Nothing Phone 3a vs Nothing Phone 3a Pro: the minimalist design brand is at a crossroads

Nothing Phone 3a and Nothing Phone 3a Pro; two smartphones on a wooden table
(Image credit: Future / Nothing)

Nothing Phone 3a and Nothing Phone 3a Pro represent where this disruptive tech brand is in the most eye-catching way possible. The Nothing Phone 3a iterates on the previously released Nothing Phone 2a, and cements this model as a modern design classic, while the Nothing Phone 3a Pro feels like a misstep of sorts, a gamble to push for more tech at the expense of minimalism.

I've been playing around with both smartphones for a week now, and my review of both is in progress, but for me these phones reveal a telling crossroads for the brand; this is the moment when Nothing doubles-down on its design credentials but also points to a dicey future, one where expectations for advanced tech could break the design.

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Nothing 3a and 3a Pro specs
Header Cell - Column 0

Nothing Phone 3a

Nothing Phone 3a Pro

Chipset:

Qualcomm: Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, Kryo, 8-core, up to 2.5 GHz, Hexagon NPU

Qualcomm: Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, Kryo, 8-core, up to 2.5 GHz, Hexagon NPU

Camera:

Main, 50 MP Samsung (1/1.57-inch sensor), 50MP Samsung Telephoto (1/2.74-inch sensor, 2x optical zoom, 4x in-sensor zoom, 30x ultra zoom), 8MP Sony Ultrawide; Front, 32MP Samsung (1/3.44” sensor)

Main, 50 MP Samsung (1/1.56-inch sensor), 50MP Sony Periscope (3x optical zoom, 6x in-sensor zoom, 60x ultra zoom, 1/1.95-inch sensor); Front, 50MP Samsung (1/2.76-inch sensor)

Memory:

8+128GB 12+256GB

12+256GB

Display:

6.77-inch AMOLED, 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate, 3000 nits peak brightness

6.77-inch AMOLED, 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate, 3000 nits peak brightness

Dimensions:

163.52 x 77.50 x 8.35 mm

163.52 x 77.50 x 8.39 mm

Weight:

201g

211g

Price:

£329 / £379

£449

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Editor, Digital Arts & 3D

Ian Dean is Editor, Digital Arts & 3D at Creative Bloq, and the former editor of many leading magazines. These titles included ImagineFX, 3D World and video game titles Play and Official PlayStation Magazine. Ian launched Xbox magazine X360 and edited PlayStation World. For Creative Bloq, Ian combines his experiences to bring the latest news on digital art, VFX and video games and tech, and in his spare time he doodles in Procreate, ArtRage, and Rebelle while finding time to play Xbox and PS5.

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