Nothing Phone 3a Review: Design Over Everything?

As of 2025, there are only a few smartphone manufacturers that care about inventive design. Gone are the times of refreshing and outlandish Nokia characteristic cellphone and smartphone designs that by no means did not amaze us with their bizarre and wacky shapes and kind components. What excited me again then have been the brand new and experimental designs (N-gage, Nokia 7600), the place the main focus was extra on the expertise and simply doing one thing in a different way. These days, Apple has single-handedly managed to show each smartphone right into a slab with two sheets of glass.

Even the costliest foldables from premium manufacturers seem like boring glass slabs. Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android could have paved the way in which for what appears to be an excellent software program ecosystem. However we are actually caught with a bunch of boring icons, predictable animations, and transitions that really feel far too primary. Clearly, they are not constructed to amaze us anymore; they merely exist to ship and serve a bunch of apps.

Nothing as a model stands out on this sea of, properly, nothings (no less than from a design standpoint). With a product philosophy primarily based on design, it takes these gutsy choices that big-name manufacturers are too afraid to take, paving a path for a refreshing collection of merchandise that not solely dare to look totally different (in a tasteful method) but in addition try to stay that method a number of years into the sport. With the newest Nothing Phone 3a, it is evidently clear that its system works and the way!

Nothing Phone 3a Design: Notable enhancements

• Dimensions – 163.5 x 77.5 x 8.3mm
• Weight – 201g
• Sturdiness – IP64

The nostalgic and futuristic design philosophy between the Nothing Phone 2a and the brand new Phone 3a stays the identical. It doesn’t take an excessive amount of effort to identify similarities between the 2. The half on the prime proper nook, which is now fabricated from metallic, and the purple sq. have been additionally current on the Phone 2a.

Additionally apparent is that a lot of the design effort has gone into the brand new Phone 3a Professional mannequin, which will get a greater 3X telephoto digicam as an alternative of the 2X unit on the Phone 3a.

In comparison with the Phone 3a Professional, the Phone 3a will get a brand new color choice referred to as Blue. Nonetheless, we obtained the usual White mannequin for evaluate.

Regardless of its design similarities with the Phone 2a, the 3a’s rear panel is now fabricated from glass as an alternative of plastic. It now not is a mud magnet, and we barely observed any fingerprints on the White unit we obtained.

Alongside the standard energy button can be a brand new Important Key, which I’ll go into element about within the software program part of this evaluate.

The cellphone’s body is fabricated from polycarbonate and certainly reminded us of the previous HTC One X and the Nokia Lumias (1020 and 1520) due to its comfortable matte end. The glass again has helped bump up the Phone 3a’s water and mud resistance to an IP64 ranking, which isn’t a lot to speak about however is sweet to have. It is good for splashes or sprays of water however not immersion. Like most producers, it is extremely really helpful to keep away from this as a lot as doable, as harm attributable to water ingress shouldn’t be lined below guarantee.

The design of the Nothing Phone 3a is not contemporary going by the corporate’s requirements, nevertheless it certainly stands out when positioned alongside equally priced smartphones from the mid-range with their done-and-dusted glass, fake leather-based or textured rear panels. Such ranges of creativity usually are not even discovered within the premium section.

I noticed a number of meeting points that is likely to be particular to my evaluate unit.

Fortunately, these are right down to the bits that go below the glass rear panel. The shiny metallic half (as seen within the above picture) on the prime proper nook is misaligned by a millimetre, because it appears to be rotated within the clockwise course. The purple field can be misaligned by little or no however tilts within the reverse anticlockwise course. We hope that future batches will deal with these points.

Nothing Phone 3a Show: Wonderful for its value

• Show measurement – 6.77-inch, 1,080 x 2,392 pixels, Full-HD+ (387 PPI)
• Show sort – AMOLED, 60-90-120Hz
• Safety – Panda Glass

The Nothing Phone 3a has a show that’s just like that of the earlier Phone 2a. It additionally has the identical 120Hz refresh fee. It gives 1,300 nits of most brightness and three,000 nits of peak brightness, which makes out of doors use problem-free. The show glass and the versatile AMOLED panel are each flat, which suggests you get wonderful viewing angles minus the pointless reflections accessible on some competing fashions that provide quad-curved shows.

