Nothing Phone (3a) and Phone (3a) Pro hands-on review

Nothing Phone (3a) Pro hands-on

As we said, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro is very similar to its vanilla (3a) sibling. Still, the two are very distinct from the back.

The Phone (3a) Pro incorporates a large round camera island, presumably to allow space for the periscope-style 3x telephoto camera. Other than that, you get the familiar Nothing faux-transparent design. It might be a Nothing staple at this point, but nobody else is really offering anything that looks similar right now, so it continues to stand out.

The same goes for the signature Glyph Interface on the back. It still consists of three light segments and 26 individually addressable lights. These can be set up to react to ringtones and notifications or music playback, indicate a specific contact is calling. They can also be used as a volume indicator or for counting down timers like in the camera app. And last but not least, the Glyph Interface is a nice fill light for the rear camera.

There have been some changes in the bill of materials on both the Phone (3a) and Phone (3a) Pro. The back is now made of glass instead of polycarbonate material, like on the Phone (2a) generation.

We aren't sure if Nothing is using the same hardened Panda Glass on the back as it does on the front, but it is definitely some hardened glass.

The ingress protection has also been upgraded, and the Phone (3a) and (3a) Pro are now IP64 rated. That's still not ideal since you should refrain from submerging the phone or subjecting it to water jets, but it should now withstand water splashes and things like rain.

Nothing is also big on sustainability with the Nothing Phone (3a) series. The aluminum used in the middle frame is 100% recycled, and so is 100% of the tin in six circuit boards and 85% of the steel in the stamping parts. 60% of the plastic parts are sustainably sourced, and the phone's packaging is 100% plastic-free.

As already noted, looked at from the front, the Nothing Phone (3a) and (3a) Pro are kind of identical. They both use the new 6.77-inch display with slightly less-rounded corners and an ever-so-slightly bigger diagonal than the Nothing Phone (2a). In fact, the whole phone has gotten bigger this year, but not in a major way.

What has changed for the better is the display brightness. The new panel can now reach 800 nits on the slider and 1,300 nits in max auto mode. In HDR mode, the peak is a whopping 3,000 nits.

Like its vanilla sibling, the Phone (3a) Pro feels sturdy and quite comfortable to hold. It does feel a bit heavier than its sibling, and indeed it is, but it's a very small difference. Overall, the handling is pretty much identical.

The aluminum middle frame has the same matte look. It does not look like metal, though; it gives off a plastic-like vibe, or it could just have some sort of paint coating on top. There are no antenna lines on the frame, so it might just be plastic, we can't say for sure. All of the buttons are nicely in reach, responsive, and clicky. There is an in-display optical fingerprint reader. It works quite well and is both speedy and accurate.

Nothing Phone (3a) Pro

Speaking of controls, while these are standard for the most part, there is a new Essential Key on the right side of the frame. It sits right underneath the power button, and can easily be confused for it when feeling around. The Essential Key is your gateway to the new Essential Space. Head over to the software section for more information. You press the Essential Key once to capture and send content to Essential Space, long-press it to record a voice note or double-tap it to open up your saved content in Essential Space.

The 5,000 mAh battery capacity hasn't changed since the Nothing Phone (2a), but Nothing does claim that through the new Snapdragon 7s Gen 3's efficiency and its own optimization, it can now deliver longer battery life (up to two days) on the Phone (3a) generation. A zero to 50% charge should only take 20 minutes. Nothing also promises that that battery will maintain 90% of its capacity after 1,200 charges or roughly three years and four months.