Nothing Phone (3a) vs. (3a) Pro

So, the new pair of Nothing devices has caught your eye? There is definitely a lot to like there. However, it is hard to ignore the fact that the two phones are so strikingly similar on paper (apart, of course, from the telephoto camera). That said, there is a notable difference in price. The vanilla Nothing Phone (3a) will set you back around €330 for a base 8GB/128GB model and €380/$379 for a 12GB/256GB one. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro, on the other hand, will run you €460/$459 for 12GB/256GB.

So, is the Pro really worth the extra cash?

Table of Contents:

For starters, you can compare the complete specs sheets or directly continue with our editor’s assessment in the following text.

Size comparison

The two phones are practically identical in size and footprint, but they look a bit different from the back. The Pro model has quite a protruding camera island on its back, presumably to house the large periscope telephoto camera.

There is also a slight weight difference between them – 10 grams, to be exact. Presumably, this is mostly the extra weight of the periscope camera as well.

Display comparison

The two phones have identical 6.77-inch, 120Hz AMOLED displays. These are pretty sharp and look great in person.

The display on our Nothing Phone (3a) Pro unit is ever so slightly brighter but with poorer brightness uniformity, so it’s possible that our review units have happened to be identically specced screens which come from different vendors.

Battery life

Given that the two phones have the same display, chipset, and battery capacity, it only makes sense that the battery endurance would be identical. Our test numbers for the two phones are well within the margin of error.

Charging speed

Both phones have a 5,000 mAh battery, and Nothing says that they support up to 50W PD+PPS charging. In our testing the two phones peaked at around 30W of charging power and charged with the same speed.

Speaker test

Both (3a) phones have identical hybrid stereo speaker systems. That means that there is one dedicated bottom-firing speaker, and the amplified earpiece acts as the second channel. This inherently brings about some imbalance in the sound output since the two speakers aren’t facing symmetrically. But that’s kind of beside the point.

Despite having identical speaker systems with very similar tuning and output profiles, we noticed that the Pro model was slightly louder during our testing. The difference is hardly huge, but we are willing to give a slight edge to the Pro in this department and a very small victory over the vanilla model.

Performance

Both phones are based on the exact same Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset. Nothing says that the Phone (3a) and (3a) Pro are 33% faster in CPU tasks than the Nothing Phone (2a), 11% faster in GPU tasks, and a whopping 92% better at AI tasks.

While technically, both phones have an 8GB/128GB base configuration, as far as the international versions are concerned, you can only get the Pro in a 12GB/256GB variant. So, that is one thing to potentially consider. India also gets an 8GB/128GB variant and an 8GB/256GB one.

As for the vanilla Phone (3a) – it comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of non-expandable storage by default and is also available in two other options: 8GB/256GB (India only) and 12GB/256GB (excluding India).

Benchmark performance

Our Nothing Phone (3a) and Phone (3a) Pro review units are both 12GB/256GB models, and as far as our storage testing goes, we believe they are using UFS 2.2 storage chips. Still, it is worth noting that, as per the same tests, the Pro model seems to offer 50% faster random read and write speeds than the non-Pro.

We ran our standard tests on both models and expectedly got very similar burst performance results. Again, within the margin of error.

We are also happy to report that the two models seem to share the same excellent cooling setup. While the surface of the phones can get a bit toasty under prolonged loads, both basically don’t thermal-throttle at all and don’t lose performance.

Camera comparison

The camera setup is the biggest difference in specs between the Nothing Phone (3a) and the Phone (3a) Pro. On the surface, the two phones seem to have the same 50MP main camera, but that is not exactly the case. Best we can tell, the Phone (3a) Pro uses a Samsung ISOCELL GNJ sensor, while the vanilla Phone (3a) uses a Samsung ISOCELL GN9.

The telephoto cameras are not identical across the two phones either. The Pro has a periscope-style 50MP 3x telephoto with a 70mm focal length equivalent. It is based on the Sony LYTIA 600 sensor with a 1/1.95″ size, sitting behind an f/2.55 lens. Understandably, the periscope is equipped with OIS.

