3a is more of a flagship than you’d inquire of at this mark

I’ve been using the Phone 3a on my travels in Europe all by this overview length, and it supports the total main bands for main European carriers in the countries that I’ve visited. Nonetheless, one of the most reasons for the more inexpensive mark is that it doesn’t help the total main bands for all three main US carriers, so it’s worth protecting this in mind.

Nothing Phone 3a Battery and Charging

Be aware those compromises I talked about above? Alongside a unbelievable expose, Nothing determined to prioritize battery life and charging. The 5,000 mAh battery is bigger than many phones that cost $1,000, and 50W wired charging is faster too.

For comparison, here’s the identical sized battery as the Galaxy S25 Plus — which prices $1,000 — but the Phone 3a fees 5W faster. Samsung’s middle flagship takes about an hour to cost to elephantine, essentially as it doesn’t cost on the elephantine 45W for the total time, while the Nothing Phone 3a takes superb over 52 minutes to cost to elephantine. The Phone 3a proves that a low mark doesn’t must indicate corrupt battery life.

The Phone 3a proves that a low mark doesn’t must indicate corrupt battery life

The battery life is prominent, with the Phone 3a recurrently lasting a elephantine day with battery to spare with practical usage. On days when I taxed it scheme more tough with heaps of camera usage, it aloof lasted a elephantine day. Yes, there became a noticeable drain under heavy gaming, but here’s to be anticipated given the processor. Sadly, there’s no wi-fi charging or skill to add it, but it’s one thing I’m capable of forgive given the mark label.

Nothing Phone 3a Application, and Most important Arrangement

The Phone 3a runs Nothing OS 3.1 on high of Android 15 out of the field. Unlike many companies, Nothing doesn’t heavily modify the core OS and as an more than just a few focuses on visual aspects that add a splash of type and customization. The result’s that it’ll feel very acquainted to somebody who’s susceptible a Google Pixel phone in the previous.

In the event you love minimalist or simplistic styles, you’ll like Nothing OS 3.1. It gets rid of colors and shapes, as an more than just a few focusing on a dot matrix theme that reduces graphics to iconography. The core NothingOS theme is basically dark and white, while there’s also a elephantine monochrome mode you would possibly perchance well presumably enable.

I came upon the homescreen to be a minute bit advanced to build up inclined to on the muse, but happily, there’s also a typical Android homescreen interface even as you occur to prefer that. Right here’s no longer your practical Android interface, and which ability that it is polarizing. I love the witness of NothingOS 3.1, but there’s aloof a minute learning curve after per week of using the Phone 3a.

The Phone 3a is the open of Nothing’s new Most important Arrangement. Press the Most important Key and it takes a screenshot of the relaxation you’re having a witness at and pulls up an interface that ability that you just can scribble or form a tag. In the event you long-press the Key, you would possibly perchance well presumably attain the identical moreover it’s saved with a converse tag. As soon as executed, double press the Most important Key to enter the Most important Arrangement.

Only the screenshots you clutch by the Most important Key turn out here, which is ready to be advanced, especially even as you occur to haven’t gotten inclined to the positioning of the Most important Key yet. Which you would possibly perchance aloof rob a screenshot the susceptible fashioned ability — even as you occur to would possibly perchance well stumble on the facility button and quantity down keys — but this goes into your Gallery as typical. It’s advanced, but I need Nothing had either moved this key, or we had the facility to reprogram it.

The Most important Arrangement isn’t supreme, but it is miles a grand belief

I love Most important Arrangement, or on the least, I love the premise of Most important Arrangement. Indulge in any first-technology aim, it’s tough spherical the sides, but the premise of using AI to decipher the total lot you save and beget it searchable has heaps of promise. Nothing is using AI in a shipshape and functional ability, as it is going to present summaries of order material you clutch alongside with the date-disappear to-attain list objects that it recommends, but the latter can’t be edited which makes them vastly less functional.

When Nothing first told me regarding the Most important Arrangement, I be aware being extremely indignant. It’s the form of AI-aim that I be pleased would possibly perchance well be the long crawl, and being ready to search out the relaxation you’ve mandatory to avoid wasting appears like a grand aim. It doesn’t somewhat relate, but I’m indignant for the potentialities here and this aim belief has heaps of ability. The Most important Arrangement isn’t supreme, but it is miles a grand belief.

Nothing Phone 3a Camera

There became a time no longer too long ago that companies compromised the camera in practical flagship phones. 2025 isn’t very any longer that time, and the Phone 3a promises to push the practical segment forward in a substantial ability attributable to a triple-camera setup.

Yes, this sub-$400 phone has three cameras, and so all of them aim first rate specs. The 50MP main camera aspects f/1.9 aperture, has OIS and makes employ of phase detection autofocus, while the 8MP ultrawide aspects f/2.2 aperture and has a 120˚ discipline-of-search for. The third camera is the 50MP telephoto which offers 2x optical zoom, a 25cm minimal focusing distance and 50mm effective focal length.

