Nothing Phone (3) vs Nothing Phone (3a) Pro: flagship vibes vs smart mid-range
Intro
Nothing’s throwing punches in two price tiers. The Phone (3) lands as the brand’s boldest and most expensive at $799, finally giving us a flagship-tier phone after two years of waiting and midranger launches.
Nothing Phone (3) vs Nothing Phone (3a) Pro differences explained:
| Nothing Phone (3) | Nothing Phone (3a) Pro |
|---|---|
| Transparent back, new design with no Glyph | Still has a quirky design, retains the LED strips |
| All cameras upped to 50 MP | Most cameras 50 MP, only ultra-wide is 8 MP |
| Metal frame and glass build | Plastic frame, glass back |
| New Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chip (about Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 speeds) |
Midrange Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 |
| 256 GB of UFS 4.0 storage base | 256 GB much slower UFS 2.2 |
| 5,150 mAh battery Si-Carbon |
5,000 mAh battery Li-Polymer |
| Faster 65W wired charging 15 W wireless charging |
50 W wired charging No wireless |
| Essential Key for AI features | Essential Key for AI features |
Table of Contents:
Design and Display Quality
Flashy vs sleek
Both the Nothing Phone (3) and Galaxy S25 Plus are big phones, but once you actually get to hold them, you instantly notice the difference.
The Galaxy is much thinner and weighs less, so it almost feels like carrying a much smaller phone.
The Nothing Phone (3) on the other hand is big, chunky and you can kind of feel that extra heft when you have it in your pocket.
| Nothing Phone (3) | Nothing Phone (3a) Pro |
|---|---|
| Thickness 9 mm |
Thickness 8.39 mm |
| Dimensions 160.6 x 75.6 |
Dimensions 163.5 x 77.5 |
| Weight 218 grams |
Weight 211 grams |
Phone (3) leans max‑out: asymmetrical cams, Glyph Matrix dot‑matrix screen on the back, aluminum frame, and the most powerful hardware on a Nothing Phone right now.
Phone (3a) Pro tones it down with a more conservative circular camera module (but still a somewhat scatterrede design). The frame is plastic, but the back is glass.
Display Measurements:
So, about the same top and minimum brightness. And while they are usable, they are not among the best. 1,500 nits at max may give you trouble when you are out under the summer sun. 2 nits minimum is workable but not ideal when the lights are off (1 nit and below is optimal).
While we do forgive those numbers to a midranger like the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro, we were hoping to get a slightly improved panel on the Phone (3). Well, we did… but with a huge emphasis of “slightly”, less so on “improved”.
Performance and Software
Different breeds of Dragons
Nothing says the Phone (3) is its first true flagship, which is a bit of an odd statement. A flagship product is the best or most mainstream one in a manufacturer’s portfolio at any given time. It’s not about how expensive or powerful it is — Samsung may have the Galaxy Z Fold series, but the S series is where the flagship phones are.
| Nothing Phone (3) | Nothing Phone (3a) Pro |
|---|---|
| Chip Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 |
Chip Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 |
| Process 4 nm |
Process 4 nm |
| RAM, Storage 12/256GB 16/512GB UFS 4.0 storage |
RAM, Storage 12/256GB UFS 2.2 storage |
While we are generally happy with the software optimizations and overall flow of the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro, but it’s still an optimized midranger. You can catch apps installing slowly, or pictures taking a while to get processed, or other small hiccups. Plus, you won’t get to run modern games at high details, if that’s what you’re into.
CPU Performance Benchmarks:
That’s a huge leap, which only points to another burning issue within the smartphone world — how big the gap is between midrange and top-shelf chips. But that’s a discussion for another time.
And here’s all your gaming performance — in the Nothing Phone (3).
It’s also worth noting that the Phone (3) comes with 256 GB of fast, UFS 4.0 storage. The Phone (3a) Pro has 256 GB, too, sure. But it’s a UFS 2.2 chip — at least two generations old. Again, sure it works, but it’s noticeably slower when downloading, installing, or accessing files.
Camera
Nothing-verse
Two eccentric phones, two triple camera modules arranged in peculiar ways — these phones are definitely fun to watch and examine at the very least. But how do they perform? The Nothing Phone (3) has 50 MP sensors under all four ot its cameras, the Phone (3a) Pro is almost there — only its ultra-wide lens has an 8 MP sensor. So, before looking at some photos, here’s how they scored on our benchmark test:
PhoneArena Camera Score:
Yeah, the results are very close. The Phone (3) may have slight improvements in detail sharpening, better-lit shadows, or HDR treatment to the photo. Mostly, the improvements are visible indoors.
Main Camera
Both phones deal pretty well, even with the sun blasting into their lenses. But the Phone (3) is a bit better at evening out dynamics and pulling colors out of shadows.
Zoom Quality
Zoom quality is comparable in terms of detail, but the Phone (3) is much better at taking brighter and more vivid zoomed photos.
Selfies
Video Quality
The Phone (3) footage is more contrast-y and its microphone quality is definitely better here. Otherwise, we have similar levels of detail and stabilization.
Battery Life and Charging
Future tech, big cells
OK, the Nothing Phone (3) features a bigger, 5,150mAh battery made with Si-Carbon tech, whereas the Phone (3a) Pro has a 5,000 mAh Li-Poly cell. First of all, what does this mean for endurance:
PhoneArena Battery and Charging Test Results:
Interrestingly, the Phone (3a) overperforms even on the browsing test, even if it has a slightly smaller battery. And, yes, it does get 2 extra hours on our gaming test, but hey — a much less powerful processor requres much less juice. Both phones are comparable on the video test.
But what do these numbers mean in general? Both are good for an active day — you can even forget to charge them and they will last through the night. A quick top-up in the morning and you are set. The Phone (3a) Pro does not support wireless charging, but the Phone (3) does.
Audio Quality and Haptics
Eh, not amazing sound from neither of those phones. They don’t have a lot of bottom end, they are boxy and midrangey, a bit barky even. They work great for the built-in ringtones which have been designed around those speakers, and they are loud enough to wake you up, that’s for sure. Not for music, but OK for podcasts or YouTube videos.
The haptics are amazing on both phones — quick, clicky, and responsive.
Specs Comparison
| Nothing Phone (3) | Nothing Phone (3a) Pro |
|---|---|
| Size and Weight 160.6 x 75.6 x 9 mm 218 g |
Size and Weight 163.52 x 77.5 x 8.39 mm 211 g |
| Display 6.7-inch OLED 120Hz |
Display 6.8-inch OLED 120Hz |
| Processor Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 |
Processor Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 |
| Versions 12/256GB for $799 |
Versions 12/256GB for $459 |
| Cameras 50MP main, f/1.7 50MP ultra-wide, f/2.2 50MP 3X telephoto, f/2.7 50MP front |
Cameras 50MP main, f/1.8 8MP ultra-wide, f/2.2 50MP 3X telephoto, f/2.5 50MP front |
| Battery 5,150 mAh |
Battery 5,000 mAh |
| Charging 65W wired 15W wireless |
Charging 45W wired No wireless |
Which one should you buy?
The Nothing Phone (3) is certainly the more powerful phone, and will get more software support down the line, so there’s arguments to be made for it. It’s objectively the better phone, but at $800 — its price is getting up there. That, combined with the recent identity crysis and you may be feeling that you have no idea what you are “buying into”.
The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro, on the other hand, is still a fantastic way into the ideology and experience of Nothing. You will get that mini Glyph to see what the hubbub is about (spoiler: mostly looks, but we like them!). You will get to see and experience the Nothing OS interface and the Essential Space. And you won’t be out a lot of money for it.
