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Nothing Phone 4a hands-on: A more technically accomplished entry-level smartphone

Nothing is back with two new smartphones, the entry-level Phone 4a and the mid-range Phone 4a Pro. With the base 4a in particular, there’s no shortage of substantial hardware upgrades since the 3a, even if the design doesn’t quite stand out as much. This year, that’s apparently the role of the Nothing Phone 4a Pro. That said, the base 4a’s two new color options (blue and pink) are gorgeous additions to the usual monochrome duo of white and black.
There have been many upgrades since 2025’s Phone 3a. It comes with IP64 dust and water resistance, and is also physically tougher: Nothing says it has increased bend resistance by 34 percent, but I always considered all of the company’s phones pretty solid. The display also gets Gorilla Glass 7i, something I’ve wanted to see Nothing improve on its cheapest phones. My Phone 2a’s screen got pretty messed up when I tussled with my keys a few years ago. The 6.78-inch display is also 23 percent brighter than its predecessor, reaching 1,600 nits during outdoor viewing.
The main upgrades are centered around the cameras, marking a major improvement over what the Phone 3a last year. A new tetraprism periscope telephoto camera extends to up to 3.5x optical zoom, further than the base Phone 3a.
Image by Mat Smith for Engadget
Nothing says the main camera, with a new Samsung GN9 50-megapixel sensor, captures up to 64 percent more light than similarly sized camera sensors. The company has also upgraded its computational photography and tone mapping, which help it deliver on a new 70x ultra zoom mode, which beefs up your images with AI smarts. While it’s unlikely to be a regular feature for me, it’s still an option. It works well with straight lines and architecture, but don’t expect faces and nuanced detail at 70x zoom. But hey, sometimes you want that up-close picture of an iconic landmark. Fortunately, you’ll get up to a 7x lossless zoom by combining the 3.5x optical zoom with sensor cropping, which works well.
I’ve been testing the Phone 4a for a few days – because I can’t get enough phones – and noticed that photo image quality is noticeably better compared to the Phone 3a. Images have less noise and more detail, with the Phone 4a being far more capable in poor lighting conditions.
Image by Mat Smith for Engadget
The Phone 4a has a 1.5K (1,224 × 2,720) display, up from the full HD display (1,920 × 1,080) on last generation’s phone. It supports up to 120Hz refresh rates and has a peak brightness of 4,500 nits for HDR content. That resolution boost means Nothing’s meticulously designed UI and icons look sharper and everything is easier to see when using the 4a in the bright spring sunlight.
Nothing says the new Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 processor offers 10 percent better power efficiency, but what will make the Phone 4a go the distance is more likely the 5,080mAh battery – the biggest yet in Nothing’s midrange phones. Even the storage has been upgraded, with 47 percent faster read and 380 percent faster write speeds. I almost immediately clocked the improvement while attempting some light video editing and installing a few games.
This year’s Glyph system has turned into a Glyph Bar. It’s made up of 63 mini-LEDs in seven square lights in a row. These top out at 3500 nits, which is 40 percent brighter than the Phone 3a’s Glyph Interface. Over the years, I go through waves of loving Nothing’s take on notifications through to forgetting they’re there. Nothing is gradually adding more utility each year, and it’ll double as a notification tracker for a few select apps, like Uber, indicating how far away your ride is. The Glyph Bar can apparently double up as a fill light, although I couldn’t get that to work on my pre-release sample. I’ll update this story when I can test it out. Likewise, Nothing’s Playground of fan-made widgets and mini-apps isn’t entirely compatible with the 4a — at least not yet.
Image by Mat Smith for Engadget
The Nothing Phone 4a is an upgrade over its predecessor in every way – and the improvements are tangible, and I noticed them almost immediately – something that can be challenging with other phone refreshes. The display is crisper, as are the photos and video it can capture.
Like previous Nothing phones, despite the “global launch,” this phone won’t be headed to the US. However, in the UK, starting at £349 (roughly $467), it’s only marginally more expensive than its predecessor and you get a lot more bang for your buck. It’s also a good chunk of change cheaper than the $500 Pixel 10a. For those looking for an eye-catching, capable phone at a similar price, the Phone 4a’s biggest competition may be its bigger brother, the $499 Phone 4a Pro. Expect our hands-on for Nothing’s other phone very soon. The Phone 4a is open for preorders now at nothing.tech, going on sale starting March 13 next week.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/nothing-phone-4a-hands-on-price-launch-date-111533547.html?src=rss