Nothing Phone 3a Pro review: Apple and Google should be worried

Apple got me all excited for the iPhone 16e until we learned the new iPhone costs $599, which puts it out of contention in my book for being a best cheap phone contender. The price hike over the previous iPhone SE 2022 just doesn’t satisfy my craving for sub-$500 phones, but the Nothing Phone 3a Pro could.

The problem with budget phones is that the cheaper they become, the more features end up being stripped away. Yet, that doesn’t appear to be the case with the Nothing Phone 3a Pro. In fact, it’s doing the opposite by offering a beautiful design, more cameras, rapid charging, and a software experience matched only by its unique identity.

In my Nothing Phone 3a Pro review, you’ll find out how this phone's triple camera system stacks up against the iPhone 16e and Pixel 8a — along with how practical the 3a Pro's Essential Key to keeping me organized with the help of AI. And you get all of this for $479.

Looking for our thoughts on the cheaper of Nothing's two new phones? Check out our Nothing Phone 3a review.

Nothing Phone 3a Pro review: Specifications

Nothing Phone 3a Pro review: Price and availability

I can’t stress enough about the value delivered by the Nothing Phone 3a Pro. For $459, it comes with a generous 12GB of RAM and 256GB storage. The latter’s impressive considering that the Pixel 8a and iPhone 16e feature 128GB, so right off the bat, Nothing has a big advantage.

Nothing's phone comes in two colors: grey and black. While it would’ve been nice to get a third option, I can’t overlook the fact that the Nothing design continues to be a cut above other phones. The only thing I dislike about the Nothing Phone 3a Pro is its limited release — the only place you’ll be able to snag it is through Nothing’s U.S. Beta Program just as with previous releases.

Preorders begin on March 11 with general availability starting on March 25, but there will be an opportunity to snag the phone earlier on March 8 if you happen to be in London at the the Nothing Store Soho.

This limited release applies a bit of a brake to Nothing’s forward momentum, which I hope gets solved one way or the other because a phone this good deserves a proper audience.

Nothing Phone 3a Pro review: Design

Both the Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro feature the same design language, with the exception of their camera housings. There’s an obnoxiously large round hump on the back of the Nothing Phone 3a Pro, which does assert itself as a more serious shooter than before. Unlike other camera humps, like the one on the Galaxy S25 Ultra or iPhone 16 Pro Max, this one’s positioned in between both sides of the phone — so there’s no wobble if it’s laid flat on its back.

For the most part, the Nothing Phone 3a Pro design follows the same recipe as before with Nothing's trademark see-through design. Compared to other budget phones, it’s still an ingenious style that combines the smooth and sleek aesthetics of modern phones while still coming off as original, as you get a sneak peek into the phone's inside with micro screws and cable ribbons hidden behind the sturdy glass casing.

There’s also the Glyph Interface, which continues to be an iconic part of Nothing's visual identity. Not only does it add to the Nothing Phone 3a Pro aesthetics, but it also has a functional element that allows me to customize my notifications, see the progress of my Uber ride, and even work in conjunction with a timer. I have to admit, it continues to be a conversation starter whenever the LED light strips turn on.

Nothing Phone 3a Pro review: Display

Similar to the best phones out there, the Nothing Phone 3a Pro is a big phone. I’m talking Galaxy S25 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro Max big because it offers a 6.77-inch AMOLED display with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz.

Even though this is a small increase in size over last year’s 6.7-inch Nothing Phone 2a, I’m happy to report that this AMOLED panel is much brighter at 1,259 nits. That’s a significant improvement over the 990 nits of brightness recorded by last year’s model, but it’s also brighter than the iPhone 16e.

I pulled up a few trailers and 4K HDR videos on YouTube, which was easy to watch outdoors with the Nothing Phone 3a Pro's wide viewing angles and rich colors. And while the screen has slightly larger bezels than what I’d find in a flagship, I’m not bothered by them one bit.

Furthermore, its 120Hz refresh rate does make the display look a lot more fluid navigating around — but it’s hit or miss with gaming.

Nothing Phone 3a Pro review: Camera

Nowadays I’m most annoyed by the minor camera improvements I see in devices year-over-year. It’s one of the big reasons why I don’t recommend upgrading your phone yearly because the improvements aren’t as substantial. However, the Nothing Phone 3a Pro is one of those rare exceptions when there’s a big leap.

To truly make it feel more like a flagship, the Nothing Phone 3a Pro packs a versatile triple camera system that consists of a 50MP main shooter, 8MP ultrawide, and 50MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom. The latter’s important because phones this cheap don’t often get telephoto cameras, especially one with 3x optical zoom. There’s also a beefy 50MP selfie camera around the front that’s capable of shooting 4K video as well.