Whereas spectacular, the Nothing Phone 3a’s AMOLED show lacks HDR10+ certification

Colors are a tad bit saturated within the Alive mode for display screen color however seem pure with the Commonplace mode. My solely drawback with it’s that it lacks an HDR10 or HDR10+ certification for video streaming, which is on the market on some competing smartphones in India.

Nothing Phone 3a Software program: Extra artwork than smartphone UI

• Software program model – Nothing OS 3.1
• Android model – Android 15
• Software program dedication – 3 years of software program, 6 years of safety updates

In contrast to most smartphone interfaces that really feel like they’ve been designed for mass consumption and enchantment, Nothing OS feels extra hand-crafted and distinctive. It took me a day to recognise the gallery icon (till then, I assumed Google Pictures was the default gallery app), however as soon as I discovered it and positioned it on the house display screen, I used to be capable of finding it immediately on a regular basis.

The widgets on the house display screen have additionally been given their fair proportion of consideration.

I completely dig the Date widget, which merely shows the present date with a daring font. The entertaining bit is that you just get a tiny web page folded in its backside proper nook every single day, forcing you to swipe up the web page and reveal the present day’s date (together with agenda objects). It is this minute consideration to element (even whether it is guide) that made me discover and bear in mind the present date.

The Do Not Disturb widget turns right into a daring purple when activated and stands out from the remainder of the interface when energetic. The compass widget with a faucet wakes as much as level north like each good compass ought to. I simply wished that it wakened with the cellphone and remained that method for a number of seconds.

There’s a enjoyable Information Reporter widget (which seems like an previous radio speaker) that, upon tapping, wakes up and begins studying out the information (as per your preferences). Every bar of its speaker-like design goes from purple to gray because the information is being learn out. So, even in the event you pause it, you’ll know what number of extra hand-picked information objects stay to be learn out. The information choice and voice appear to be AI-generated or no less than learn out by a pre-defined AI-like voice. There’s even a page-turning sound after every byte, giving it a really old-school really feel.

Coming to the fundamentals, there is a new Inter font, that can be utilized because the system font. Which means Inter shall be pressured in each third-party app that doesn’t use its particular font, making the UI and OS seem extra constant. Inter, similar to the opposite fonts utilized in Nothing OS, by some means gel very properly collectively.

And there are some things that Nothing OS does a bit in a different way. The lock display screen can have as much as 4 widgets, that are scrollable when you carry the cellphone.

Nothing on OS has one of many coolest lock screens I’ve laid eyes on in latest instances, and it is usually shockingly customisable. Nonetheless, tapping on a notification right here will take you on to the notifications tray. I initially did not prefer it (it is not regular for Android telephones), however I by some means obtained used to it a number of days into the testing course of.

Final however undoubtedly not least is Nothing’s tackle synthetic intelligence (AI). Nothing executives maintain talking about how they need to do AI in a different way in comparison with being a content material formatting software or a gathering summariser, transcribing and the standard picture modifying/era that everybody (together with Apple) else has accomplished to loss of life (with or with out success). Nothing’s tackle AI is Important Area, which might have one thing to do with Andy Rubin’s startup, absorbed by Nothing again in 2021.

Once I began utilizing Important Area, I assumed it was simply one other try and push AI in your face. However the Important Key (a bodily button on the left facet) made me curious sufficient to offer it a shot.

Urgent down the Important Key as soon as takes a screenshot of what is in your show, after which you’re prompted so as to add typed notes about your present thought or press the document button for a voice word. As soon as recorded, press it as soon as once more to cease recording after which as soon as once more to avoid wasting to Important Area.

The intriguing half is how Important Area digests and preps this knowledge for recall. Presently, the whole lot features by using screenshots, however there are plans to combine the digicam with Important Key to extract data out of your environment for recall. There’s additionally a centered mode deliberate for future launch that can allow you to document a complete assembly. After this, the software is not going to solely recognise audio system and transcribe data; it would additionally create to-dos primarily based on the dialog. With the present implementation, I typically discover myself taking screenshots of issues I want to recollect and leaving notes on them. The app generated helpful summaries for every screenshot and in addition created to-dos routinely primarily based on what’s within the screenshot and the audio or textual content word it was tagged with.

