Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro Smartphones Review – The Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro were announced in March 2025 and started shipping by the end of that month. The two phones launched globally in many countries already and will arrive at more in the coming months. Both smartphones are quite similar both internally and externally to ensure you get a great experience no matter which one you choose. They are designed with premium specs like 5G connectivity to provide a great user experience.
The Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro also feature a great design, which looks better than their predecessors, the Nothing Phone 2a series. The only differences between the two models are the camera specs and the camera module design in the rear. Nothing has designed the two phones as attractive options for budget users. Let’s begin with a detailed specs review of both Nothing Phone 3a and Nothing Phone 3a Pro, and see if these smartphones are worth purchasing.
Table of Contents
Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro Smartphones Specs Review
Highlights
- The Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro have the same 6.77-inch AMOLED display with support for up to 120Hz high refresh rate.
- The Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro are equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset, which can reach clock speeds of up to 1×2.5 GHz.
- Both smartphones come with the latest Android 15 with the Nothing OS 3.1 user interface for higher customizability.
- Both Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro feature a 50MP triple rear camera system. However, the Nothing Phone 3a Pro’s telephoto camera is much better.
- Both phones have the same 5000mAh battery with 50W wired fast charging support.
Design and Display
The Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro’s design may appear similar to its predecessors, like Nothing Phone 2a and 2a Plus at first glance, but upon closer look. You will realize they look quite better. The way the internal panels are designed to look seems more refined and pleasing to the eye. The rear panels of the two phones are now made of glass, which is another improvement over the Nothing Phone 2a and 2a Plus.
However, the side frame is still made of plastic, so some things remained the same. However, that is acceptable for this price range. The base Phone 3a has a horizontal camera system on the rear side but the Phone 3a Pro uses a circular camera module. The Nothing Phone 3a comes in Black, White, and Blue colors, while the Nothing Phone 3a Pro is available in Black and Gray.
As for the display, both phones have the same 6.77-inch AMOLED display with support for a 120Hz high refresh rate, which delivers a smoother user experience. Apart from that, the displays also have support for up to 1 billion colors and HDR10+, which allows for a higher color reproduction and better viewing experience.
Both Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro are also protected against dust and water splashes with the IP64 certification. Both the display and rear glass are protected by tempered glass, but Nothing has mentioned that the front glass has Panda Glass, so you don’t have to worry about scratches. You will also find LED lights on the rear side, which is called the Glyph interface, which is fully customizable. You can set the Glyph LEDs with different patterns for distinct actions like calls, messages, social media apps, and more.
Memory and Internal
The Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro smartphones are equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 5G chipset, which can reach clock speeds of up to 1×2.5 GHz. This chipset delivers a great level of performance, whether in regular apps or games. You won’t face any slowdown, no matter which modern apps you run.
Even games can be played with a high graphical configuration. Both smartphones have 5G connectivity, so you will get the fastest 5G speeds and can download things at gigabit-level speeds. As for RAM and storage, the Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro have 8GB/12GB with 128GB/256GB of RAM and internal storage. As for the OS, the Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro are running on the latest Android 15 out of the box with a Nothing OS 3.1 user interface for more customization and a better user experience. The OS can be further upgraded up to 3 major Android versions.
Camera
The Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro smartphones feature a 50MP triple rear camera system. However, the Nothing Phone 3a Pro has a better telephoto camera for more detailed zoom photos. Let’s start the camera review with the primary camera first. The 50MP primary camera with OIS is the same for both phones. This camera is capable of taking some fantastic pictures with detail levels that will surely impress you.
The pictures from this primary camera have great detail levels, accurate color tones, and high dynamic range. The secondary 8MP ultra-wide camera is also the same for the two phones. The ultra-wide camera’s picture quality is decent but nowhere at the same level as the primary camera. The third camera is where you will find a difference between the two phones.
The Nothing Phone 3a has a 50MP telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom, while the Nothing Phone 3a Pro has a 50MP periscopic telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, which produces much better pictures with higher detail levels and better dynamic range.
As for video recording, both the Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro can record videos at up to 4K@30FPS from their rear cameras. The rear cameras of the two phones have both OIS and gyro-EIS for stable video footage when recording videos. The selfie camera has neither OIS nor gyro-EIS, so the video footage won’t be as stable as the rear cameras. The Nothing Phone 3a Pro model comes with a 50MP selfie camera with 4K@30FPS video recording. However, the selfie camera of Nothing Phone 3a comes with a 32MP camera that can only record at 1080p@30FPS.
