Nothing Phone (4a) First Impressions: Mature Design That Goes Beyond Gen Z
Summary
- Nothing has officially launched its Phone (4a) in India with upgrades across the board.
- It brings a sharper display, new periscope telephoto lens and bigger battery
- But should you buy the Nothing Phone (4a), read our first impressions to find out!
Nothing, the newest brand on the block, has finally unveiled its mid-range Nothing Phone (4a). With a funky design and unique software, it stands apart from the competition. But is it just another polarising phone like the Phone (3) or something that can appeal to a broader audience? Here are my first impressions of the Nothing Phone (4a) series to help you give a better perspective.
Nothing Phone (4a) Key Specifications
| Aspects | Nothing Phone (4a) |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 163.95 x 77.57 x 8.55 mm |
| Weight | 204.5 grams |
| Design | Glyph LEDs with transparent design |
| Colors | White, Blue, Pink, Black |
| Display | 6.78-inch LTPS Flexible 1.5K AMOLED with 120Hz, Corning Gorilla Glass 7i |
| RAM/Storage | 8GB/128GB, 8GB/256GB, 12GB/256GB (UFS 3.1) |
| Processor | Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 |
| OS/Updates | Nothing OS 4.1(Android 16), 3 years of OS updates, and 6 years of security patches |
| Primary Camera | 50MP main+50MP ultrawide+50MP telephoto with 3.5x zoom |
| Front Camera | 32MP front-facing camera |
| Battery and Charging | 5,400mAh with 50W charging |
| Price | ₹31,999 |
Design: Nothing Goes Mainstream
During my first impressions of the Nothing Phone (4a), I noticed that the design has evolved compared to its predecessor. It feels more mature now, and something that can appeal to everyone. It’s not like the Phone (3), where the design eventually grows on you. Yes, it still stands out from the crowd, but it isn’t over-the-top flashy to attract eyeballs everywhere you go. In fact, the Phone (4a) feels lighter compared to its predecessor. The Essential Key is on the right side of the phone now instead of the left.
Also, the Glyph Bar, as Nothing likes to call it, sits right next to the camera module. It blends into the rest of the design and doesn’t scream for attention. Since these LEDs are square, you can do things like adjust the volume without even looking at the screen. While it’s nowhere close to Glyph Matrix on the Phone (3), it’s still a nice addition. You can adjust the brightness of the LEDs. There’s even an option to set a timer where the tiles keep piling up until the timer is complete. You also get a red recording light on the back that can be disabled in the Settings.
Display: Sharper And Brighter Screen
The Nothing Phone (4a) comes with a slightly bigger 6.78-inch AMOLED panel. Although the major difference you will notice is the resolution. It’s now sharper at 1.5K compared to Full-HD on the Phone (3a). Also, the phone has rounded corners and thinner bezels, resulting in a 91.3 per cent screen-to-body ratio.
Also Read:
- Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Is a Snoozefest and Here’s Why You Should Skip It
- Samsung Galaxy S26 Vs S25 Ultra: Is This Agentic AI Phone Worth The Upgrade?
- What Do Icons and Symbols Mean on Zomato
Despite the slight increase in size, it feels comfortable to hold in the hand, especially for someone who has large hands like me. It’s a treat to watch content on the bigger canvas. The screen is 23 per cent brighter, hitting 1600 nits in HBM and 4500 nits in HDR. Speaking of content consumption, the stereo speakers are pretty loud and don’t distort even at max volume.
Performance: Smooth Operator
The Nothing Phone (4a) is powered by the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4, a slight upgrade over the 7s Gen 3 in last year’s Phone 3. It isn’t the fastest chipset in the segment and has a decent AnTuTu score of around 115K. Similarly, the phone throttles to 84 percent in the 15-minute CPU throttling test, and the graph remains green.
The day-to-day performance remains smooth, and Nothing claims it has 10 per cent better power efficiency. One major improvement is the storage speeds, as Nothing has moved past UFS 2.2 and opted for UFS 3.1.
Whether you are opening apps or loading games, everything should be just quicker. Nothing claims that the Phone (4a) has 147 percent faster read speeds and 380 percent faster write speeds. With 120 FPS support in BGMI, I got an average of 105 FPS, although the phone became warm at 44 degrees. There’s also 90 FPS support in COD Mobile, so gamers won’t be disappointed.
Camera: New Periscope Telephoto Lens
As for the cameras, the Nothing Phone (4a) brings a 50MP triple camera setup. While the primary and ultrawide cameras remain the same as last year, the 50MP telephoto has been swapped for a new periscope telephoto. This means you get 3.5x zoom instead of 3x while using 32 percent less space. It also has 7x lossless zoom and 70x ultra zoom.
The photos captured during daytime are simply stunning. Unlike the Phone (3a), the output is more consistent, and Nothing has optimized the hardware well this time. The company claims the TrueLens Engine 4 algorithm uses AI segmentation. For what it’s worth, everyone I showed the photos to was amazed by the quality of the portraits and photos taken.
You also get photographic styles, including a Hasselblad one and the option to import more from Nothing Playground. Apart from niggles in underexposed shots and a few sharpening issues, the Nothing Phone (4a)’s camera is pretty good. Nothing seems to optimize the color science consistency and optimization of the camera, something it was struggling to do with the past phones.
Software Experience
The Nothing Phone (4a) runs on Nothing OS 4.1, based on Android 16 with 3 years of OS updates and 6 years of security patches. You get the same stock Android-like experience with smoother animations and a few more perks. There’s a new Breathing Widget to help you stay relaxed and perform breathing exercises. The Nothing Phone (4a) also received a software update during my first impressions, adding some new features.
Also, you can adjust the brightness of the Glyph Bar and use it to track food deliveries, timers, and more. Nothing has also added support for food deliveries to the Always On Display. The Essential Space works just like before and can be accessed using the Essential Key. Sadly, it’s not remappable, so you can only turn it off.
Another new addition is the Essential Search that lets you search across apps like contacts, messages, photos, and apps. For instance, if you are looking for your movie ticket, just type ticket and it will fetch the details from the Gmail app. You can also ask questions, and it will show the results from Google Search. Nothing has added a new Playground app where you can browse community widgets and more. Although we found the feature to be a more or less gimmicky, since we tried adding our own widget, we couldn’t get it to work.
Battery
The Phone (4a) packs a bigger 5,400mAh battery, a slight increase over last year’s Phone (3a). Just like last year, there’s no charger in the box,x so you will need to buy an adapter separately. However, the charging speed is still the same at 50W, and it can top up the phone to 50 percent in 22 minutes. During my first impressions of the Phone (4a), I got a Screen-On-Time of approximately 6 hours, which is decent but not up there with other Silicon Carbon phones.
Pricing And Availability
The Nothing Phone (4a) starts at a price of Rs. 31,999 for the base 8GB+128GB variant. It’s a hike of approximately Rs. 7,000 over the Phone (3a). With upgrades in display, a new periscope camera, a faster processor, and a bigger battery, the premium seems to be well worth it. Nothing hasn’t cut any major corners this time, which is a good thing.
If you want a good all-rounder phone that can capture incredible photos and offers a clean software experience, the Phone (4a) is the one to go for. The Nothing Phone (4a) will go on sale from March 12, 2025, and will be available for purchase on Flipkart as well as Nothing’s offline stores. You can also watch our detailed video review of the Nothing Phone (4a) below.
