Nothing Phone 3a Tells Us Why The ‘Pro’ Doesn't Need To Have All The Fun

Nothing has started the year by launching two mid-range phones, out of which we have already talked about the Phone 3a Pro variant that gets a periscope lens. Now, it is time to take a closer look at the regular Phone 3a model that doesn’t get all the Pro bells and whistles but is eerily similar with its hardware and overall design.

The signature Nothing UI and transparent body remains in place, but instead of two, the Phone 3a gets three cameras at the back without going higher in the price chain. But does the Phone 3a miss out on the fun, just because it is not a Pro model this year? Here we dig deep to look for its purpose and value in the series.

Phone 3a Goes Premium

Nothing offered the Phone 2a in the mid-range segment and its overall finish mirrored that approach. However, the Phone 3a has a refreshing touch that matches its usual premium identity. The use of a different sensor allows the device to be lighter than the Phone 3a Pro at 201 grams, even though the dimensions are identical at 8.4mm for both the models.

The use of a glass panel rather than plastic at the back gives it further sheen and a much better way to show the transparent layer of the device.

The IP rating has gone up from 54 on the Phone 2a to IP64 for the Phone 3a models which is incremental but a change nevertheless in how it can handle dust and water splashes. The triple camera module gives it a wider profile than its predecessor wrapping around the LED lights on the borders.

The Display Magic

Phone 3a is once again using a premium display panel which is crisp, the screen has uniform bezels, and the overall brightness is adequate with the colours tuned nicely. Nothing does not like to compromise on the display quality and the use of a 1B AMOLED panel shows its results.

The fluid nature of the 120Hz display is also hard to ignore and the overall experience offered by the Phone 3a is probably a lot better than what you get in this range from other brands. Nothing uses the Panda Glass to protect the screen which seems durable but we can’t talk about its longevity as of now.

Experience Over Power

Nothing reminds us of Nokia under HMD Global that used to prioritise experience over pure specs with its hardware. The Phone 3a does not pack a hungry hardware but the Nothing UI tuned to the Snapdragon chipset gives you the impression you are using a premium device. The Nothing OS 3.0 version is light and takes us back into the memory lane with the older pure customised Android versions that came without bloatware and other annoyances.

That experience itself commands a premium these days, but Nothing marries that well with the overall performance of the Phone 3a. Nothing is promising 3 OS upgrades along with 6 years of security patches, which should keep the device secure and chirpy.

Having said that, we are hoping long term usability of the device does not take a hit because of the older chipset used by the brand. And yes, this chipset is not catering to the power users or gamers, which becomes clear with the raw benchmark scores of the device.

The New Camera Boost?

Nothing has gone with a triple camera boost for the Phone 3a series, and you get a 50MP telephoto lens on both the models, but the 3a comes without OIS support. The primary 50MP sensor is the best of the lot while the second 50MP unit does well as long as the light is decent.

The colours are mostly natural but you can easily notice the brighter tones are higher in contrast than usual. We would like to see how a few tweaks with updates improves or changes the quality of these shooters. The 8MP ultra wide lens is decent but feels like just making up the numbers compared to the main unit.

The Right Output

Nothing Phone 3a packs a 5,000mAh battery which is not at par with the trends with brands these days. But does that really matter if the results are positive? In this case, the battery life is more than enough to keep you going for a day, and the PCMark test result of over 21 hours is indicative of its real-time endurance put through a series of challenges.

Not having the charger in the box is a rarity in this segment but Nothing continues with that strategy, so the 50W charging support on the Phone 3a only works when you get a compatible adapter. In those cases the device takes over 30 minutes to charge around 50 percent and over an hour to be fully powered.