Nothing Phone (4a) Pro Review: A Sensible Smartphone Choice

The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro arrives on the scene positioned as a theoretically powerful yet surprisingly affordable smartphone from the brand. The “a” designation typically indicates a more accessible model within a product line, and in this case, it signifies a device that offers exceptional value without compromising on key features. Nothing has emphasized premium build quality and maintained the distinctive characteristics that have made its previous products so popular. This review delves into whether the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro successfully balances these aspects, offering a compelling package for users seeking something unique in the competitive mid-range market.

Unboxing the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro

The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro comes in a thoughtfully designed black outer box, which, once removed, reveals a sleek white inner carton. Everything is neatly organized, ensuring a premium unboxing experience. The standard package for the Phone (4a) Pro includes several essential items:

• A factory-applied screen protector
• A protective case
• A 1-meter USB-C to USB-C cable
• A SIM tray ejector tool
• Essential documentation

The included rubber case fits snugly around all edges, providing robust protection for both the sides and the front of the device. The camera island benefits from a flush surface, and a repeated cutout is present in the bottom corner. The only minor drawback is that the case tends to accumulate dirt and smudges quite easily.

Price and Availability

Despite its impressive features, the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro is positioned with a very reasonable price point. At the time of this review’s publication, the pricing structure makes it an attractive option:

• 8 GB RAM / 128 GB Storage: Competitively priced
• 12 GB RAM / 256 GB Storage: Slightly higher, but still offers excellent value

Compared to the standard Nothing Phone (4a), the ‘Pro’ model offers a larger screen, an enhanced and slightly more compact body, and more powerful internal components, all for a minimal increase in cost. This makes it a highly appealing upgrade.

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro: Key Specifications

Here’s a detailed look at the technical specifications of the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro:

Design and Build Quality: A Premium Feel

The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro distinguishes itself with a unique construction, even among other Nothing models. While it retains the brand’s characteristic design, the iconic Glyph interface is primarily concentrated around the camera island. The rest of the device largely comprises aluminum, including the back panel, which traditionally featured glass or plastic in previous iterations. The absence of plastic materials in the Phone (4a) Pro significantly enhances the overall premium feel and user experience.

The front of the phone presents a familiar, symmetrical design with commendably thin bezels. This thoughtful design means that despite boasting a larger screen than its siblings, the overall footprint of the Phone (4a) Pro remains more compact. Nevertheless, it remains a sizable smartphone overall. Complementing the display are a pleasant-to-use selfie camera (though a previous model offered slightly better performance) and a responsive in-display fingerprint reader. A slender earpiece grille serves a dual purpose, also functioning as part of the multimedia stereo speaker setup.

The rear of the device showcases its unique aluminum construction. The prominent camera island immediately catches the eye. Its considerable size, coupled with the slightly protruding lenses, causes the phone to wobble gently when laid flat on a surface. While the overall finish is highly appealing, users should anticipate visible fingerprints after a day’s use, though they are easily wiped away to maintain its cohesive design. A distinctive stylistic element is a subtle indentation in the bottom corner, which is purely decorative and not a functional button like on the Nothing Phone (3) or an attachment point for CMF accessories. Antenna lines gracefully complete the design.

The Glyph Interface: A Signature Feature with a Twist

Nothing continues to innovate with its Glyph system, the distinctive lighting interface on the back of its smartphones. In the Phone (4a) Pro, a significant, pixelated screen emerges, even larger than the one found on the flagship Phone (3). However, it’s notably less interactive. Rather than offering advanced functionalities such as displaying the time, battery indicator, compass, or other information, it provides a more classic interpretation of notifications, a simple flashlight, and a volume indicator. The small red square also illuminates, but exclusively during video recording.

Ergonomic Edges and Audio Experience

The edges of the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro continue the premium theme with an aluminum frame, a welcome surprise in this price segment where plastic alternatives might be expected. This choice enhances the overall user experience and contributes to an ergonomically designed device. The various edges feature:

• Top: A secondary microphone
• Bottom: The main speaker grille, USB-C port, main microphone, and SIM card tray
• Left: The dedicated Essential Key
• Right: The power/lock button and volume controls

The separation of the Essential Key from the standard buttons is particularly appreciated, offering a distinct and customizable shortcut. The stereo speaker setup on the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro delivers acceptable audio. While it doesn’t boast exceptional bass or a broad frequency range, it provides ample loudness. It’s a competent system for hearing notifications, though perhaps less ideal for immersive daily multimedia consumption.

Vibrant Display: A Feast for the Eyes

Nothing has equipped the Phone (4a) Pro with a slightly larger display compared to the Phone (4a), along with a marginal bump in resolution to a full 1.5K+. This results in a generous workspace that is noticeably beneficial during everyday use. In terms of brightness, the device offers strong performance for its class, reaching approximately 1500 nits in bright sunlight and about half that indoors. This ensures good visibility in various lighting conditions.

Regarding color reproduction, Nothing’s default settings tend to boost saturation and add a subtle warmth, particularly evident in the “Vivid” color mode. If this enhanced vibrancy is not to a user’s preference, switching to the “Standard” mode provides more accurate color representation, with deviations (deltaE) remaining at an acceptable level, slightly above 2.

Another distinguishing feature of the Phone (4a) Pro over the Phone (4a) is its elevated refresh rate, now at 144 Hz, up from 120 Hz. The phone’s software adeptly manages transitions between 60 Hz, 90 Hz, 120 Hz, and 144 Hz, primarily in system interfaces and common applications like web browsers and video players. Unfortunately, in gaming scenarios, the smartphone frequently defaults to the lowest refresh rate setting, which can be a minor drawback for mobile gamers.

