There’s no doubt that Nothing is now an established presence in the phone industry, and while the brand likes to do things its way, it’s clear that it can produce great products. Although we won’t be getting a flagship this year — the Phone 3 will be the standard choice in the field — nothing builds on the foundation of a great phone. Phone 3aand start Phone 4a.
After using the phone 3a, I called it the best budget phone you can buy, and I still stand by it. The phone had a unique design, great software with unique add-ons, good cameras and an all-round value. With a global RAM state and a few improvements, the Phone 4a misses out on this value; the phone starts at ₹31,999 for the standard 8GB/128GB version in India. There is also an 8GB/256GB model which is priced at €34,999, while the 12GB/256GB edition is priced at ₹37,999.
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Nothing but the best software
I use a lot of budget and mid-range phones and the software on these devices is difficult to say the least. That’s why it’s great to see nothing get so much attention in this area; The Phone 4a has the best software in this category, only coming close to the Pixel 10a.
The software on the Phone 4a is different; Nothing’s design aesthetic extends to the UI either, and whether it’s the custom widgets or the fun interface, the phone just feels great to use. The interface itself is fluid and I never felt like I was using a mid-range phone.
Nothing does a decent job with AI features either; Essential Key is great for storing information easily, and Essential Space brings all that information together and makes it work. The mod also now has cloud access, so you can use it on any ‘Nothing’ phone. There’s a list of other AI-powered tools, and I like that nothing has gone overboard in this area, instead focusing on the utilities you’ll end up using.
The phone comes with 4a Android 16 out of the box and Nothing says it will provide three years of software updates.
A design like no other
Nothing products have always stood out for their design, and the Phone 4a is no different. The back of the device has a unique aesthetic different from the Phone 3a, with the Glyph Bar now located on the right. The camera island looks cleaner this year and I like the evolution of the design quite a bit.
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What’s good to see is that the Phone 4a is available in four color options; the blue and pink models stand out on their own, but I’d still like to see the yellow Nothing phone — is that too much to ask? The hand feel is quite good and the matte sides make a difference.
The phone doesn’t look like a mid-range model, and this year’s vibrant color options allow it to stand out a bit from its predecessors.
Cameras with nothing to hide
The Phone 4a has a 50MP Samsung GN9 primary camera, which is joined by a 50MP Samsung JN5 telephoto lens, which is rare in this category. What’s also great is that the phone gets 3.5x optical zoom this year and has a W-type prism lens, something you just don’t see on a mid-range phone. There’s also an 8-megapixel wide-angle lens and a 32-megapixel camera on the front.
Basically, this is one of the best camera systems in this category, and nothing has surpassed it this year. A new addition that I like are the presets that allow you to change the tone of the images quite significantly. You can create your own presets, use preloaded options, or download add-ons — expandability lets you customize the camera even more.
The image quality itself is pretty great and I have no issues with the resulting photos taken with the phone.
An interior that is nothing but delicious
The phone 4a is powered by Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 and performs quite well even in demanding games. It might not measure up to high-end phones, but honestly, it’s not a huge limitation and the phone handles most everyday tasks without breaking a sweat.
The 6.78-inch OLED is brighter this year, and the 1.5K resolution is more than adequate – I’ve had no problems with the panel, and there’s a decent level of customization. I’m using the model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage and I haven’t noticed any slowdowns. Nothing has moved to UFS 3.1 storage this year, and while the base model still has 128GB, I like that there’s a 512GB option.
Another point of note is that the Indian model gets a larger 5,400 mAh battery, which lasts a day with relative ease. Nothing uses the standard USB PD charging protocol, and although you don’t get a charger in the box, it’s easy to charge the phone with almost any PD charger.
There’s nothing like a good phone
Overall, the Phone 4a proved to be a good upgrade over the Phone 3a. It costs more, but you also get enough new features and improvements to justify the price tag.