The one draw back of Important Area is that you just can not take away your knowledge. Hopefully, sooner or later, the entire knowledge gathered by this characteristic shall be accessible in information and folders backed as much as the cloud, which may then be offloaded onto one other OS if wanted. Presently, I’ve discover a folder that saves all of the screenshots for Important Area within the Inside Storage> Photos> EssentialSpace folder.

Nothing Phone 3a Efficiency: Nice, however removed from the very best

• Processor – Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, 2.5GHz, 4nm
• RAM – 8GB (LPDDR4X)
• Storage – 128/256GB (UFS 2.2)

On a regular basis software program efficiency is fairly easy regardless of Nothing’s quite controversial use of UFS 2.2 storage. The adaptive show panel neatly switches the refresh fee between 120-60Hz (relying on the display screen brightness) when searching by the software program interface however is capped at 90Hz (or 90-60Hz) when opening native and third-party apps. Video and video games are restricted to 60Hz solely.

Gaming efficiency was good, as I managed to run Name of Obligation: Cellular at Very Excessive graphics and body fee. The show’s contact sampling fee of 480Hz, which is just accessible in Recreation Mode, appeared nearly adequate. I’ve skilled higher contact sensitivity, particularly whereas enjoying video games on competing gadgets.

The vapour chamber cooling system positive does its job of sustaining the cellphone’s efficiency below stress

The cellphone warms up whereas enjoying video games and will get sizzling when utilizing the digicam app open air; nevertheless, the digicam app doesn’t shut down nor present any warnings about limiting use. Certainly, the vapour cooling system was doing its job. Nonetheless, the cellphone all the time struggled with processing photos (it takes a second or two after seize), which is one thing I additionally observed on the Realme P3 Professional (has the identical chip). I additionally observed some sluggishness when utilizing the digicam app, particularly when switching between digicam modes or switching cameras.

So far as benchmarks go, the Nothing Phone 3a performs as anticipated, as could be seen from the desk under.

Nothing Phone 3a Cameras: Nicely above common

• Main digicam – 50-megapixel, OIS, f/1.5 aperture, AF
• Ultrawide digicam – 8-megapixel, f/2.2 aperture, FF
• Telephoto digicam – 50-megapixel, 2X, EIS, f/2.0 aperture, AF
• Selfie digicam – 32-megapixel, f/2.2 aperture, FF

Observe: Our digicam samples and observations are primarily based on the newest software program replace (obtained round March 10), and it caused some drastic digicam enhancements versus the earlier replace the cellphone was examined with. The replace (Asteroids-V3.1-250302-1856-IND) additionally added a number of new options, together with the power to create and share new digicam filters/presets talked about under.

Nothing introduced the widest choice of cameras accessible on this section or value level. Whereas most smartphones pack a large + ultra-wide mixture, Nothing has managed a 2X telephoto digicam, which is an attention-grabbing addition given the worth level.

In a latest replace, Nothing even added the power to create, share or import another person’s customized preset (by way of dice information), which is exclusive and will change into in style within the Nothing neighborhood.

One other intriguing characteristic I like is the presets that may be utilized when taking pictures. These presets usually are not simply color, hue, or saturation changes; additionally they outline which digicam mode (even video) and what magnification can be utilized when chosen. You may as well add superior settings, like protecting the flash on, picture high quality (binned or full decision), and even turning the grid on or off, which is sensible! You may pin these presets to your own home display screen as a widget and launch instantly into a specific customized preset.

Nothing Phone 3a ultrawide digicam samples (faucet photos to increase)

Coming to the cameras, the ultra-wide digicam is the weakest one of many three, however it’s in no way dangerous. It gives first rate efficiency for its value level, producing pictures which can be a bit low on element however pack good dynamic vary, guaranteeing sufficient element within the darker areas. Lens barrel distortion is below management as properly. In fact, all of this primarily applies to sunlight taking pictures, because the outcomes captured at night time seem comfortable and seem like work.

