Verdict
If you do n’t want to expend a lot on a phone , of all the phones on the grocery – it ’s the Nothing Phone 3a I ’d recommend , reasonably much without any hesitation .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Nothing Phone 3a is a phone that has made me think – when a machine this affordable is so near , is there any penury to drop more ?
It ’s a inquiry I always expect myself when I try Nothing ’s devices , which have been some of thebest mid - range phoneson the market over the retiring few geezerhood . They ’re so thoughtfully design , perform well and have great software features married in a way which seems really cohesive with the hardware .
The Nothing 3a is a sequel of that mantra . In a smartphone market where many of thebest phonesoften palpate dead , Nothing offers a rare gleam of merriment . perchance even something deserving being sex by .
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Design
Sometimes , the understanding for tot up invention features is “ just because we can ” or “ because it ’s coolheaded ” . And , for me , that ’s a rationality that ’s more than justified . specially when you seem across the smartphone landscape and see nothing but a clustering of very samey - wait rectangles .
So , why not add a transparent back and some twinkling lead strip show light and stress under the glass to give your phone a very clear ocular identicalness ? It ’s an approach that ’s worked well for Nothing before , and it continues with the 3a . This clock time also available in a rather striking Blue colouring .
It all conflate to give the phone a playful character . Like last year , the top third looks like a head with tv camera lenses for heart , and the bottom third forms the consistence .
Now what I like about Nothing is how the design elements marry up with the software package design and features . Most prominently , that ’s been shown in the Glyph lights on the back , which can scud and beat when you get notifications , or be used as a woolly mullein , or even to wed up with medicine or TV playing through the speakers as a form of visualiser . And , you could practice it as a woolly mullein .
This class , that marrying of software package and hardware has also been added to in the form of a consecrated button on the side , which found something call an Essential Space . The only job I ’ve obtain while testing it , is that because it sits on the good side , right under the backwash / eternal sleep key , I usually press it circumstantially .
It ’s a second of a pain , and arguably would be better in a different location , because I ’m far more potential to put away my telephone set and unlock it using the wake button than I am to want to get into the Essential Space .
Otherwise , the phone is your common big rectangular slab with savorless edges , generously polish up corners and a monotonous front airfoil . It ’s slush resistant to IP64 level , so do n’t drop it in any water system ; it wo n’t care it , but it should be hunky-dory if it gets caught in some light rain .
Screen
Just like so much of this phone , the video display is another area where the Phone 3a outperforms its price tag .
The compounding of 120Hz adaptive refresh rates and a peak brightness of 3000 nits mean it ’s smooth and sharp-worded under motion but also outstanding for watch all manner of content , including HDR shows .
Perhaps more impressive than the 3000 nit HDR tip , is that when it ’s typeset to automobile cleverness , it can crank the entire instrument panel up to 1300 nits when outdoors under bright daylight . So it ’s seeable in most situations , even those which could be disturbing to likewise low-priced headphone .
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When the brightness does motorcar - adjust , it ramps up and down smoothly , not in steps , so you do n’t particularly note it befall .
Cameras
Now , just a twosome of class ago , buying an low-cost phone with a triple camera system usually meant you ’d get one enough camera , and two Solanum tuberosum .
There was Usually a down in the mouth resolution macro lens shake off in the mix alongside a pretty big ultra wide . Thankfully , that ’s no longer the suit .
Nothing ’s phone has three fairly solid television camera which perform well . Granted , again , this is n’t thebest camera telephone set , but at the same time , it ’s a versatile and up to enough system that it ’ll become most buyers in many dissimilar scenarios .
The exact composition here is a 50MP main sensing element , with both optical and electronic stabilisation , then a 50MP telephoto soar with a 2x optical range and 4x in - sensor zoom plus an 8MP ultra wide .
Now , while those spectacles may make it seem like it ’s similar to thebest Android sound , it is deserving noting that these sensors are minuscule than the really expensive devices . And that imply that as practiced as they are for this monetary value point , they do n’t contend with the really expensive phones in terms of Light Within and color capture , or broken light carrying into action .
The primary and soar camera are particular strengths , though . In day , with good Christ Within , you ’ll get well balanced icon captivate chop-chop with good storey of point and – while somewhat oversaturated – colours that do n’t trend too much into the realm of hyperrealSamsung Galaxy S25colours .
Even in bright post , however , it ’s clear that the extremist wide tv camera is the poorest of the clump . Struggling often to retail details , resulting in overly flabby ikon that are also a piffling dark and lack in balance between highlight and shadows .
The 2x zoom camera is potent in well - get down aspect . It offers sharp , well balanced images which look decent even up to 4x zoom thanks to the in - sensor cropping .
Try pushing it any further and it comes up quite short , with fuzzy , sinister and soft image lack sharpness and dynamical range . One to expend for closeup shots of flower , plants and portraits of animal and people . But not one to use to soar up in close to objects and scenes that are some length away .
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It ’s in low abstemious spot that the ultra wide and zoom cameras show more clear they ’re not quite in the same leagues as the expensive phone . Despite the dark mood algorithms designed to make clean up any movement blur from shooting handheld , neither dependably produces sharp , in focus shots .
So if you ’re someone who take a lot of shots in badly - light up surroundings like taphouse , clubs and the like , the chief photographic camera is the one to stick with . Or you have the option to expend a act extra and buy theNothing Phone 3a Proinstead , which has a better periscope rapid growth television camera which also has both optic and electronic stabilisation .