All of this sounds like a serious best camera phone contender, but I’ve seen how budget phones often crash and burn in this area. Perhaps this one could be an exception?

The main camera holds up nicely against the iPhone 16e, evident in the daytime shots above. Despite having slightly less definition around the wooden sign when I zoom into the shot, I do like how it has more contrast with the grass.

I would also say that the Nothing Phone 3a Pro pulls in more dynamic range than the mighty Pixel 8a with the shot above of the gazebo with the sun directly to the right of the scene. Those shadowed areas with the rocks are better exposed with the Nothing Phone 3a Pro’s photos, as well as the tree in the background on the right side.

Colors on the Nothing Phone could benefit more from a bit more saturation, especially when the colors of the wreath above look a bit drab compared to the Pixel 8a of the wreath above.

Rather than leaning on the ultrawide for macro photos, the Nothing Phone 3a Pro does it instead with its telephoto camera — resulting in either 3x or 6x macro zooming. I’ll admit that I was caught off guard by this, but the end result is really remarkable. Against the iPhone 16e, the 3x macro shot of this yellow flower above has almost as good details. When I zoom in, I can see the pattern a bit better with the iPhone 16e.

Panoramas on the Nothing Phone 3a Pro are oddly dull in comparison to what I get out of the iPhone 16e. While the 3a Pro manages to keep an even exposure throughout the entire stitching, the colors of the beach side scene just look like a drab — whereas the warmer tones of the iPhone 16e make it pop a lot more.

Selfies from the Nothing Phone 3a Pro's 50MP front-facing camera have a lot of good qualities, like how it captures the finer details of my facial features and delivers a moody look with its strong contrast. However, Nothing applies a significant amount of saturation to the scene. The iPhone 16e’s performance looks more realistic, plus there’s a smidge more definition in the fabric of my hoodie.

Budget phones rarely get dedicated telephoto cameras, as the vast majority tend to lean on their main cameras for all zooming — much like how the iPhone 16e does it. At 2x zoom, the Nothing Phone 3a Pro’s shot of the wooden sign above is much sharper. When I zoom in to inspect the details, I can better make out the grain pattern running horizontally.

For the next 10x telephoto shots above, I honed in on the yellow crest on the same wooden sign. This is where the 3x optical zoom helps the Nothing Phone 3a Pro to draw out more detail over the iPhone 16e.

Low light performance is much improved, so much so that it feels like a night and day difference. The same shot of the tree above looked completely dark and soft when I shot it with the Nothing Phone 2a last year, but now it’s brighter, sharper, and more detailed. I thought the iPhone 16e coughed up excellent results, but the Nothing Phone 3a Pro is a cut above.

Nothing Phone 3a Pro (4K, 30fps) - YouTube

Watch On

iPhone 16e (4K, 30fps) - YouTube

Watch On

Video recording on the Nothing Phone 3a Pro tops out at 4K 30fps, which is a step behind the 4K 60fps that has become the norm. Despite this, I’m actually surprised by how similar the 3a Pro's video performance is against the iPhone 16e.

In particular, I really like how the Nothing Phone 3a Pro's wider dynamic range performance manages to deal with the strong light shift when I pan up to the building and the sun behind it. Rather than blowing out the highlights, the 3a Pro manages to keep them balanced against the shadows. The only complaint I have about its performance, especially against the iPhone 16e, is how its audio recording sounds thin.

Overall, I’m undeniably surprised by the cameras because I didn’t think the performance would be this good.

Nothing Phone 3a Pro review: Performance

Rather than supplying its new phone with an updated chip from MediaTek, Nothing taps Qualcomm to power the 3a Pro. There’s a Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 under the hood paired with 12GB of RAM. Based on the benchmark scores, it’s no slugger compared to the silicon powering today’s best gaming phones.

Take the Nothing Phone 3a Pro's single and multi-core scores in GeekBench 6, which at 1,166 and 3,275 respectively, look almost laughable against key rivals like the iPhone 16e and Pixel 8a. They’re clearly well below what those phones can do, but I don’t notice it with basic tasks like sending emails, watching videos, and surfing the web.

At least the Nothing Phone 3a Pro's 120Hz display refresh rate gives it that illusion of being a speedy phone, as it exhibits fluid movements moving across the interface and home screen.

I tried playing a few different games on the Nothing Phone 3a Pro and noticed that it's not as smooth as other flagship phones. Even though it doesn’t hinder my game play in Age of Origins or Diablo Immortal, these slower frame rates just don’t make them as satisfying. There is a Game Mode on Nothing's phone that prioritizes performance over efficiency, but even with it on, I don’t get the same smooth gameplay I’m used to.

