This is the Nothing Phone (3a). There’s a new color, new cameras, and even a new button, but is this better than the Nothing Phone (2a), or is this a mid-year meh update? Well, let’s find out.

Unboxing

So I’ve done an unboxing on my IG reel, but if you missed it, in the box, other than the phone itself, there’s a USB-C to USB-C cable. And no, it’s not the combination of the braided and the transparent head ones that Nothing gives for the Nothing Phone (2) or the previous Nothing Phone (2a). 

Then there’s a Quick Start guide and the usual transparent SIM ejector pin.

Design & Build

The design has been slightly tweaked, especially for the bottom configuration of the phone. Instead of plastic back, it is now made of glass, and because of that, it represents the visual of the components better at the back. Fancy upgrade, right? But don’t get too excited because there’s still no wireless charging because of cost reduction reasons.

This new Blue color immediately reminded me of the Navy variant of the S25. It is a very nice and a refreshing color, looks amazing, but fingerprints and smudges are probably your best friends over here. But it’s not as bad as the black color variant.

Speaking of colors, it is also available in Black, as mentioned earlier, the usual White, but no Milk variant over here, which, to be honest, based on the Nothing Phone (2a) that I have, it does look white anyway.

It has an aluminum build with an upgraded IP64 instead of IP54 rating last year, and the Glyph interface is now larger too.

And just like last year, the color of the button is a matte black finish.

But speaking of buttons, there’s a new button on the right, which is in a glossier finish. But another surprising fact is that this is not called a camera button, and neither it could be used for camera control. So yeah, let me explain. 

So this button over here is what Nothing calls the Essential Key, where double-clicking it enters the Essential Space (more on that later).

Then pressing and holding it captures the screen, but if you keep holding it, it records audio, which is perfect for voice notes or just listening to what your wife has said because you don’t want to forget what she says.

Now, one thing to note is that you will be hearing the word “Essential” a lot, not sure it’s because Nothing has acquired the Essential brand products, but yes.

So when Nothing launched the (2a) last year, they claimed that this is a cute little eye or two eyes. Not sure if that is marketing jargon, because now at the back, there’s three now. So I don’t know whether it looks like a cute character now, right?

But thankfully, with this three-camera arrangement, the phone doesn’t wobble at all if you’re like me, who loves to type the phone on the surface.

Camera

As for the camera specs, there is a 50MP main camera. But what made me go “eh” was the fact that while there is an additional camera, the ultrawide camera has been downgraded to a measly 8MP from a 50MP camera.

But of course, now the new camera is a 50MP telephoto camera that can zoom up to 2x optically, but there’s also a 30x zoom digitally as well.

And the front camera is a 32MP camera, same as last year.

As for video recording, you can record up to 4K 30 FPS. The front camera records up to 1080p 30 FPS too. So yes, still no 4K video recording for the front camera, and since the ultrawide camera is at 8MP, when you use it for video recording, it goes down to a maximum recording of only 1080p.

Display

The (2a)’s display last year was about 6.7”, but now it is at 6.77” instead. So it is a very slight difference over here, but it also uses the same flexible OLED display as it is symmetrical as last year.

However, the peak brightness though, has been increased to a whopping 3,000 nits, and the refresh rate is the same as last year, up to 120Hz.

The older (2a) was using Corning’s Gorilla Glass 5 protection, but this year they’re using the Panda Glass protection.

While it’s technically not an upgrade because Corning Gorilla Glass 5 is better in terms of durability, but the Panda Glass is better for scratch resistance instead. So if you did not know, now you know, my friends.

Processor

So the chipset which was used last year was the MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro, the 4nm process chip, which was a special version that Nothing and MediaTek have worked together with. 

But this year, they went back working with Cristiano. Not THAT Cristiano—the Qualcomm Cristiano. So now they’re using the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, which is also a 4nm process chip.

Software

As for the software, as of the timing of this review, it is at Nothing OS 3.1, based on Android 15, with up to 3 years of Android updates and 6 years of security upgrades.

So probably not the best in terms of software updates compared to other phones at this point in time. But what I’ve always loved about the Nothing OS is that it is very clean and minimal, with no bloatware as well for the software. 

With this new Nothing OS 3.0, there’s a revamped typography, similar to the Essential brand before. There’s also some AI-enhanced performance too, which I’ll go in depth separately, because if you are a smartphone brand in the year 2025, you must include AI, of course, right?

Then there’s a personalized lock screen with a clock face and widgets, rearranging the Quick Settings easily, or even sharing your favorite widget with a fellow Nothing Phone user, a feature that was introduced in December last year, and apparently, it’s a very huge fan favorite.

Then there’s also a new Gallery app too, so it doesn’t default to using the Google Photos app. So thank you, Nothing, for listening to our feedback.

But what’s new is also the Essential Space, which acts as a second memory that will help to organize tasks and capture important content. You can easily access this by double-clicking the Essential Key.

So for example, if you see something on Instagram, or probably a picture of, say, Carl Pei, just press and hold the Essential Key, which will take a screenshot. Then you can record a voice to say, “Remind me to be like him when I grow up.” 

And then double-click the Essential Key to go to the Essential Space, and here’s where not only you’ll see the screenshot of his picture, but also a voice note that you left behind, even with a transcription of what you say too. So you don’t have to listen to what you have said.

And yes, Mr. Carl Pei, you and your team are geniuses as well.

Then this Essential Space is also for things like the day’s insights, upcoming events, and collections, almost similar to Samsung’s Now Brief, which I feel that Nothing has done a way better job.

Then, of course, the Glyph Interface is here to stay, with the usual call recognition, essential notification, Glyph timer, and more.

Then the RAM Booster feature is also here too, where you can boost up to 8GB of RAM by using some of the storage space to “convert” it to RAM.

Battery & Charging

As for the battery size, it is a 5,000mAh battery, similar to last year, but with an upgraded 50W of fast wired charging instead of 45W.

But of course, stay tuned for my in-depth review to find out how much battery life that you’ll get on this phone when I use it daily.

Pricing

As for the price, this Nothing Phone (3a) is priced at RM1,699 (~USD380), and the Pro variant of this is priced at RM1,999 (~USD448).

And yes, I’ll be getting my hands on the Pro version of this phone too, so stay tuned for that!