Nothing
Nothing Phone 3a Pro Honest Review – After 25 Days of Use
After using the Nothing Phone 3a Pro for over 25 days, here’s my full and honest review. From design and display to camera and performance, I’ll cover everything that will help you decide whether this phone is right for you.
🔍 Design & Build Quality
The design is eye-catching and premium, especially in the grey color variant. Many people asked me about this phone when I used it in public – it’s definitely a conversation starter. The camera bump has a unique circular layout, and the Glyph lights now follow a new circular design too.
While the back is made of glass, the sides are plastic, so don’t expect a full premium metal build, but inside the mid-frame is made up of aluminum, so it can’t break in half. Still, the overall feel is solid. Just note that the camera bump makes the phone wobble when placed on a flat surface.
👍 Pros: Stylish, unique design, good grip
👎 Cons: Plastic frame, camera bump wobble
📦 Unboxing Experience
The phone doesn’t come with a charger – only a Type-C to Type-C cable, SIM ejector tool, and basic documents. Packaging has improved with easier access and better presentation.
👍 Nice packaging
👎 No charger in the box
📺 Display
The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro has a 6.77-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with up to 120Hz refresh rate. The bezels are slightly thick but uniform. It gets bright up to 3000 nits (peak), so outdoor visibility is quite good. Watching content on YouTube or JioCinema is smooth, and HDR support is present (except for Netflix).
👍 Sharp and bright display, smooth experience
👎 Thick bezels, Netflix HDR not supported
⚙️ Software Experience (Nothing OS 3.1)
The phone runs on Nothing OS 3.1, which is very close to stock Android. There’s no bloatware, and the experience is clean and smooth. New features include:
- Essential Key: A dedicated button for quick notes, voice memos, or reminders
- Custom widgets, new lock screen styles, and ChatGPT integration
- Nothing Gallery with AI search features (though editing tools are still missing)
👍 Smooth UI, stock-like feel, frequent updates
👎 Essential Key still needs improvements, gallery editing missing
🔋 Battery Life & Charging
You get a 5000mAh battery with 50W fast charging (charger not included). On average:
- Normal use: 8–9 hours of screen-on time (it can go above 10 hrs as well in some cases)
- Heavy use (gaming/photos): 5–6 hours
- Charging time: Around 1 hour 10–20 minutes with an original charger
👍 Good battery life and decent charging speed
👎 No wireless charging, charger not included
⚡ Performance
Powered by the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 and UFS 2.2 storage, the phone handles everyday tasks well. My unit had 12GB RAM and 256GB storage.
- Benchmark scores were solid (Antutu: ~759K).
- Gaming like BGMI at 90fps and 120fps is smooth in TDM, but drops can occur in classic matches.
- There is some lag in camera app or multitasking, mainly due to UFS 2.2 limitations.
👍 Smooth multitasking, consistent updates
👎 Occasional lag in camera and heavy apps
📷 Camera – Highlight Feature!
This phone shines in the camera department with a triple camera setup:
- 50MP main sensor
- 50MP 3X periscope zoom camera
- 8MP ultra-wide
The new camera app also supports camera LUTs (filters), manual controls, and importing presets.
Photos are sharp, detailed, and especially great in 3X zoom and macro shots. Low-light and night photography is also very good for the price.
Video options:
- Rear: Up to 4K 30fps, but 3X periscope zoom only works in 1080p 30fps
- Front: 50MP, supports 4K 30fps
👍 Outstanding photo quality, especially zoom and macros
👎 Periscope zoom not available in 4K video yet, no new watermark options
🧠 Final Verdict
After using the Nothing Phone 3a Pro for almost a month, I can confidently say it offers great value for users looking for:
- A stylish and futuristic design
- Clean software with regular updates
- A very good zoom camera and overall photography experience
- Decent performance and battery life
🔻 But keep in mind:
- No charger in the box
- Slight lag in camera app
- Premium pricing might feel high without discounts
If design and camera are your top priorities, and you don’t mind minor performance trade-offs, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro is definitely worth considering!
I tested Nothing’s Essential Space on the Nothing Phone (3) and OnePlus Mind Space on the OnePlus 11. Both look similar on the surface, but the way they work feels very different. Let’s break it down.
Nothing Essential Space has a dedicated Essential Key button. Just double press, and the app opens instantly. From there, you can create summaries, reminders, or even voice notes. Everything is simple and fast.
OnePlus Mind Space works with a three-finger swipe gesture. It opens smoothly and also creates summaries and reminders, but you need to do more manual steps compared to Nothing.
The big win for Essential Space is that it syncs directly with Google Calendar. Add a reminder once, and it’s already there. You can even record voice notes or use the camera app to analyze photos and auto-generate descriptions.
Mind Space, on the other hand, shines with app-wise sorting. For example, it can organize summaries by WhatsApp, Chrome, or Twitter, which is quite useful. But adding reminders is manual, and sharing options are limited.
Nothing also adds cool exclusive features like Flip-to-Record, where you just flip the phone, hold the key, and it records with Glyph animations. Later, the AI auto-summarizes your entire meeting or talk into English text. Super handy!
Sharing is also easier on Nothing. You can export your notes as an image, PDF, or Markdown and send them anywhere. On OnePlus, you only get the delete option, which feels basic.
Overall, Nothing Essential Space feels more polished and feature-rich, while OnePlus Mind Space is still catching up. The app-wise sorting on OnePlus is neat, but Nothing’s extra features make it the better option for now.
Also did a video for this. You can give it a watch on YouTube:
The CMF Phone 1 has started receiving the August Nothing OS 3.2 update. This update comes with version V3.2-250723-1800 and is sized at 252 MB. It brings new widget features, bug fixes, and several performance improvements.
One of the main highlights is the improvement to widgets. Shared widgets now support more sticker types, making them more fun and customisable. The Countdown widget has received a new Recurring option along with additional shape choices. This means you can set countdowns to repeat automatically. The Pedometer and Screentime widgets can now also be shared, adding more ways to interact and share information.
In the general improvements section, Nothing has added the option to set the Nothing Gallery as the default for previewing photos in Camera settings. The camera itself has also received stability enhancements for a smoother experience. Bluetooth call issues in Telegram, which affected some watches and earbuds, have been fixed.
The update also resolves font display issues in apps like Instagram, Subito, and a few others. On the security side, the August 2025 security patch has been included, ensuring better device protection. Finally, overall system stability has been improved, and performance has been optimised for a smoother user experience.
The August Nothing OS 3.2 update is rolling out gradually, so CMF Phone 1 users may receive it at different times depending on their region.
Nothing has released the August update for the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus, bringing Nothing OS 3.2 with several new improvements and fixes. The update is 259 MB in size and comes with the build number V3.2-250731-1640. It focuses on enhancing the camera experience, fixing bugs, and improving system stability, along with the latest Android security patch.
One of the major changes in this update is in the Camera app. Users can now choose a default album for preview images in the settings, making photo organization more convenient. The update also improves overall camera stability, ensuring smoother performance when taking pictures and recording videos.
Apart from camera enhancements, the update also addresses some important issues. It fixes a problem that caused rapid battery drain when certain smartwatches were connected to the phone. Additionally, it resolves Bluetooth call issues in Telegram when paired with some watches and earbuds.
There are also fixes for text display problems in apps like Instagram, Subito, and others when using the Inter font. Lastly, the update includes the August 2025 Android security patch, which improves the phone’s security and protects it against the latest threats.
With these improvements, the Nothing OS 3.2 August update aims to deliver a smoother and more reliable experience for Nothing Phone (2a) Plus users.