What you need to know
- Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro launched at this year’s MWC, and comes with a significant boost to its camera systems.
- The phones will come with a new action button that is said to trigger an AI-hub called ‘Essential Space.’
- Both devices will receive six years of essential updates, that will bring upgraded AI features on the phones.
- The Phone 3a comes in three colorways: While, black, and Blue; While the Pro model shows up in grey or black colors.
Nothing has finally unveiled its newest flagship devices at the MWC in Barcelona. The mid-range phones, Phone 3a and 3a Pro came after the company skipped the launching of its flagship last year as it wanted to focus on AI integration, which has finally arrived on these phones.
In terms of display, both the Phone 3a and 3a Pro have a 6.7 inch AMOLED LTPS flexible display protected by Panda Glass instead of Corning Gorilla Glass. Both these devices showcase a slightly thicker bezel size, of about 2.3mm. The displays have a refresh rate of 120Hz and 3,000 nits of peak brightness.
The phones are powered by the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 and run the Nothing OS 3.1 out of the box which is built on the premise of Android 15. This combination is said to give the phones a much-needed boost, helping the devices perform complex AI tasks faster.
The overall design of both phones continues to have Nothing’s signature exposed rear panel protected with a glass back. The dimensions of both these devices slightly vary from each other. The standard 3a model weighs around 201 grams, while the 3a Pro weighs a bit heavier at 211 grams since this version has a slightly bigger screen. Both phones get an IP64 rating which protects the device from dust and water splashes.
Nothing says it has made advancements in camera systems on both the standard and the Pro models this year.
The Phone 3a showcases a pill-shaped horizontal camera setup with a 50MP main camera, another 50MP telephoto lens, and an 8MP ultrawide lens on the back, while the selfie camera sports a 32MP lens.
The Phone 3a Pro’s circular triple camera array comes with a 50MP main camera, and 8MP ultrawide, and another 50MP periscope Sony LTY-600 sensor with 3x optical zoom.
This Pro version has an additional high-resolution 50MP sensor that allows the device to capture videos/images with a 60x ultra zoom, without compromising on the quality of these images—thanks to its AI clarity-enhancing algorithms. It also has an 8MP ultrawide lens and a 50MP front-facing camera.
Both mid-range devices come with a 5,000mAh battery that is said to last users for two days once charged fully, with a supported 50W fast charger, which the company claims will charge the device to 50% under 20 minutes.
Finally coming to the Phone 3a and 3a Pro’s new action button on the side, that will bring up Essential Space—which is the new AI-powered hub that allows users to pen down their ideas with just a click of a button. The company adds, “Press the Essential Key to capture and send content to Essential Space, long-press to record a voice note, and double-tap to head straight to all your saved content.”
Both phones will get 6 years of updates, including three years of Android updates and six years of security updates. These updates will bring new features to the AI-hub as well.
The standard Phone 3a comes in three colorways, black, white, and an exclusive blue (only available in India and the UK). While the 3a Pro shows up in grey and black colors. The 3a series has three storage options to choose from: 8/128GB, 8/256GB, and 12/256GB.
Preorders for the Phone 3a begin today (March 4) via Nothing’s official website, starting at $379, while pre-sales for the Pro version begin on March 11, with prices starting at $459.