Nothing Phone 3a vs Nothing Phone 3a Pro: more similar than different

The Nothing Phone 3a and Nothing Phone 3a Pro are both eye-catching mid-range phones that boast unique LED lights and surprisingly similar specs.

Generally, ‘Pro’ models of phones have numerous upgrades compared to their standard siblings, but in the case of the Nothing Phone 3a Pro, there’s really only one aspect – other than the price – that’s substantially different.

Below, we compare the Nothing Phone 3a against the Nothing Phone 3a Pro, looking at key features like their screens, battery life, performance, and more. You’ll find our full verdict on the latter phone in our Nothing 3a Pro review, but we haven’t yet reviewed the former, which is worth bearing in mind as you read.

Nothing Phone 3a vs Nothing Phone 3a Pro: specs comparison

We’ll look closer at the specs and features of each phone below, but first, here’s how their key specifications compare at a glance.

Nothing Phone 3a vs Nothing Phone 3a Pro: price and availability

The Nothing Phone 3a and Nothing Phone 3a Pro were both announced on March 4, 2025, and they’re both out now.

The Nothing Phone 3a starts at £329 / AU$599, for which you get a model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage (though this model doesn’t appear to be available in the US at the time of writing). There’s also a version with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $379 / £379 / AU$689.

The Nothing Phone 3a Pro, meanwhile, is available in a single 12GB / 256GB configuration, and this costs $459 / £449 / AU$849.

So, the starting price of the Nothing Phone 3a is $80 / £120 / AU$250 less, and the price for the 3a in the same configuration as the Pro is $80 / £70 / AU$160 less – with the same US difference in both cases, as there’s currently only one configuration of each phone in the US.

Nothing Phone 3a vs Nothing Phone 3a Pro: design and display

There’s not much difference between the design of these two phones. They both have dimensions of 163.5 x 77.5 x 8.4mm, they both have LED light strips on the back, and they have a similarly patterned rear. They also both have an IP64 rating, meaning they’re dust-tight and can survive splashes.

But they differ in a few ways. The most immediately obvious difference is how the cameras look, with a horizontal camera bar on the Nothing Phone 3a and a more unusual arrangement in circular housing on the 3a Pro, as you can see in the above images.

Their colors also differ a bit, with the Nothing Phone 3a being available in Black, White, and Blue shades, while the Nothing Phone 3a Pro can be purchased in Black or Gray.

Finally, the Nothing Phone 3a is slightly lighter, at 201g, compared to the 211g Nothing Phone 3a Pro.

There’s even less difference when it comes to their screens – in fact, there’s none at all, with both phones using a 6.77-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a resolution of 1080 x 2392, and a peak brightness of 3,000 nits.

At the time of writing, we haven’t yet reviewed the Nothing Phone 3a, but in our Nothing Phone 3a Pro review, we described the screen as “a very nice display with a smooth refresh rate and a bright peak.”

Nothing Phone 3a vs Nothing Phone 3a Pro: cameras

Here’s where we come to the main difference between these two phones, because while they both have a 50MP f/1.9 main camera with optical image stabilization (OIS) and an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera with a 120-degree field of view, their telephoto cameras differ.

The Nothing Phone 3a has a 50MP f/2.0 one with 2x optical zoom, and Nothing claims it’s also capable of 4x lossless zoom by cropping into the image, and up to 30x digital zoom.

That’s not bad for a mid-range phone, but the Nothing Phone 3a Pro has it beat with a 50MP f/2.55 periscope camera offering 3x optical zoom, 6x lossless zoom, and up to 60x digital zoom.

The Nothing Phone 3a Pro also has a higher-spec 50MP f/2.2 selfie camera, compared to the Nothing Phone 3a’s 32MP f/2.2 one. And while both phones can record 4K video with their main cameras, the Nothing Phone 3a Pro can also manage 4K video with the front-facing camera, while the standard 3a tops out at 1080p.

We haven’t put the Nothing Phone 3a’s cameras to the test yet, but of the 3a Pro, we said in our review: “it has much better camera capabilities than you’d expect from a phone this cheap.”

Nothing Phone 3a vs Nothing Phone 3a Pro: performance and software

The Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro both use the same chipset, namely a Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 5G. This is a mid-range chipset with clock speeds of up to 2.5GHz.

They both also top out at 12GB of RAM, but there’s also an 8GB model of the standard Nothing Phone 3a.

Sadly, performance – at least from the Nothing Phone 3a Pro – leaves a lot to be desired in our tests, with our review finding that “performance was very laggy, with stuttering and stalling in the interface and as I used apps.”

We haven’t fully tested the base model yet, but we’d be surprised if it’s any better here, since the specs are the same (or even worse if you pick the 8GB model).

For software, both phones run Android 15 and come with the promise of three years of Android version updates. They run a heavily customized version of Android, though, called Nothing OS 3.1, and its mostly monochrome appearance is certainly distinctive. Whether it’s to your taste will be subjective, but you’re getting the same software experience on both phones.

Nothing Phone 3a vs Nothing Phone 3a Pro: battery

There’s no on-paper difference in battery life between these two phones, either, with both the Nothing Phone 3a and the Nothing Phone 3a Pro having 5,000mAh batteries, which in both cases support 50W wired charging, and don’t have any wireless charging capabilities.

While the absence of wireless charging might be disappointing, that’s not unusual in mid-range phones, and in our Nothing Phone 3a Pro review, we were very impressed with the real-world endurance and charging speeds of the phone, describing its battery life as “excellent.”

Given how similar the specs are, we’d think the standard Nothing Phone 3a will offer comparable performance, but keep an eye out for our full review to find out for sure.

Nothing Phone 3a vs Nothing Phone 3a Pro: verdict

Really, if you’re choosing between the Nothing Phone 3a and the Nothing Phone 3a Pro, then it comes down to the cameras. If you want longer distance telephoto capabilities and a slightly improved selfie camera experience, then the Nothing Phone 3a Pro could be worth considering. Otherwise, you’ll likely be just as happy with the standard Nothing Phone 3a – at least going by the specs.

There are other small differences – the 3a weighs less and comes in a different selection of colors. It also looks slightly different from the back. But these factors are unlikely to sway many people.

What might be more consequential for some people is the fact that the Nothing Phone 3a can be bought for a fair bit less than the 3a Pro, so you should really consider how much the 3a Pro’s higher-end snapper system matters to you.

And if you’re still unsure which to buy, be sure to give our full Nothing Phone 3a Pro review a read – and look out for our upcoming review of the Nothing Phone 3a.