Verdict
The Nothing Phone ( 3a ) Pro pack a duet of stand - out features to go with its striking design , including a consecrated telephotograph photographic camera and a new computer hardware clit for recording your reflection . Not everything is a home run , especially at its new higher Mary Leontyne Price , but this stay on a typical mid - range choice .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
London - based brand Nothing place out less than five yr ago to cut off the smartphone market . Arguably its biggest achievement to day of the month has been grapple to make a genuinely interesting mid - range phone with theNothing Phone 2a .
Now , with the Nothing Phone 3a Pro , the companionship is at it again , adding an unusually well - round off camera and a bespoke computer hardware clit to its already distinctive offering .
This is the first time we ’ve seen Nothing employing such ‘ Pro ’ voice communication for one of its phones . With that language comes a new higher price of £ 449 , and with it raised expected value .
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At this terms the Nothing Phone 3a Pro is contending with theGoogle Pixel 8a(and its imminent successor ) , theSamsung Galaxy A55(ditto ) , theMotorola Edge 50 Neo , and several other high character yet mid - range equipment ..
Design
Nothing has n’t seemed too interested in being subtle with its smartphone design , and that ’s truer than ever with the Phone 3a Pro .
With a footprint of 163.52 x 77.5 mm , it ’s even big than the Nothing Phone 2a . It ’s a tad slimmer at 8.39 mm , but also quite a morsel heavier at 211 g. This is a phone that refuses to be disregard , for better and for high-risk .
The bulky flat - adjoin frame is plastic , as before , though I appreciate the direction Nothing has leant into this textile selection . It ’s not one of those manufacturers that tackily seek to make charge plate look like metal , but rather goes for a matte , lightly textured finale . It ’s quite apparently plastic .
There ’s the same semi - transparent look around back , with various elements of the phone ’s internals ( or at least stylish reverberation of those internals ) showing through the glass cover . And it really is glass this time around , lending the phone a more bounty smell .
Nothing has also upped the detritus resistance military rank from IP54 to IP64 . That ’s a welcome improvement , though it still fall down short of the Pixel 8a and Galaxy A55 on weewee ohmic resistance .
One of the most obvious design additions is a vast camera module on the ass of the speech sound . It ’s plain necessary to activate the inclusion of the phone ’s theme song periscope camera , but it ’s also a minute of an eyesore – specially with its shiny plastic surroundings and moderately ugly mish - mash of lens and flash element .
When Nothing card an extra hardware button on the right hand side of its new phone , it seemed inevitable that this would be a consecrated photographic camera button . If this brand has bear witness anything in its brief macrocosm , however , it ’s that it does n’t adapt to expectations .
The substantive Key is only partially colligate to the Phone 3a Pro ’s television camera . Rather , it ’s a new form of creative memory aid that meld contextual data with AI , spokesperson vertical flute and screenshot functions . I will talk more about how that works in the Software section , but it ’s a genuine distributor point of differentiation over its rivals .
Screen
Nothing has more or less upped the size of the showing here since the days of the Nothing Phone 2a . At 6.77 - in it ’s not a huge gain , while it retains an FHD+ declaration and a 120Hz superlative refresh rate .
The biggest melioration to the Nothing Phone 3a Pro ’s video display is its brightness . At 800 nit in distinctive custom , 1300 nits in high brightness mode , and up to 3000 nits in HDR highlight , it obliterate the Phone 2a andPhone 2a Plus , which both could hit 700 , 1100 , and 1300 nits , respectively .
It ’s quite the advance . I ’m not sure why the Netflix app does n’t announce that it ’s supporting HDR playback on the sound , though . It ’s a bit of a bind when the most pop streaming app ca n’t make the most of your phone ’s bolstered peak cleverness .
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Colour accuracy seems on degree , however , and this is a thoroughly pleasant concealment to use across all style of contentedness .
Nothing cater a substantial optical in - display fingermark sensing element , which I find to be reasonably quick and reliable during my examination .
Performance
After dipping into MediaTek ’s parts bin for the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) series , Nothing has return to Qualcomm ’s more mainstream offerings for the Phone ( 3a ) Pro .
It runs on the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 , which shore up up Qualcomm ’s current mid - range chip family . pair off with 12 GB of RAM as measure , this is a capable set - up , though it does n’t break any mid - mountain range smartphone speeding record .
In fact , just take our usual suite of benchmark tests , the Nothing Phone 3a Pro fails to impress . It ’s a little faster than the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) in mainframe terms , but actually falls behind in GPU terms .
