Nothing Phone (4a) Pro quick review: 5 things that can beat the competition

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro, along with the Phone (4a), is now available for purchase. The phones were launched at an event in London, and it appeared that the company is launching a spec-bumped version of its sibling.

We spent some time with the device, and here are five things that immediately stood out to us and that we think give the latest smartphone from Nothing an edge.

A new design language

The headline change in the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro is its design. Known for a different, transparent back panel, Phone (4a) Pro is the first Nothing smartphone to feature an aluminium unibody chassis. The glass has been confined to the raised camera island at the rear, providing a different take on how smartphones can be designed differently with the same available materials.

This not only makes it sturdy, but also gives it a cleaner, more premium and more restrained look than anything Nothing has released before.The in-hand feel benefits noticeably from this shift with a more secure and confident grip. Notably, the company has not fully abandoned its signature quirks. The phone has a small dimple in the bottom-left corner, a Glyph interface, and ‘non-symmetrical’ camera placement.

The bigger Glyph Matrix

The large camera module at the top of the Phone (4a) Pro draws clear inspiration from the flagship Phone (3) – be it the placement of cameras or the Glyph Matrix display, which is a circular LED arrangement that can show notifications, act as a viewfinder when using the rear cameras and support the usual Glyph Interface functions.

Whether that is a meaningful loss will depend on how much you used it, but the Glyph Matrix remains one of the most distinctive design elements on any phone on the market.

A triple camera system with 140x zoom

For a phone at this price point, the camera setup is a serious talking point. The Phone (4a) Pro features a triple rear camera system: a 50MP primary sensor, an 8MP ultrawide lens and a 50MP periscope-style telephoto lens that not only allows for a better optical zoom without adding bulk to the phone.

According to the company, the periscope camera on the Phone (4a) Pro features an advanced tetraprism system that delivers 3.5x optical zoom with zero light loss.However, the talking point is 140x ultra zoom – a first on a smartphone. It uses AI software to ‘clean’ the photos taken with this zoom. However, this is a hit-or-miss scenario because the phone does not consistently produce ‘acceptable photos’ at such extreme zoom levels.

On the front, there is a 32MP selfie camera for photos and video calls.

Specifications make a strong case

The Phone (4a) Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4, which translates into a reliable performance for gaming, multitasking and a few demanding applications. It has always been Nothing’s focus that all its phones are more inclined towards the integration of hardware and software, rather than just getting numbers by including top-of-the-line specs.

The Phone (4a) Pro takes this legacy forward. During our time with the phone, we have not encountered any problems with day-to-day operations.The phone feels snappy and undertakes tasks with ease. The Nothing OS 4.1, built on Android 16 out of the box, is refined, with hardly any major flaws noticeable during the experience. Nothing is promising three years of major OS upgrades and six years of security updates. The display is a 6.83-inch 1.5K Flexible AMOLED panel with a 144Hz refresh rate – making it one of the sharpest screens available at this price.

The battery capacity is 5,400 mAh with 50W fast charging.

Aggressive pricing

The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro starts at Rs 39,999 for the 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variant, and goes up to Rs 45,999 for the top-spec 12GB + 256GB model. This is a jump from the Phone (3a) Pro’s pricing. However, in the context of what the latest phones in this segment offer, Nothing offers a competitive set of features that translate into a better, more differentiated overall smartphone experience in many ways.

This includes Glyph Matrix, out-of-the-box design, software support for multiple years and of course, 140x zoom capability.

Verdict: Should you buy it

Based on our time with the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro, it makes a compelling case. It offers the same firepower as other phones, but a comparatively cleaner software is what makes this phone different. Also, you get a high-quality display and a versatile camera system with 140x zoom, neither of which any phone offers. We are still reviewing the phone, and the performance and camera quality need to be tested in more real-world conditions.

Watch this space.