Nothing Phone (3a) Pro Review: Almost Everything You’d Want in a Budget Smartphone

It’s high time Nothing builds a flagship smartphone. Last year, the company released the Nothing Phone (2a), an instant eye-catcher. I recommended it to several friends who have been quite satisfied to date. It was the best budget phone of 2024. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro continues with that tag, adding many more accolades to the company’s short yet storied history. Yes, the smartphones may not be selling as well as the company hoped, but the company is buying some much-needed time by releasing the Phone (3a) Pro before the Phone 3 (its flagship model). 

Over the last ten years, I’ve reviewed several budget and mid-range smartphones. It’s 2025, and they can successfully compete with their more expensive counterparts and all their bells and whistles—save for one area. Over the years, budget and mid-range smartphones have added beefier batteries, more efficient chipsets (thanks partly to MediaTek for giving Qualcomm some much-needed competition), bright displays for outdoor usage, the latest Android software, fast charging capabilities, and more.

Also Read: Vivo X200 Review: The Exceptional Cameras Make This the Absolute Best Value-For-Money

The one area where these budget phones pale in comparison is the cameras. The Vivo X200 Pro, Xiaomi 15 Ultra, Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, and iPhone 16 Pro are runaway winners when it comes to photo output compared to phones like the Phone (3a) Pro, POCO X7 Pro, Motorola Edge 50 Pro, and others. 

Of course, it isn’t just about the hardware. We know that adding cameras with larger sensors, colour tuning (hello Hasselblad, Zeiss and Leica) the photos, telescope cameras with higher optical zoom ranges, and even periscope cameras cost more money. But it’s also the post-processing that suffers on these mid-range and budget smartphones. 

That’s why I’ve said it before and’ll repeat it. Nothing needs to build a proper flagship smartphone. What the company has done with the Phone (3a) Pro is outstanding. Still, suppose you need a smartphone primarily for photography. In that case, you’re better off saving money and buying a smartphone with a more robust set of camera hardware and better tuning for their cameras.

Also Read: iPhone 16 Pro Long-Term Review: Still Undisputed King of Video Recording 

Here’s what I like about the Phone (3a) Pro 

The Phone (3a) Pro proudly continues the company's trend of daring to be different. The smartphone still has that unique see-through pattern with glyph lighting at the back. What’s different this time is the big camera island. It’s huge and noticeable, meaning the smartphone doesn’t lay flat on a table. It’s far bigger than ever before. All of that is because of a brand-new telephoto lens. The smartphone’s design, ultimately, is divisive. I’ve taken it on a metro, a flight to Bombay, a two-day music festival, and even inside Brabroune Stadium. I’ve gotten several looks, been questioned about what smartphone it is, and some even call it “ugly”. But then again, several have complimented the design, liked the glyph interface, and said they’d want to buy the smartphone purely based on the design. When the renders were first released, I wasn’t a fan. But now that I’ve used it for over a week, I like it quite a lot. 

The good thing is that despite the massive camera bump, the smartphone has a good in-hand feel. The glass back isn’t slippery (switching from a plastic back on the Phone (2a). The LEDs are here to stay, though just three lighting zone areas exist. There’s the aluminum mid-frame to make the smartphone slightly grippier and matte sides. The phone gets an IP64 rating (one would have preferred a higher rating). 

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The only downside of the design is that while holding the smartphone, your finger(s) naturally place themselves over the camera. Thankfully, smudges and fingerprints are less, so you don’t have to clean the smartphone often.

Loaded with hardware 

The Phone (3a) Pro has a vibrant, punchy-coloured 6.77-inch AMOLED panel with thin bezels on all sides. The display has 3000 nits of peak brightness, and I had zero issues using it outdoors. The phone has an FHD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. I streamed sports matches and had no problems with the viewing angles.  

The vibration motors have improved, though they aren’t anything to write home about. The smartphone supports all 5G bands and has a 5,000mAh battery that lasts all day. Thanks to its support for 50W wired charging (there’s no charger in the box), you can juice up the smartphone from zero to one hundred in just 60 minutes with any charger you have lying around at home, as it supports USB PD. 

The 5,000mAh battery delivers all-day goodness. I’ve never once had battery anxiety with the Phone (3a) Pro, even with heavy usage. In fact, the battery usually lasts until the end of breakfast on the second morning. 

The smartphone has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 SoC, up to 12 GB RAM and 256GB of storage. 

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Apart from their distinct design, Nothing smartphones are known for their software. That doesn’t change with the Phone (3a) Pro. The smartphone comes with Nothing OS 3.1 (based on Android 15) and plenty of customisation options. The company has promised three Android upgrades and four years of security patches. 

Attention to detail is something that has drawn me in since day one. It’s got this “Nothing-ified” skin. Its inspiration is its dot-matrix art and monochrome icons. The software is clean and refreshing to see. The suite of exclusive widgets are genuinely useful. The tried and tested Flip to Glyph and other Glpyh features are also present. There’s also a revamped Quick Tiles design. The Nothing OS, on the whole, is fast, fluid, and a pleasure to use. It’s right up there with the best of Android skins. 

The Essential Key and the cameras are a mixed bag 

It seems like many manufacturers, from Apple to Nothing, have included a “button” on their latest smartphones. Nothing has debuted the Essential Key. The company says that it’ll be a key differentiator going forward. The Essential Key will open Essential Space. Essential Space is a place where all your “essentials” are stored. These include screenshots, voice memos, to-do lists, and more. Tap it once, and it will capture your screen; thereafter, you can add a voice or text note. Long press the key, and you can dictate a voice note. A double press launches the shelf itself. Essential Space uses artificial intelligence to extract information from the screenshot. 

It seems like the Essential Key has the potential to be something big, but it is just missing something at this point.. I haven’t been able to wrap my head around the reason. The button is something I’ve genuinely not been using after the first few days. In fact, I accidentally hit the button a few too many times, thinking it was the power button. It’s placed eerily close. Nothing says that the Essential Key will be a gamechanger on the Phone 3 (their flagship product) but that remains to be seen. 

Another thing I was left slightly underwhelmed by are the cameras. The Phone (3a) Pro cameras are definitely an upgrade from the Phone (2a), but they are nothing to write home about. The low-light images have improved this year, thanks to the 50MP Samsung GNJ primary camera. A 50MP Sony LYT-600 tele lens that takes clear shots in most situations. Up to 3x you can get good, crisp and detailed shots, and I genuinely enjoyed taking multiple photos. Anything more than 3x and the loss of details mounts up. In some situations, the white balance is off, and the images look flatter than those taken with other smartphones. The dynamic range is also strictly average. What annoyed me more than anything, though, was the shutter lag. You’ve got to be more still than ever unless you want those blurry images. Video recording is strictly average, but that’s the case with most smartphones in the budget segment. 

Also Read: Oppo Find X8 Pro Review: Apple and Samsung better watch out as Oppo’s flagships are back in the global markets

Verdict: Best budget smartphone out there 

With a starting price of Rs 29,999, the smartphone may be a few thousand rupees on the higher side. Let me assure you, though. There isn’t anything better than the Phone (3a) Pro in this price range. If you want to game all day long, the Poco X7 Pro is a great option. If all you want to do is click graphs, there are the OnePlus Nord 4, Honor 200, Vivo T3 Ultra (best for portraits) and Motorola Edge 50 Pro. 

But with a great combination of a distinct design, powerful hardware, decent cameras, and a clean software, nothing comes close to the Phone (3a) Pro. Nothing seems to be confident with the Phone (3a) Pro as a launchpad for the upcoming flagship Phone 3, and it’s good that they’re being aggressive in India.