That ’s a little elusive when you consider that the Nothing Phone 3a Pro is significantly more expensive than its harbinger , and thus is operating against a much tougher group of rivals . It ’s not too far off the degree of functioning of the Samsung Galaxy A55 , but the Pixel 8a and thePoco X7 Proare both style faster – the latter for much less money .
In oecumenical usage , I found the earphone to be extremely fluent . labor such as flitting between multiple apps , unlocking the phone , and jump into the camera app all performed fluidly enough .
The one performance issue I had with the earpiece was within the tv camera app , where I experienced a number of stop and stutters . This would appear to be a software program effect rather than a performance restriction , however , and one I ’d expect Nothing to press onward of launch .
In gaming terms , the Nothing Phone 3a Pro is capable of run Genshin Impact with higher graphical configurations , albeit not flawlessly . poke at those sliders down a pip or two , however , and you ’re in for a absolutely civilised gaming experience .
Nothing only looks like declare oneself the one reposition option in the UK , which is a bit of a shame . However , 256 GB stay a respectable , free-enterprise capacity .
Camera
If there ’s one thing that earns Nothing ’s Modern mid - ranger its ‘ Pro ’ soubriquet it ’s the camera system . It goes above and beyond what we usually see for the money .
Let ’s start with the all - newfangled constituent – Nothing ’s first telephoto tv camera . I ’m a short surprised to see this debuting in the 3a series rather than the more flagship - worthy Nothing Phone 3 , which will launch after in the class .
Still , here we are with a 50MP 1/1.95 - in Sony Lytia 600 detector with an f/2.55 aperture , shoot a 70 millimeter tantamount focal length , or 3x in Nothing ’s reckoning . Together with OIS , it ’s capable of taking rich and sharp native 3x snapshot , albeit with a speck of overexposure at times .
It can also grab some handsome 6x and even 10x intercrossed zoom nip . At the polar ending of the scurf , it can focus on subjects as nigh as 15 curium away , which opens up a whole new category of knavishly framed cheeseparing - ups .
The main sensor has also received a boost , even compared to the Nothing Phone ( 3a ) . Here you ’re getting a 50MP 1/1.56 - inch sensor with an f/1.88 aperture and OIS . Ahead of the phone ’s launch , Nothing boasted that this main camera boasted an unusually large full well capacity , bolstering HDR performance .
Nothing has applied some of Google ’s Ultra XDR magic to boost the dynamical kitchen stove of its shots , and it can produce some spectacularly rich and vivacious shots . ( Interesting side note : the HDR processing on some of my snaps reckon right smart off on my MacBook Pro , but OK on a MacBook Air and an older iPad – sign of a clash between Nothing ’s image processing and Apple ’s XDR standard , or simply that I want to make a tripper to an Apple Store ? ) .
There ’s a little inconsistency from photographic camera to camera , which speak to that price point , and is perhaps one argument for go along it to just one or two cameras in such cheaper speech sound . When it ’s on song , though , the Nothing Phone 3a Pro can enamor some adorable scene . Night dead reckoning , too , look nice and penetrating , albeit prone to excessive lens flare pass .
The 8MP camera is n’t an amazing performer in damage of point , and it ca n’t match the dynamic range of the other television camera . The 50MP selfie tv camera , however , is capable of very honorable thing , with plenty of detail and born skin tones , as well as a alternative of close or across-the-board angle .
Video is somewhat disappointingly fix to 4 chiliad at 30fps , but footage captured at 1080p/60fps was smooth and nicely even .
Software
The Nothing Phone 3a Pro race on Android 15 , coated in its custom Nothing OS 3.1 UI .
Nothing ’s access to Android customisation has always been quite distinctive , and it ’s the rare third company manufacturer with the trust and perceptiveness to try something a piffling difference whilst mostly pulling it off .
I ’m still not convinced by the company ’s custom icon pack option , which convert all of the app ikon to a coolly black and white feeling . It looks nifty , but it does n’t help you to differentiate apps . Sure enough , this is no longer a nonremittal supply , and must be purposely activated in the options card .
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There ’s no denying the absolute panache of Nothing ’s approach , with its retro font and sporting minimalist pallet . It ’s all on exhibit in its resplendent Weather app , as well as in its piercing custom widgets . This look occasionally clashes with Android ’s underpinnings , which just makes me daydream of a parallel world in which Nothing is in a position to ‘ do an Apple ’ and make its own O to bleed on its own hardware .
In terms of new feature article , the pick to switch to an AI - driven app tray is an interesting one . This turns the swipe - up menu into something close to iOS ’s app categories , dividing apps fit in to their character . I prefer the nonremittal scheme , but it ’s a nice ( and purely optional ) comprehension .
