Since bursting onto the smartphone scene in 2022 with the Phone 1, the awkwardly-named Nothing brand has been a consistent fixture on our list of the best cheap phones you can buy. Founded by the co-creator of OnePlus, Carl Pei, Nothing’s handsets combine solid specs, a fair price and a truly unique design in a world of similar-looking black rectangles.
We know that the latest handsets — the Nothing 3a series — are coming on March 4 to coincide with Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, but you may not have to wait to find out what the company has in store if new leaked specifications prove to be accurate.
Smartprix reports that Nothing is planning on releasing two handsets: the Nothing 3a and Nothing 3a Pro. For the most part, the devices will be pretty similar, sharing a Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset, a 6.72-inch 120Hz OLED screen, a 5,000mAh battery and an IP64 rating for dust and water resistance.
But things differ when it comes to camera specs — or specifically the telephoto lens. While both phones have a 50MP main camera and an 8MP ultrawide lens, the regular 3a comes with a 2x telephoto lens with an unspecified megapixel count for zoomed shots.
The 3a Pro, however, comes with a 50MP telephoto sensor. It’s said to be Sony’s LYT-600 sensor, featuring a 1/1.95-inch sensor, which the site claims will be capable of 60x hybrid zoom.
We shouldn’t expect miracles from this, of course. Despite the Pro moniker, this is still from the ‘a’ series of Nothing handsets, meaning budget. Historically that range has maxed out at $399 with the Nothing Phone 2a Plus, and the use of the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset suggests that won’t be changing too much. In other words, it’s unlikely to make our list of the best camera phones.
Despite the Pro moniker, this is still from the ‘a’ series of Nothing handsets, meaning budget.
Nonetheless, if this is true — and the price doesn’t push it out of the category — the Nothing Phone 3a Pro spec does look like it’ll reshape what you can expect from a budget phone’s cameras.
The $499 Pixel 8a doesn’t have a telephoto lens, and neither is the imminent iPhone SE 4 tipped to. It could even compete with flagship phones on paper: the Samsung Galaxy S25, starting at $799, is limited to 10 megapixels on its 3x telephoto lens.
Previously, we’ve heard that the Nothing Phone 3a family will allow the use of eSIMs and have a mysterious new button that you’ll “love to click many times a day”, whatever that means. We’ll find out in just two weeks’ time.
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