How attain these cameras fare in the proper-world? Let’s discover, starting with the acceptable: the Nothing Phone 3a can rob grand photos. They dispute the finest camera is the one you would possibly perchance well presumably beget on you, and the Phone 3a is a grand companion, even in a minute irritating stipulations like eating places, low-gentle and radiant flashing lights.

Restaurants would possibly perchance well be notoriously assorted in the usual of their lights, ambiance and even crockery when taking photos to put up on social media, but I became somewhat impressed with how the Phone 3a handled this. Some photos would possibly perchance well be blurry — more on this later — but in another case, it takes photos that is inclined to be easy to put up on social media, albeit perchance with some bettering.

Under the lifeless facet road lights of Barcelona, the Phone 3a does rather smartly but like many of its photos, it lacks a minute bit distinction. Right here’s basically the most up-to-date pattern, but it does beget the photos feel a minute bit flat. Nonetheless, in assorted low-gentle stipulations, it delivers a unbelievable photo, even facing the harsh red lights in a nightclub smartly.

The Nothing Phone 3a also stands out for its third-lens, the 50MP telephoto that offers 2x optical zoom. Let that sink in: for under $400, you would possibly perchance well presumably beget a flagship aim. It’s no longer the 3x periscope (or more) susceptible by assorted flagships, but the Nothing Phone 3a Legit has you covered if that’s what you’re having a witness for.

The 2x telephoto is a welcome boost to this mark level, as the two lenses work in tandem and aim to give parity between the lenses. Nonetheless, there are cases when one lens takes more or less uncovered photos than the assorted, so there’s a scarcity of consistency.

Remember the reality that, any zoom lens needs to be examined thoroughly, and I place the Phone 3a by my popular take a look at: the airport departures board. We’ve all been there the prevent’re sitting too removed from a departure board, and can’t leer it clearly. Can your phone accumulate you out of this pinch?

Even at 10x, which is 5 cases the zoom supplied by the hardware, the Phone 3a can potentially enable you decipher. It’s no longer solely legible, but it is aloof usable and I’m capable of leer better than I would possibly perchance well with my eyes at that distance.

The zoom will be ravishing capable in assorted lights stipulations, and it’s a aim that is more basically usable than no longer. Photos will veritably beget stream blur, as the camera does rob longer than assorted phones to enact capturing a photograph, but it’s a frustration you learn to stay with given the practical mark.

One in all the assorted substantial camera variations between the Phone 3a and 3a Legit is the entrance going by camera, with the latter that contains an upgraded 50MP sensor. How does the 32MP sensor in the Phone 3a fare? The acknowledge is surprisingly smartly, in most lights stipulations.

All over a unfold of eventualities, the entrance going by camera has proven to be very capable. Indulge in the comfort of the camera, there are some photos the save there’s stream blur, is solely blown out or lacks detail, but there are heaps of photos the save the Phone 3a superb delivers. This camera wouldn’t be out of disclose in a more dear phone, and that’s testomony to how grand the Phone 3a is total.

Nothing Phone 3a mark and availability

The Nothing Phone 3a is readily in the market in Shadowy, White and Blue, with assorted variants readily in the market in assorted configurations. In the US, you would possibly perchance well presumably aquire the version with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $379 straight from Nothing as phase of its Beta program.

It’s handiest officially bought by Nothing’s web disclose, but even as you occur to in deciding to aquire it by Amazon, the pricing is better. The cease version now prices $459, but you would possibly perchance well presumably additionally snag the 8GB and 256GB version which isn’t in another case readily in the market in the US.

Nothing Phone 3a Verdict: the mid-fluctuate champion

In the event you attain to a resolution the Nothing Phone 3a by flagship requirements, it falls short in some areas. Nonetheless, witness on the mark and you rapidly ticket superb how appropriate this phone is. We’ve susceptible Pixel a assortment devices in the previous, and it continuously felt like heaps of compromises, but the Phone 3a feels more like a flagship that’s virtually double the mark than a conventional mid-fluctuate phone.

NothingOS is refreshingly assorted, the glyphs enable you stand out and even the Most important Arrangement has some appropriate tips. The camera is capable, yet inconsistent, but the battery life is prominent. Achieving a low mark level requires making many compromises, and Nothing has made the finest aggregate of compromises at this mark level.

It would possibly perchance perchance well be easy to push apart the Phone 3a as great ado about Nothing, but the Phone 3a has taught me that there’s one thing special about Nothing. The Phone 3a can compete against the finest practical phones, and a huge selection of the finest total phones, so I’m capable of’t dwell up for the next flagship, the Nothing Phone 3.