You should buy 5 Android phones instead of Nothing Phone 4a

My colleague Adamya shared it recently First impressions of the Nothing Phone 4aand spoiler alert, it’s a really good phone. With a unique design, simple (but useful) Glyph Bar, and decent overall features, it’s a pretty attractive package at £349, or just over $470 in US dollars.

There’s just one problem with the Nothing Phone 4a: it’s not available in the US. Although you may have trouble importing it, I wouldn’t recommend it. Not just because of the headaches that come with an international phone, but also because there are plenty of other great Android phones to choose from for close to the same price.

So before you get too upset that you can’t buy the Nothing Phone 4a – or go too far down the rabbit hole of buying the UK model – here are five other Android phones you should buy instead.

As disappointing as it is that the Nothing Phone 4a isn’t available in the US, the good news is that its more powerful sibling – Nothing Phone 4a Pro – available in the country. The release strategy here is a bit odd, but that’s okay because the Pro is a great alternative to the base model.

The most obvious difference between the two phones is their design. The Pro ditches the all-clear back in favor of a transparent camera island and Nothing’s Glyph Matrix secondary display (which you can use to view the time, set timers, and more). The Nothing Phone 4a Pro also has a more capable Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 chip (versus the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 in the regular Nothing Phone 4a), a brighter screen with a faster 144Hz refresh rate, and a slightly more durable IP65 rating instead of IP64.

Are these dramatic, game-changing improvements? Not necessarily. But if you’re hoping to buy the Nothing Phone 4a, the Pro gives you basically the same experience and then some. Combine that with decent US availability and a $499 price tag, and this is as good an alternative to the Nothing Phone 4a as you’ll find.

If I had about $500 to spend on a new Android phone, the Nothing Phone 4a Pro wouldn’t be my personal choice. I would take it instead Google Pixel 10a. While nothing is as eye-catching or unique as the Nothing Phone 4a, the Pixel 10a gets a lot more, and that makes more sense for what I value in a phone.

One of them is ergonomics. Compared to the Nothing Phone 4a’s 6.78-inch screen, the Pixel 10a’s 6.3-inch panel is smaller and easier to use with one hand. The Pixel is also lighter, weighing more than 20 grams lighter than Nothing’s smartphone. And the best part is that it’s one of the only modern Android phones without a camera bump. This is a beautiful sight.

You don’t get a telephoto camera on the Pixel 10a like you do on the Nothing Phone 4a, but the main and ultra-wide sensors on Google’s phone are so reliable that I don’t care. I also prefer the Pixel 10a’s software experience, longer update support, and wireless charging — something the Nothing Phone 4a lacks.

Is the Pixel 10a a little boring? Of course. Is it almost an upgrade over the Pixel 9a? Undoubtedly. But it’s also an Android phone that I look forward to using every time I pick it up, and I think that’s saying a lot — especially for a phone that costs $499.

If the Nothing Phone 4a is one of the more visually distinct Android phones on the market today, you could easily argue that Samsung Galaxy S25 FE one of the most boring. It seems like every Galaxy S phone that has been released over the past few years has been nothing short of striking in its design. However, if you can look past that, it’s a pretty solid alternative to spending your money on the Nothing Phone 4a.

How so? It’s all about the specs. The S25 FE’s Exynos 2400 chipset offers better CPU and GPU performance than the Nothing Phone 4a’s Qualcomm chip. Samsung’s phone supports wireless charging, has a more complete software interface in One UI, and will receive updates for seven years instead of just three. It also has stronger water resistance with an IP68 rating, faster storage and better video recording capabilities.

Surely all of these should cost quite a bit more than the Nothing Phone 4a, right? Technically, yes; Galaxy S25 FE sells for $650. But given the phone’s age, it’s almost always on sale. For example, at the time of writing, you can buy it for only $500. At this price, I think it’s an easy choice over the Nothing Phone 4a.

So far, all three of my recommendations have been for the same $500 asking price, similar to what the Nothing Phone 4a would cost you if you imported it to the US. If you’re wondering what you could potentially buy for less, think about it Moto G Power (2026). It’s one of the newest additions to the Moto G family, and it’s a pretty solid choice for the price.

What’s so good about a Motorola phone? It has IP68 and IP69 ratings, a bigger battery (5,200mAh compared to the Nothing’s 5,080mAh cell), expandable storage via microSD and – yes – a 3.5mm headphone jack. It’s not a bad setup to bring all of this back to a beautiful faux leather with Pantone colors.

What is the catch? The Moto G’s MediaTek processor isn’t as powerful as the one inside the Nothing Phone 4a. Motorola’s phone has slower storage, slower charging and a less attractive camera setup. These are big things to consider.

The Moto G Power (2026) is far from a perfect phone, but at a starting price of just $300, its compromises are easier to deal with. It costs a lot less than you’d pay to buy a Nothing Phone 4a in the US, and it’s an overall solid Android phone to boot.

Last but certainly not least, we have OnePlus 13R. It’s a phone I’ve been recommending for more than a year since its release, and that’s simply because it’s that good. It’s also slightly different compared to the Nothing Phone 4a. Where the phone favors a flashy design and combines it with mid-range specs, the OnePlus 13R settles for a pretty basic design in favor of a spec sheet that blows the nothing smartphone out of the water.

Thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, the OnePlus 13R offers better CPU, GPU and memory performance than the Nothing Phone 4a. The OnePlus 13R also has a significantly larger 6,000mAh battery and faster 80W wired charging. If performance, battery life and fast charging are your top three priorities, the OnePlus 13R is an easy choice.

The biggest downside to the OnePlus 13R? Availability. OnePlus stopped selling the phone months ago, and availability on Amazon and Best Buy is not expected at all. However, if you can get the phone for $599 retail or less at this point, it’s still worth buying.