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!