Smartphone launches are becoming boring as you get the same old slab - fashion design on most earpiece . Nothing , with its fancy Glyph light-emitting diode to the clean software , want to change this notion . Its latest mid - ranger the Nothing Phone ( 3a ) serial is a testament to this vision . Nothing made some bluff claims during the marketing comparing the earphone to the iPhone 16 Pro Max during camera tests . So we resolve to attempt the novel Nothing Phone ( 3a ) and Nothing Phone ( 3a ) and see if it ’s deserving all the marketing hype . Here ’s a review of the Nothing Phone ( 3a ) and the Nothing Phone ( 3a ) Pro .
tabular array of substance
Nothing Phone (3a) and (3a) Pro Specifications
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Nothing Phone (3a) Pro Design: Polarizing or Game Changing?
To start with perhaps the most controversial alteration , is the invention of the Nothing Phone ( 3a ) Pro . Compared to its forerunner , theNothing Phone ( 2a ) Plus , the company has changed the design and the stigmatisation as well . Gone is the vertical pilled - shaped faculty that looked like two middle and you get a distinctive circular television camera module on the back .
what is more , Nothing has ditched the charge plate back in favor of aglass finishwhich looks and feels more exchange premium . Moreover , you get atriple tv camera modulethis time or else of a dual television camera setup . This is to make quad for the new 50 - megapixel periscope telephoto lens of the eye ( which we will talk about in the camera division ) .
The rest of the design feel intimate , as you get thethree Glyph LEDson the back , just like the Phone ( 2a ) series , and a transparent invention take after Nothing ’s design philosophy . I have the silver semblance variant of the Nothing Phone ( 3a ) Pro for recap . It has an industrial and minimalistic look , although I prefer the design of the Nothing Phone ( 3a ) more as it looks more elegant .
The flat sides and rounded corners do make it a bit bulky to hold in the hand . Weighing at211 grams , it is n’t exactly the easy phone around and I can only imagine the exercising weight after add a case to it .
Another novel edition is the new clit that sits below the business leader button , called theEssential Key . This Francis Scott Key open up an AI - power hub and lets you do some interesting things ( hash out in the software section ) . Nothing has also added an IP64 rating so the phone is repellent to occasional splashes of water and rubble .
Glyph LEDs
Yes , the Glyph LEDs have been carried over from the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) series and you still get a stripped - down version instead of the full fledge find on the Phone ( 2 ) . You getGlyph notificationsfor incoming notifications and essential presentment so you do n’t miss out on significant message . The mode it work is that the Glyph Light Within stay up until you have record these notification while it merely goes forth for other notification .
There ’s also aGlyph timerandGlyph progress barthat can lento deplete the lights to let you know about the remaining time of your timekeeper or Zomato order . woefully , the charging progress meter found in the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) is still not present on these phones . Still , I set up the Glyph interface useful during my Nothing Phone ( 3a ) revaluation .
Nothing Phone (3a) Series Display: Sharp but Not Bright Enough
Nothing Phone ( 3a ) series is the large phone from the company to date . It has a massive6.77 - in AMOLED panelwith a120Hz refresh rate . Both phones have a heyday brightness of3000 nitsandPanda Glassfor protective covering .
The earphone has sizeable if not chunky bezels on all four side and there is a centre of attention punch pickle cutout . Its bigger cover is a treat for consuming message as you get promising and punchy colors . While the phone does have HDR 10 + reenforcement on YouTube , you do n’t get the same on Netflix .
Despite the lack of HDR , I enjoy watching Season 3 of Reacher while reviewing my Nothing Phone ( 3a ) unit of measurement and it was a great experience . However , in a side - by - side comparing with the Realme 14 Pro Plus , I noticed that the Realme had expert contrast and more brightness level .
The under - show fingermark sensor works as intended and I did not face any event . However , the placement could have since it ’s located towards the bottom stand for you will require to perform finger gymnastic exercise .