Nothing Phone 3a major digicam samples (faucet photos to increase)

The first digicam is certainly the very best and most able to the three. In contrast to the Nothing Phone 3a, it is the one one with optical picture stabilisation (OIS). Images captured in all taking pictures eventualities come out sharp and pack loads of resolved element. The first digicam additionally gives the very best color accuracy among the many three, though the pictures seem a bit saturated in comparison with the precise scene.

Nothing Phone 3a 2X telephoto digicam samples (faucet photos to increase)

The telephoto digicam feeds on gentle. The colors it produces are a bit extra saturated than the first digicam’s; it additionally provides a little bit of sharpening to photographs, which may seem extreme when taking pictures portrait pictures. Offered there’s good gentle, you get loads of element, and a few crispy captures with good pure bokeh. The accuracy of edge detection varies relying on the complexity of your topic’s coiffure.

You start to note a drop in picture high quality below synthetic gentle or when taking pictures towards a supply of sunshine. When utilizing portrait mode, the digicam tries its finest, however the absence of OIS doesn’t enable it to select up sufficient particulars from faces. Your topics may even have to be completely nonetheless in such lighting circumstances.

The telephoto digicam performs higher when not utilizing the devoted Portrait mode. 4X lossless samples are usable, however you’ll discover a drop intimately while you pixel peep. Regardless of its daylight capabilities, those that plan to make use of Portrait Mode typically are certainly higher off with the Phone 3a Professional’s 3X telephoto digicam, which is optically stabilised.

Selfies pack good element and correct edge detection in daylight however come out common in low gentle (faucet picture to increase)

Video recordings are certainly an space that Nothing must work on. For a low-end, mid-range smartphone, it meets expectations by providing good stabilisation and first rate element when taking pictures video at 1080p and 4K. Nonetheless, this solely applies when taking pictures in broad daylight, as low-light video seize is sort of poor.

Consistency when it comes to color copy between the three cameras is one thing Nothing nonetheless must work on. In fact, we’re discussing a Rs. 25,000 cellphone, however it will be nice if Nothing might determine it out with future updates. All digicam samples have been clicked with the Auto-tone characteristic turned off, because it simply added pointless color saturation.

Nothing Phone 3a Battery:

• Battery capability – 5,000mAh
• Wired charging – 50W
• Charger within the field – No

Regardless of having a barely smaller battery than most competing smartphones, nothing has managed to squeeze probably the most out of it, due to good software program optimisation. Whereas the cellphone lasted me an entire day and a bit longer with heavy utilization (calls, messaging, digicam utilization, and a little bit of gaming), it managed a great rating of 28 hours and 37 minutes, which is healthier than what the Realme P3 Professional’ manages with a higher-capacity battery.

Our PCMark Work battery check, which replicates common smartphone utilization eventualities, operating the battery down to twenty p.c, lasted a strong 17 hours and 40 minutes of steady utilization. Once more, the determine is a bit shocking, because the Realme P3 Professional, with the identical chipset, an AMOLED show, and a bigger 6,000mAh battery, managed 10 minutes much less.

Charging speeds are comparatively sluggish at 50W, given that the majority telephones on this section supply higher. In our testing, we managed to cost the Nothing Phone 3a to 46 p.c in half-hour and full the charging course of in 1 hour and 26 minutes when plugged right into a 100W GaN charger. For comparability, Realme’s P3 Professional charged an even bigger 6,000mAh battery in 1 hour and 6 minutes.

Nothing Phone 3a Verdict

With its deal with design and balanced {hardware} selections, Nothing definitely has give you a winner within the mid-range (funds in world markets). It superbly combines {hardware}, beauty design, and software program. And it is much more applause-worthy, on condition that a lot effort has been put right into a low-end mid-ranger!

That mentioned, the brand new digicam {hardware} is an improve over the earlier mannequin. Whereas it really works alright, Nothing ought to work on delivering extra digicam updates to enhance its efficiency even additional.

Certainly, there are higher performance-oriented options just like the Poco F6 (Overview), and spec-heavy choices just like the OnePlus Nord CE 4 (Overview) and the just lately launched “flagship killer” iQOO Neo 10R (First Impressions) in India. However on the subject of design and software program execution, Nothing’s Phone 3a is a cellphone I can decide up and use after I get tired of different smartphones. It has the software program that I need to use on each Android smartphone.