Unless you’re heavy into gaming, or plan to edit videos with a lot of effects in them, you won’t be hindered by the Nothing Phone 3a Pro's performance. At the very least, it handles the basics with ease — which I think is more important.

Nothing Phone 3a Pro review: Battery and charging

Given how this is the first phone I’ve tested with the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 under the hood, I didn’t have huge expectations for the Nothing Phone 3a pro to outpace the longevity I’ve seen in the devices that make up our list of best phone battery life.

With its 5,000 mAh battery, the Nothing Phone 3a Pro pulls in an average time of 14 hours and 33 minutes, which is respectable for a phone of its caliber, though it trails the standard Nothing Phone 3a's result by 55 minutes.

Still, the Nothing Phone 3a Pro's battery test result easily pushes past the 12 hours and 41 minutes that the iPhone 16e averaged, and it's even much longer that the 11 hours and 21 minutes put up by the Pixel 8a. In my day-to-day use, I find the Nothing Phone 3a Pro keeps up with my demands, getting me through a solid work day without the need to top off.

If there’s one thing in my wish list that I want for next year’s model, it has to be wireless charging. That’s missing here and I know how useful it is to just put a phone down on a pad to charge. Nevertheless, the Nothing Phone 3a Pro's 50W wired charging speed is fast enough to get it to a decent level in just a short time. For example, 15 minutes if charging yields a battery level of 39% — while 30 minutes gets it to 70%.

Nothing Phone 3a Pro review: Software and AI

There hasn’t been anything remotely close to matching the visual aesthetics of Nothing OS. It’s one of my favorite custom Android experiences because of how the Glyph Interface is an extension of the software experience.

With the latest version of the software, Nothing OS 3.1, Nothing adds more customization than ever before and even adds a new AI feature.

The dot matrix style of Nothing OS remains unmistakable, but there’s now more widgets to choose from — like ChatGPT. Along with that, there’s the Smart Drawer that rearranges the app panel so that apps are intelligently grouped into their respective categories. The phone automatically lumps them into the correct ones, which makes it easier because I’m not scrolling as much to find the app I want.

Just as before, the Glyph Interface offers the same customizations to light up the LED strips on the back of the phone. However, it begs for more third-party integration with Glyph Progress because only three apps support it — Uber, Zomato, and Google Calendar. The premise is to provide an estimation of progress, like how long it is before your Uber ride arrives, but the feature cries out for more support.

Nothing also dives into the busy AI space with the Essential Space and Key. The latter is the physical button on the right side of the phone that captures a screenshot of whatever I’m looking at, which is then cataloged with the help of AI to be included in the hub called the Essential Space.

Think of the Essential Space as similar to Pixel Screenshots with the Pixel 9 series, but unlike the ability to search through or recall details from those screenshots, the Essential Space is basically a hub that prepares reminders and tasks for me.

The problem I have with this, much like Pixel Screenshots, is that it involves a lot of screenshot capture and voice memo recording on my part to get effective reminders and tasks. I would find the feature much more useful if it all did this on its own proactively, instead of having me initiate the process — which is the main issue I have about this AI feature.

This is pretty much the extent of the Nothing Phone 3a Pro's AI capabilities, which is nowhere close to matching the depth I get from Apple Intelligence on the iPhone 16e or the Google AI features in the Pixel 8a. If Nothing wants to be taken seriously here, it needs to come to the table with a package that has more substance.

Despite this, I’m pleased that Nothing continues to pledge 3 years of major Android updates and now 6 years of security updates — with the latter being up from the 4 years of security updates with the Nothing Phone 2a.

Nothing Phone 3a Pro review: Verdict

I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that this phone costs $479. It feels too good to be true given how the Nothing Phone 3a Pro comes with an impressive triple camera system, a design that’s a cut above other phones in this price range, a vibrant AMOLED display, and a battery life that easily beats its rivals by a wide margin.

Of course there’s still room for improvement, as there is with all phones, but I think the Nothing Phone 3a Pro proves how it’s feasible to give people what they want at a price that might seem impossible. When other phone makers strip out features and expect you to pay more for them, Nothing reverses course by offering people a worthwhile alternative.

The Nothing Phone 3a Pro isn’t just a value phone, it’s the new benchmark for what you should expect in a budget phone in 2025.

More from Tom's Guide

• iPhone 17 Air will reportedly have three missing features
• I review phones for a living — and this is the budget phone I recommend to friends and family
• I shot over 200 photos with the iPhone 16e vs Pixel 8a — here’s the winner