Battery Life and Charging: Standard but Reliable

Despite featuring a slightly larger screen within a more compact body compared to the Nothing Phone (4a), the ‘Pro’ model retains the same battery capacity. For many international markets, this translates to a 5080 mAh battery. It’s worth noting that some regions, like India, offer a 5400 mAh variant, albeit at the expense of NFC functionality. While the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro offers standard battery performance, it’s important to acknowledge that some competitors in the same price range may offer significantly larger batteries.

The Phone (4a) Pro is designed for consistent, everyday performance. Users can comfortably expect a full day of intensive use, and with lighter usage, it can extend to two days. Even under heavy load, the device is capable of delivering approximately 5 hours of screen-on time. This performance is neither groundbreaking nor disappointing—it simply meets expectations for its category. The maximum wired charging power for the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro is 50 W (USB PD3.0). While this isn’t a standout feature, it’s certainly not slow. A full charge from empty takes approximately one hour, with the first 30 minutes providing around 65% of charge. This is a respectable speed, though some competitors in this price range do offer faster charging solutions.

Camera Performance: A Tale of Two Lenses

The camera application on the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro skillfully integrates a range of interesting features while maintaining intuitive usability. It offers both straightforward and more advanced shooting modes, all presented in an ergonomically organized interface. Among its distinctive offerings is community integration, allowing users to create and share predefined camera settings, with Nothing itself providing a default selection of presets.

The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro supports video recording at various resolutions:

• 1080p at 30 and 60 frames per second (fps)
• 4K at 30 fps

A notable limitation is that active switching between all lenses is only possible in the most basic video settings. When recording at 60 fps, users can only record independently with the main camera and the telephoto lens, and switching between them during an ongoing recording is not supported. The ultrawide-angle lens is exclusively available for 1080p at 30 fps, and for 4K video, recording is restricted to the primary camera only.

A Well-Rounded Duo: Main and Telephoto Lenses

On paper, the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro appears to utilize the same camera setup as the more affordable Phone (4a). However, a closer look reveals key differences, particularly a modified image processor that allows the ‘Pro’ model to achieve superior results. The primary camera itself is also different. For the ‘Pro’ model, Nothing has opted for the highly regarded Sony IMX 896 sensor (50 Mpx, f/1.9), replacing Samsung’s unit found in the Phone (4a). This popular sensor often features in devices considered “affordable flagships” and performs exceptionally well here, with Nothing’s software managing it effectively across all scenarios.

The telephoto lens (Samsung S5KJN5, 50 Mpx, f/2.9) delivers impressive performance, offering 3.5x optical zoom. The software also encourages a 7x digital zoom, but users are advised to avoid this mode as it noticeably degrades the excellent base quality. Both the main camera and the telephoto lens benefit from optical image stabilization (OIS), which significantly improves video quality and low-light photography.

The Ultrawide-Angle Camera: Room for Improvement

The ultrawide-angle camera, featuring an older Sony IMX 355 sensor (8 Mpx, f/2.2), lags behind the other lenses. While its performance is acceptable, its limitations are evident across color reproduction, contrast, and detail levels. While significant expectations for an ultrawide camera in this price segment might be unrealistic, the disparity in quality compared to the main and telephoto lenses is quite noticeable.

For video recording, the presence of optical image stabilization on the main and telephoto cameras is a major advantage. Overall video quality is commendable and generally surpasses expectations for this price category. However, the significant drop in quality from the ultrawide-angle lens is again apparent, and digital zooming should be avoided due to the resulting loss of detail.

Software Experience and Performance: Nothing OS with Power

Nothing OS, the Android overlay developed by Nothing, is another defining characteristic of the brand’s smartphones. It stands out for its unique character without being overly bloated. Among its exclusive additions is Essential Space, an advanced notepad feature that leverages screenshots and voice recordings. Nothing actively engages its community in software development and integrates artificial intelligence, notably featuring ChatGPT.

The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro launched with Android 16 and Nothing OS 4.1. The manufacturer pledges three years of major Android updates, meaning the device will receive support up to Android 19. This is an acceptable update policy, though some competitors (like Samsung) offer more extensive support, while others provide less. A significant positive is the commitment to six years of security updates, ensuring long-term device protection.

The overall performance of the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro is highly impressive. Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 processor, the smartphone exhibits ample computing power for daily tasks. Only during extremely demanding processes might users notice a slight delay, but there are no discernible slowdowns or performance issues that negatively distinguish it from competitors. On the contrary, it ranks among the most capable devices in its price segment.

Conclusion: Is the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro Right for You?

The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro emerges as a strong contender in its class, with immense potential to be one of the most cost-effective smartphones available. True to Nothing’s brand philosophy, it combines a distinctive design with innovative solutions like the Glyph Interface and Essential Space. These features are complemented by robust computing power and an overall positive user experience.

The device boasts a competent camera system (particularly the main and telephoto lenses), a superb display, and well-executed software. While no glaring flaws were identified, some minor points could be considered. The ultrawide-angle camera, for instance, doesn’t quite match the quality of its counterparts. Additionally, while the battery life is solid, some rival models offer larger capacities and faster charging speeds, although the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro’s performance in this area is far from poor. Finally, long-time fans of the brand might find the Glyph Interface on this model less interactive compared to the flagship Nothing Phone (3).

Despite these minor considerations, the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro presents a compelling package for users seeking a unique, powerful, and sensibly priced smartphone.

Source: Self-developed. Opening photo: Łukasz Pająk