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro Cameras: Great but Inconsistent
tv camera or rather camera are the principal high spot of the Nothing Phone ( 3a ) serial . While the company made some bluff claims that it can directly compete with the iPhone 16 Pro Max , the reality is a flake murky . Both phones in the Nothing Phone ( 3a ) series have the same 50 - megapixel primary election and 8 - megapixel ultrawide angle detector . But the new addition this yr is the 50 - megapixel telephoto electron lens on the 3a and a periscope telephoto on the 3a Pro . The ( 3a ) can zoom up to 2x while the Pro variation can capture up to 3x shots with optical zoom .
Primary and Ultrawide Lens
The television camera needs more optimization as the results are a turn inconsistent . It sometimes strike bright and saturated photos and other time , it takes overexposed shot . While it might conduct you to mean that these are pic from two unlike phones , they are actually the same ones .
Maybe Nothing can situate it with a future update . You should buy products based on what they deliver now and not some obscure succeeding promises . Similarly , the ultrawide angle tv camera can take good dig although there is a noticeable color shift compare to the primary sensor .
you may shootvideos at 4 K up to 30 FPSand there isOIS for stabilisation . Another interesting feature film is thepreset filtersthat you’re able to get at by sneak up on the camera shutter . These work just like the Photography styles on iPhones so you choose one that best check the scenario .
Telephoto Lens
The 50 - megapixel telephoto lens on the Nothing Phone ( 3a ) is abit of a strike or escape . It has some sharpness emergence and the cutis tone processing is n’t the good . The skin tones look soft as apparent in these images when using the portrait mood . In the Nothing Phone ( 3a ) Pro , there is some inconsistency here as well as the phones tend to oversharpen image with an stilted fuzz or sometimes the edge sensing is all over the place .
give the capable camera hardware , Nothing should be capable to max out its potential and iron out the issues with future updates . But give its current state , it ’s a bit hard to urge the Nothing Phone ( 3a ) series if you want a authentic camera experience . Hopefully , things will change in the hereafter as Nothing has a good track record of updates .
Nothing Phone (3a) Series Performance: Good for Casual Tasks but Not for Gamers
The Nothing Phone ( 3a ) Pro , despite its Pro moniker , does n’t offer Pro - level performance . It utilise the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 , a mid - range chipset found in speech sound like the Realme 14 Pro Plus and Redmi Note 14 Pro Plus . The Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 is a write out - down reading of the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 which sit below the Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3 . Still with me ? fundamentally , it ’s a mid - range chip that is great for most job .
During my usage which included taking photo , scrolling through societal sensitive , and make for game , I did not face any lags or stutter . Moreover , the 12 GB of RAM keeps most apps in memory albeit it does recharge some of them . Also , I noticed that it takes a second or two for the app opening animation to start when you press on the icon .
Gaming and Benchmarks
I also tried some games during my Nothing Phone ( 3a ) Pro critical review . I could diddle BGMI at HDR and Extreme ( 60 FPS ) and CoDM at Very gamey and Max ( 60 FPS ) . The phone did not heat up and the frame pace were unchanging and consistent mostly staying around 59 - 60 FPS . lamentably , you’re able to not run either secret plan at 90 FPS which is surprising yield the cheaper CMF Phone ( 1 ) can do so at half the terms .
Perhaps , Nothing can lend funding for a high frame charge per unit with a succeeding update but as of save this review , you are stuck with 60 FPS . Oh yes , speaking of game , you do get a dedicated Game style apart from the usual Game Dashboard . While not as detailed as iQOO ’s offering , it lets you block incoming calls , disable notifications , lock the brightness , and memorialize your gameplay .
Coming to benchmarks , the Nothing Phone ( 3a ) Pro scores0.8 million on AnTuTu . In Geekbench 6 , the headphone scored1151 in single - coreand3202 in multi - coretest . what is more , the earpiece throttles to95 percent in the CPU throttlingtest so it ’s a immature signal flag just like your crush . These score are more or less similar to my daily driver , the Realme 14 Pro Plus which utilise the same Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 .
