In the last few years, London-based tech company Nothing has earned the reputation of putting no-nonsense software in its smartphones. Further, it continuously pushes the design envelope. Is that enough to make Nothing Phone (3a) Pro shine in a market with a number of Samsung, Xiaomi and OnePlus offerings?

Original design

On paper, any redesign needs to begin with a problem, which can be specific, systemic or subjective: Perhaps a service has become too confusing or a design that feels out of date.

Nothing had a design philosophy working in its favour with its previous phones, complete with the glyph setup. With Nothing Phone (3a) Pro, the London-based company riffs on the industrial design more than usual. There is no doubt that the design of the new phone will divide the audience — some will hate it while others will like it. But if you look at the phone, even from a distance, you will recognise it. Nothing has done something unique to appear prominent in a cluttered smartphone market. It takes courage to push the design box at a time when many of the big Android brands are not doing anything special.

Several brands are trying to experiment with colour and material but the effort is nothing extraordinary. Also, having used Nothing phones for a few years, I have no concerns about the phone’s build and the glyph setup.

You get the unique glyph feature that's entertaining and adds flair to your calls and alerts. But the new Essential Key takes the emphasis away from the power button.

The back is no longer made of plastic… it’s glass. What I have a problem with is the massive camera bump. Sure, the camera module props up the phone like a stand but while taking photos, my index finger keeps pressing against the module, forcing me to adjust the way I hold the phone while taking photographs.

The glyph module around the camera bump is slightly curved, making the phone look better. In terms of functionality, there are no changes — glyph timer, glyph composer, glyph notification, glyph progress… glyph this and that. However much I like it, there have been no additions.

With the addition of glass and a periscope camera module, the phone has gained weight. At 211g, it’s heavy and that too at a time when mid-range phones are becoming slimmer and lighter. In fact, even flagship phones are expected to become slimmer in the coming days.

The periscope telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom is not something you will find on affordable Android phones.

There is IP64 rating, which is also there on Phone (3a). Since the phone comes with a ‘Pro’ tag, perhaps a higher IP rating — like IP68 — would have helped.

Essential Key but…

Apple added Camera Control to its iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max, so why shouldn’t Nothing add something called Essential Key? It is supposed to open up the AI hub to access memories. Press it once to capture a screenshot and then create a note… it becomes a memory. Long press to add audio to the snapshot. Or double-click to open Essential Space. Is it “essential”? Not at the moment. Nothing has plans for Essential Space, which is great but unless we see those plans mature, it’s difficult to say anything essential.

Nothing could have at least allowed users to remap the button to wake up a feature on the phone. The other problem with the Essential Key is its prominence. It’s smaller than the power button but somehow my finger keeps pressing the Essential Key. We will keep an eye on how the gateway to the AI world unfolds in the coming months.

Display dazzle

The display on the Phone (3a) Pro is larger. The 6.77-inch FHD+ AMOLED comes with 120Hz refresh rate and 3,000 nits of peak brightness (compared to 2,150 nits on OnePlus Nord 4). The display is a 10-bit panel with HDR10+ support. There are no quibbles about the display.

Coming back to the ‘Pro’ tag, I expected the bezels to be narrower. It’s symmetrical but not slim enough for a ‘Pro’ phone.

Nothing pledges three years of major Android updates and six years of security updates.

Nothing has brought in Panda glass, replacing Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on Phone (2a). The phone has taken an accidental drop and has survived without scratches.

Since you will mostly use such a large screen to stream content, let’s talk about the stereo speakers. They are well-tuned and even at maximum volume, there is no distortion but there is enough bass.

Performance and the ‘Pro’ tag

Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 Mobile Platform (4nm) is combined with 8GB/12GB LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB/256GB UFS 2.2 storage. Looking at the processor in a standalone situation, it’s fantastic and works flawlessly. But the problem is the existence of Nothing Phone (3a) which also comes with the same processor at a lower price point. Why not throw in UFS 3.1 storage at least? It’s not a chipset that deserves a ‘Pro’ moniker. In the price range, there are several phones with similar processors — Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 on OnePlus Nord CE4 and Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 on Realme GT 6.

Once again, it’s definitely a good processor. For example, it can handle Genshin Impact without any issues. With optimised power efficiency, the device runs cooler during extended gaming sessions.

The Phone (3a) Pro manages to keep an even exposure.

There is support for all the important 5G bands, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4 and NFC. On the battery front, I got over eight hours of screen-on time consistently, even with always-on displayed turned on.

Software shine

The phone comes with Nothing OS 3.1 based on Android 15. Nothing is promising three years of software updates and six years of security updates. It’s important to remember that some companies promise longer software update cycles but ultimately the chip runs out of steam. Nothing is being practical by offering three years of software updates.

In the software department, Nothing phones shine. The animations are smooth, there are no unwanted third-party apps and every first-party app is gorgeously designed. The company has thought it through and this is the best software implementation on Android. The premium software design language makes a difference.

Make the call

I have kept the camera for the end. The camera setup features 50MP main (Samsung GNJ), 8MP ultra-wide and 50MP 3x (optical) periscope (Sony LYT 600). Overall, the cameras capture clean photos and even if you crop images, there are enough details. The dynamic range performance is quite good at the given price point — the highlights are not blown out and shadows have more depth.

In lowlight scenarios, the shots are acceptable but if you intend to crop into an image, don’t expect too much. But colour reproduction is quite good and goes toe-to-toe with Nord 4. There are some good predefined presets to choose from and it helps create a look of your own. With an optical sensor, zooming in with the Nothing phone is something worth exploring. .

The selfie camera is 50MP and the tuning is top-of-the-line, with good skin tone production. Selfie video recording can happen at 4K (30fps). Using the rear camera, you can also shoot 4K@30fps. Be it zoom, lowlight or ultra-wide, video recording on the Nothing device is well-tuned.

Sure, Nothing has competition, like from OnePlus Nord 4, which comes with a metal back, Alert Slider, it’s slimmer and there is an IR blaster. Yet, Nothing Phone (3a) Pro comes with a good camera setup and premium software experience. It’s an excellent alternative to most Android offerings.
At a glance

Device: Nothing Phone (3a) Pro

Price: Upwards of ₹27,999 (including bank offers)

High notes

• Clean software setup

• Good triple-camera system

• Fun design

• Snappy performance

Muffled notes

• No wireless charging

• A ‘Pro’ phone should have more than IP64 rating