As for the vanilla Nothing Phone (3a), it has a 2x “traditional flat-style” telephoto with a 50mm focal length equivalent and an f/2.0 lens. We know that it uses a Samsung-made 50MP sensor with a 1/2.74″ size. There is just EIS on board, no OIS.

The ultrawide cameras on both phones are identical. These use a Sony IMX 355 sensor (1/4″ size) with fixed focus behind an f/2.2 lens with a 120-degree field of view. Nothing too special.

Finally, we have the selfie cameras, which also differ across the two phones. The Phone (3a) Pro has a 50MP selfie with a 1/2.76″ Samsung sensor behind an f/2.2 lens. It is capable of 4K video capture. The regular Phone (3a), on the other hand, has a 32MP selfie with a Samsung-made 1/3.44″ sensor behind an f/2.2 lens.

Image quality

As mentioned, the main cameras on the two phones are quite similar but not identical. We would say that the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro has a slight edge over the vanilla, though, in good daylight conditions, we are splitting hairs really.

Nothing Phone (3a) 1x main camera samples

Nothing Phone (3a) Pro 1x main camera samples

The Phone (3a) captures 2x zoom samples with its dedicated telephoto camera, while the (3a) Pro does the same by zooming in digitally from the main camera. You can definitely see the difference in quality, and the vanilla has the edge. Still, 2x zooms on the Pro look very good.

Nothing Phone (3a) 2x telephoto camera samples

Nothing Phone (3a) Pro 2x main camera samples

At 3x, the tides shift and the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro has a clear edge in quality with its dedicated periscope telephoto camera. You can still do 3x zooms on the vanilla Phone (3a). The photos are just taken as digital zooms from the 2x telephoto.

Nothing Phone (3a) 3x telephoto camera samples

Nothing Phone (3a) Pro 3x telephoto camera samples

2x closeup Nothing Phone (3a) • 3x closeup Nothing Phone (3a) Pro

The two phones have identical 8MP ultrawide cameras. These are not particularly impressive in any way, but the results are still serviceable. We don’t think there is any discernible difference between the shots.

Nothing Phone (3a) 0.6x ultrawide camera samples

Nothing Phone (3a) Pro 0.6x ultrawide camera samples

While we wouldn’t say there is a major difference between the selfie cameras of the two phones, at least not in broad daylight, we think the 50MP snapper on the Pro has a slight edge.

Nothing Phone (3a) selfie camera samples

Nothing Phone (3a) Pro selfie camera samples

Here are some low-light samples from both phones. While the ultrawide shots from the two are identical, we have to say that the main camera on the Pro has better contrast, colors and dynamic range.

Just like in good light, the dedicated 2x telephoto on the vanilla model has the edge in 2x shots, whereas the 3x periscope on the Pro obviously takes the better 3x shots. Night mode is automatic and works very well. Even when manually disabled, some night mode processing and stacking still take place.

Nothing Phone (3a): 0.6x • 1x • 2x • 3x

Nothing Phone (3a) Pro: 0.6x • 1x • 2x • 3x

Video quality

We would say that the Phone (3a) Pro has a slight edge in video capture over the vanilla model both in good and low lighting conditions.

Below we have a few framegrabs from the videos taken by the two phones at each focal length so it’s easier to compare to one another.

Nothing Phone (3a): 0.6x • 1x • 2x • low light

Nothing Phone (3a) Pro: 0.6x • 1x • 3x • low light

Verdict

The choice between the Nothing Phone (3a) and the Phone (3a) Pro is just as complicated as it is simple. For better or worse, Nothing has put out two incredibly similar devices on the market this time around.

Basically, the choice can come down to one of two things – price or the telephoto. If you want to save a few bucks and wouldn’t miss the 3x periscope, go for the vanilla. Otherwise, the 3x telephoto on the Pro definitely sweetens the hardware package a bit and does not disappoint in quality.