Nothing Phone (3a) Series Software: AI, AI, and Some More AI!
The Nothing Phone ( 3a ) series ship with NothingOS 3.1 based on Android 15 . The company promisesthree yr of oxygen updates and four years of security patches . software system is one look where Nothing has a clear advantage over its competitors . NothingOS has evolved a lot since its inception and I personally like its take on stock Android .
The company hasreduced the point ground substance elementsin party favor of a young font style although you’re able to still change it in the preferences . You get a raw app draftsman that automaticallycategorizes apps into different folders using AI . There are also folder styles available to help oneself you set the icon in the leaflet .
Nothing also introduce itsGallery appwhich follow the purpose language of the company . Moreover , you get customization options for the whorl screen as well as the home screen . There ’s alsoCircle to Searchso you may circle stuff and nonsense and find more details about it .
However , during my use , I also note some hemipterous insect such as the scaling issues on the WhatsApp TV call and some minor glitches in the notification venire . Nothing too serious though as Nothing could iron out these issues with a future software update . I enjoyed using the computer software during my Nothing Phone ( 3a ) series review .
AI Features and Essential Key
You also get the option tohide apps . Simply add them to a folder and vary their cover flair to assign an app icon . Now come to the Essential Key , you may double - press it to enter the Essential Hub . It is an AI hub where you could store your screenshots , voice recordings , and greenback . Just snap and hold the button to take off the recording .
The room this work is that you throw the button if you come across any interesting reel or photo and it will preserve your representative recording along with it . This is the only place you need to visit to store all your intellection , idea , and reminders .
For model , I come across a unique gadget on Instagram or YouTube . I can but discover the product and my thoughts about it . It will detect the name of the product and even supply a summary of the transcription . It ’s like Google Screenshots that you’re able to get at with a imperativeness of a push .
Nothing Phone (3a) Battery and Charging
ultimately , coming to battery endurance , the Nothing Phone ( 3a ) serial packs a 5,000mAh battery . Sadly , there is no Silicon Carbon stamp battery like other manufacturer have commence offer but Nothing has optimized the computer hardware well . During my review of the Nothing Phone ( 3a ) serial , I was easily able to reach the goal of the day .
It lasted around6 - 7 hr of screen timewith perfunctory usage such as scroll through social media apps , taking a lot of pictures , and watching television show . There ’s also50W PD wire chargingsupport which can top up the speech sound to50 per centum in just 19 mo .
As usual , you need to bribe the charger singly since there is n’t one in the box as Nothing is pitching the ( 3a ) serial publication to contend withiPhone 16 , which also does n’t come with a charger . Also , Nothing has removed the transparent ends on its bill transmission line , so it ’s just another USB cable television now .
Nothing Phone (3a) Series: Connectivity, Speakers and Haptics
Last but not least is the connectivity of the Nothing Phone ( 3a ) . During my brushup of the Phone ( 3a ) series , I did not encounter any issues with Wi - Fi and downloads were pretty quick . The same goes with roving information and the call quality as they work as intended .
The speakers on the Nothing Phone ( 3a ) Pro are flashy and exonerated enough to fill an entire room . You get a speaker system grille at the bottom and the earpiece acting as the secondary speaker . The haptics , however , give much to be desired as they are similar to the unity found on cheaper devices .
Verdict: Should You Buy Nothing Phone (3a) Series?
ease up the pricing of the Nothing Phone ( 3a ) series , if you require the best software experience or unequaled smell with Glyph LEDs then these mid - range sound are your only option . However , the tv camera consistence is n’t the best and you wo n’t get the fastest execution out there .
But the rest of the experience is quite good including the Essential Key which has a few kinks that want to be ironed out . Overall , if you require a great mid - range phone then you will be best served by the Nothing Phone ( 3a ) instead of the ( 3a ) Pro . These deal similar specifications except for the camera , which is inconsistent on both .
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