The main computer software increase here feeds into the Nothing Phone 3a Pro ’s Essential Key . push this shiny button while using your earpiece and the Nothing Phone 3a Pro will take a screenshot , sending it to the Essential Space app , where AI will process and label what ’s on screen .
Press and hold that push , and the screenshot will be accompanied by a voice greenback , which will then be transcribed into the appropriate Essential Space entry . If you press the Essential Key while in the camera app , whatever ’s on the finder will be used as the base for your note . If you ’re a determined motley - media note taker , it ’s a potentially life - enhancing system .
I would have liked to have seen more in - deepness ocular results , however . Perhaps I ’ve been spoiled by Google ’s Circle to Search – which is also supported on the Nothing Phone 3a Pro – but when I encircle to look an Essential Space first appearance and get way more useful information from this 2d - script method , it evoke there ’s room for growth .
Nothing has wedge with its Glyph telling organisation , which is here in a somewhat simpler form than it was in the Nothing Phone ( 1 ) andNothing Phone ( 2 ) . There are three contribute light surrounding the immense camera module .
Like the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) , these will light up with incoming call and notice , while also providing visual feedback on tv camera timers . They can also be set to synch up with music playback , and even indicate the onward motion of your Uber or Zomato order .
It ’s another conception inclusion that helps the Nothing Phone ( 3a ) Pro stand out from its match , but to be brutally honest , I ’ve never found this Glyph system to be remotely useful from a practical viewpoint . If you ’re a ‘ earpiece out and face down ’ type of user , however , I can think it being more of a blessing .
Nothing is promising three age of Android OS updates and four years of security patch . That was fine in the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) , but the Phone ( 3a ) Pro is now commingle with phones that provide up to seven years of supporting .
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Battery Life
Nothing supply a 5,000mAh barrage fire with the Phone 3a Pro , which is the same as the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) and most other sound of this sizing .
Predictably enough , this render up to two day of usage for lighter users . On one such lighter day , with 2 hours 30 minutes of concealment on time ( and the screen forced to 120Hz ) , I was left with just timid of 60 % .
For more intensive custom , you should still find yourself get to the last of a long working day with a comfortable amount of power to spare .
exchangeable to last yr ’s model , an hour with your favourite video cyclosis service with the filmdom fructify to half brightness saphead about 5 % of a charge , while 30 transactions of light gambling feed just 3 % .
Nothing has bumped up its charge proviso ever so slimly , supporting up to 50W wired charging . The company quotes a 1 to 100 % time of 56 minutes , presumably using one of its own chargers .
You ’ll need to supply such a charger yourself , though . Using the modern 140W MacBook Pro charger that I had to give , a 15 minute explosive charge take me from empty to 25 % , while 30 minutes got me up to 47 % .
That ’s a niggling slower than my experience with the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) , but such irregular charging figure are an inevitable result when manufacturers do n’t add their own brick .
There ’s still no radio charging here . Again , that ’s more of a problem in a £ 450 than in a sub-£300 phone , but it ’s still not what you ’d call a vernacular feature this far down the market .
Should you buy it?
If you insist upon a decent visual telephotograph camera , but do n’t have more than £ 450 to spend , the Nothing Phone ( 3a ) Pro is a relatively unparalleled root .
Nothing ’s manner is positive and sound out , but it wo n’t exactly go away into your pocket or bag .
Final Thoughts
Nothing has made some heedful and innovative additions since last year’sNothing Phone ( 2a ) . In particular , the provision of a dedicated 3x periscope camera is n’t something we see too often south of £ 500 .
The company ’s Modern Essential Key computer hardware release also give up a fascinating new path for log your sentiment and discoveries . It could utilise some flesh out , but we ’re interested to see where it sound .
Nothing ’s software system is as crisp and fashionable as ever , and its computer hardware makes a statement that no other low-cost sword can match .
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Despite these advance , this is undeniably a much more expensive phone than the Nothing Phone 2a , with much tough competition . It does n’t shoot down its biff quite so cleanly as a resolution , though it is still one of thebest mid - range phonechoice around .
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How we test
We screen every mobile phone we review exhaustively . We use industry - standard tests to liken feature properly and we use the phone as our master gimmick over the brushup period . We ’ll always recount you what we find and we never , ever , accept money to reexamine a product .
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FAQs
No , Nothing has sacrifice wireless charging to hit a lower price head .
No , Nothing has n’t included a charging brick in the box , just a USB - C to USB - C cablegram .
3 years of major Android updates , 4 years of security updates
Test Data
Full Specs
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