Battery and Others
Both the Nothing Phone 3a and Nothing Phone 3a Pro smartphones have a 5000mAh battery, which is capable of providing 1 – 2 days’ worth of battery life with light usage, including some texting, calling, movies, music, and similar activities. However, if you play video games for long sessions, then the battery will drain faster and neither smartphone will last a full day.
When it comes to charging, the Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro have support for 50W wired fast charging, which can charge the battery to 50% in just 19 minutes. Apart from that, both smartphones have Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, an under-display fingerprint scanner, NFC, GPS, stereo speakers, 3 LED light strips on the back and a USB Type-C port for charging. The Nothing Phone 3a Pro is available for a starting price tag of $450 (Rs 34,999 in India). On the other hand, the Nothing Phone 3a is available starting at $320 (Rs 27,499 in India) for the 8GB+128GB variant.
Nothing Phone 3a Pro Pros and Cons
Nothing Phone 3a Pro Specifications Detail
Down below you can see the full specifications of the Nothing Phone 3a Pro smartphone.
| Specifications | Nothing Phone (3a) Pro |
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G |
| Announced | March 2025 |
| SIM | Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM – India only |
| Dimensions | 6.44 x 3.05 x 0.33 inches |
| Weight | 211 g |
| Size | 6.77 inches |
| Display | AMOLED 1B colors 120Hz HDR10+ 800-3000 nits brightness ~387 PPI density Ultra HDR image support |
| Protection/Others | Panda Glass IP64 dust-tight and water-resistant (water splashes) 3 LED light strips on the back |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2392 pixels |
| OS | Android 15, up to 3 major Android upgrades, Nothing OS 3.1 |
| Chipset | 4nm – Qualcomm SM7635 Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 |
| CPU | Octa-core 1×2.5 GHz Cortex-A720 3×2.4 GHz Cortex-A720 4×1.8 GHz Cortex-A520 |
| GPU | Adreno 710 (940 MHz) |
| Card slot | No |
| RAM | 8GB, 12GB |
| Internal | 128GB, 256GB |
| Camera | 50 MP (wide), dual pixel PDAF, OIS 50 MP (periscope telephoto), PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom 8 MP (120˚ultrawide) LED flash, panorama, HDR Max – 4K@30fps, gyro-EIS, OIS |
| Selfie | 50 MP (wide) Max – 4K@30fps |
| Loudspeaker | Yes (stereo speakers) |
| 3.5mm jack | No |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct |
| Bluetooth | 5.4, A2DP, LE |
| GPS | GPS, GALILEO, GLONASS, BDS, QZSS |
| NFC | Yes |
| Infrared port | No |
| Radio | No |
| USB | USB Type-C 2.0, OTG |
| Sensors | Under display fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass Circle to Search |
| Battery | 5000 mAh 50W wired |
| Colors | Black, Gray |
| Expected Price | $450 (Rs 34,999 in India) approx. |
Conclusion
The Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro smartphones are two fantastic mid-range phones. They are uniquely designed and equipped with all the hardware components that a mid-range phone must have. The displays are also fantastic with an excellent viewing experience.
The chipsets inside the two phones is also quite fast for everyday tasks. You can even run graphically demanding games smoothly. The camera performance of the Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro are exceptional for this price range and will certainly impress you. The periscopic telephoto camera of Nothing Phone 3a Pro is exceptionally good. The same excellence is also seen in the battery and charging side of things.
The pricing of the Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro is also fantastic, and we can easily recommend them. However, the pricing of the Nothing Phone 3a Pro is a bit higher considering it only has one better camera, while everything else remains the same. Our recommendation is that users should check the Nothing Phone 3a at first place. The Nothing Phone 3a Pro is only for camera enthusiasts who want the best possible camera experience on this budget but at that price, this phone should have wireless charging and reverse charging support. Also, there is no charger available inside the box, so the user needs to purchase it separately.
The only decent alternatives to these two phones are the Infinix Note 50 Pro Plus which has better specs and main camera performance. The final decision is up to you, so it is better to choose a smartphone based on your needs and requirements.