Performance
It ’s clear when you ’re looking at a phone in the bottom third of the grocery store , you ’re not pay back a top - tier fireball that can crunch through highly acute game and AAA titles without breaking a sweat .
So the Nothing Phone 3a clearly wo n’t compete with the ilk of the Galaxy S25 orOnePlus 13 in pure performance wager , but against products of a similar price , it carry its own really well . In fact , I ’d argue it outperforms its price point .
Inside you ’ll discover the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 , which is sort of towards the top end of those lower series chipsets . It means the phone has the engine to outperform speech sound like theHonor Magic 7Lite , and is more or less more capable than theMoto inch 50 Neo . you’re able to see the benchmark score below .
For casual use - cases , it ’s got more than enough speed and fluidity to deal your everyday casual games . My own particular vice is Mario Kart Tour , and while tier or stages take a little long to load than they would on a top - tier £ 1000/$1000 smartphone , the actual gameplay is suave and responsive .
Software
The overall user interface has that retro spell Nothing telephone set have always had , with the conventionalize fonts and black and white theming with splashes of red . It permeates the entire interface , with new useful widgets and icons total with every software update .
Now Essential Space – think of this as a tool to help oneself you think stuff . That ’s probably too basic a description , but the idea is that you press the Essential Button on the side while you ’re calculate at something . It could be something on societal media that triggers a intellection that you need to check something out , or an add show some cool stoolpigeon or a prissy top that you want to go back and await at afterward properly .
When you press and hold the crucial push button , it screen out grabs whatever is on the screen door , and while holding the button , you record a spokesperson promissory note or enquire your phone to remind you of something . A quick duple press of the clitoris accesses the space , while a single insistency take an initial blind grab , which you’re able to then add to your place without a vocalism eminence by pressing the all-important button again .
What bechance next is somewhat clever . Using AI , it go on a minute of a research trip around the WWW to watch what ’s in the impression , and then finally adds it to your Essential Space with a description and tag a admonisher to it , with the option to cross it off when you ’re done .
Think of it as a digital cork board to immobilise ideas , thoughts and admonisher to throughout your day . Genuinely , while some might not find purpose in it , for those of us who on a regular basis forget , or change imagine pattern , or get distracted easily , it ’s actually quite handy . It ’s like have got a space that remembers the stuff and nonsense you ’d be trusted to bury .
Nothing OS 3 amount with some genuinely utile – and others just delightful – thingumabob too . Like the medicine playback widget for playing and intermit whatever music is playing on the speech sound , and also shows the record album / cover art for that specific song . Or , the calendar widget that shows the date , but every new Clarence Shepard Day Jr. lets you flip over a new leaf to the current date .
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It ’s not necessary , but it ’s an example of the playful nature of Nothing ’s Android skin that make it so nice to use .
Where it lacks a petty is in major update committedness . Nothing will pop the question major Android updates for just three days , with a further three years of surety spell .
Battery Life
Battery life is potent , thanks to the 5000mAh cell .
It ’s deserving take note here that my own pattern of purpose is decidedly on the light end of the shell when I resolve into my usual casual use . It ’d be surprising to go over three hours of screen clip in a day .
Even on my backbreaking days , where I watched an hour of Netflix , played half an hour of Mario Kart , did camera testing and 30 - 60 bit of internet browsing plus a handful of societal media and reading sports news , I ’d still shin to drain half the shelling in a full day .
For someone like me , it can quite comfortably be a two Clarence Day barrage fire . If you ’re a heavier user , I recollect you ’d shinny to completely debilitate it in one day , unless you ’re gaze at the concealment for 10 hour a day .
What I really prize was that even though there ’s no charger in the box , it can charge at 50W focal ratio . In real term , that means it can full refill in under an minute , or do a 50 % charge in under 20 hour .
It ’s not blazing fast like some manage , but it ’s tight enough to be really commodious , and it meant I did n’t have to settle into a rule of commit it every Nox .
Should you buy it?
The design here , with an array of light-emitting diode , help the Nothing Phone 3a resist out among of crowd of similar devices .
Go for the Nothing Phone 3a Pro if you ’re after improved rapid growth , as that has a right periscope camera .
Final Thoughts
If you do n’t want to drop a lot on a earpiece , of all the phones on the market – it ’s the Nothing Phone 3a I ’d recommend , pretty much without any falter . merely put , if you require an affordable Android phone that does n’t have any glaring issues then this is thr one to purchase in 2025 .
It does everything you need a phone to do , does it well , and looks great in the process . With so many of thebest chinchy phonesandbest Android phonesfollowing a similar designing blueprint , Nothing has really done something to stand out here .
However , if you are after some improved zoom photographic camera performance , the slightly pricier Nothing Phone 3a Pro packs in a telephotograph camera . There ’s also theNothing Phone 2 , however at this microscope stage there ’s little reason to plump for that exemplar ,
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How we test
We test every roving telephone set we review thoroughly . We use industry - standard examination to compare features decently and we use the telephone set as our main gadget over the review time period . We ’ll always tell you what we find and we never , ever , consent money to review a ware .
Find out more about how we test in ourethics insurance policy .
FAQs
No charging is let in , although it does support charging speeds up to 50w .
Test Data
Full Specs
Primary camera
Primary camera
Ultrawide
2x zoom
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2x zoom
Primary camera
Primary camera
Ultrawide
2x zoom
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