Nothing Phone 4a Review

Hello everyone, once again! 👋

I’m back with another Nothing Phone review — and this time it’s the brand new Nothing Phone 4a.

Over the past 28 days, I’ve used this device as my daily driver, and in this review, I’ll be covering everything I experienced — the pros, cons, missed opportunities, and what makes it unique.

So, let’s dive right in 👇

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Unboxing & Initial Impressions 📦

You really can’t go wrong with a Nothing unboxing — it’s always clean, minimal, and unique.

Indian users might not fully experience it (thanks to Flipkart packaging 😅), but if possible, do try to unbox it fresh — it’s part of the experience.

Inside the box:
• Phone
• Type-C to Type-C cable
• SIM ejector tool
• TPU case
• Paperwork

❌ No charger (same as previous gens)

The moment you see the phone, the design instantly stands out.
If you like showing off design, skip the black — White, Pink, and Blue look much better (Pink especially 👀).

Initial usage felt super smooth and snappy, with very rare stutters.
In-hand feel is premium — something Nothing consistently does well.

Rating: 8.5/10
(-2 for no charger, which is still a big factor for many)

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New Glyph Interface: Glyph Bar ✨

The new Glyph Bar is a fresh take on Nothing’s identity.

It’s unique and functional, but currently misses a couple of useful features:
• ❌ Charging indicator
• ❌ Music visualization (coming via update)

The charging glyph is something I personally missed — it was genuinely useful.

Rating: 8.5/10

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Design & Build 🎨

Design-wise, Nothing has done a great job.
If you don’t have to explain the design to people, it means it’s already resonating well — and that’s the case here.

Build quality is solid:
• Frame, front, and back feel premium
• Great in-hand feel

Only issue:
• ⚠️ Buttons feel slightly wobbly, which affects the premium feel a bit

Design: 9/10
Build: 8/10

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Gaming Performance 🎮

Specs: Snapdragon 7s Gen 4, 4600mm² vapor cooling chamber

Tested on: Genshin Impact, BGMI, COD Mobile, Clash of Clans

Genshin Impact:
• Smooth at 30 FPS
• 60 FPS has noticeable stutters
• Still playable, but could be better optimized

BGMI:
• Settings: Smooth/Super Smooth → Ultra Extreme, HDR → Extreme
• Performance: Avg: 118–120 FPS, Drops to ~70 FPS during heavy fights
• Battery drop: 12–18% Thermals: Slightly warm but manageable

COD Mobile:
• Settings: High → 60 FPS, Low → ~90 FPS
• Performance: ~90 FPS stable on low
• Battery drop: 7–8% Thermals: Minimal heat Smooth and consistent experience

Clash of Clans:
• Settings: Default Performance: Stable 60 FPS
• Battery drop: ~8% Thermals: Minimal No issues here — smooth and efficient.

Refer to this thread to check other 3 games:
There’s still room for optimization, especially for high-load scenarios.

Rating: 7.5/10

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Battery Performance 🔋

Specs:
• 5400mAh (India: ~5300mAh)
• 50W wired charging

For light to moderate usage:
• 7–8 hours SOT easily achievable

With camera + gaming:
• Drops to ~5–5.5 hours, which is decent but could be better optimized

Charging is quick and reliable.

Rating: 8.5/10

—

Thermals 🌡️

Specs: 4600mm² vapor cooling chamber

Thermals are honestly very impressive.

Even during:
• Gaming
• Benchmarking
• Camera usage

The phone never got uncomfortably hot.

Outdoor usage under direct sunlight will warm it up — but that’s expected.

Rating: 9/10

—

Camera Performance 📸

Main: Wide Angle Lens - Samsung GN9, 50MP, Sensor Size - 1/1.57″, Field of View - 84.5 Degrees, OIS+EIS, 1x optical zoom, 24mm focal length, Video - 4k@30fps & 1080p@30/60fps

Ultra Wide: Ultra wise angle lens - Sony IMX355, 8MP, Sendor Size - ¼″, Field of View - 120 Degree, EIS, 0.6x optical zoom, 15mm focal length, Video - 1080p@30fps

Telephoto: Periscope Lens - Samsung JN5, 50MP, Sensor Size - ½.75″, 80mm focal length, 3.5x optical zoom, OIS+EIS, 7x in sensor zoom & 70x ultra zoom, 4k@30fps & 1080p@30/60fps

Front: Wide angle lens - Samsung KD1, 32MP, Sensor Size - ⅓.42″, 22mm focal length, 1x optical zoom, field of view - 89 degree, EIS, 1080p@30/60fps

Now coming to real-world usage:

• 0.6x, 1x, 2x → Good colors, but softness appears when zoomed in

0.6x:

1x:

2x:

• 3.5x & 7x → Very impressive detail and clarity

3.5x:

7x:

Portrait Shots:

📸 Selfie Camera:
Photos and videos from the front camera are very good.
Portrait selfies are quite accurate, and edge detection works well.
Low light does reduce the quality a bit, but nothing major.
Overall, the front camera performs well 👍

🎥 Videos:
• Good across most lenses
• Ultrawide needs improvement
• Stabilization is decent

Feedback has already been shared with Nothing for improvements.

Rating: 6/10 (for now)

—

Raw Power Performance ⚡

Specs: Snapdragon 7s Gen 4

On paper and benchmarks, the performance is strong and reliable.

Refer to this thread for the performance numbers:

For daily tasks and moderate-heavy usage, it performs well.

Rating: 8.5/10

—

Software & UI 🧠

Specs: Nothing OS 4.1 (Android 15)
• 3 years OS updates
• 6 years security

Software remains a strong point for Nothing.

• Clean UI
• No lockscreen ads (good move 👍)
• Smooth overall experience

Minor stutters seen when:
• Device heats up
• Heavy apps downloading

Haptics have improved a lot, but could be used more (like continuous feedback in volume slider).

Rating: 9/10

—

AI & Essential Space 🤖

This feature has improved, but usage is still limited.

• Great for quick note-taking
• Useful for capturing random thoughts instantly

Playground & widgets:
• Very cool community integration
• Lots of customization

AI features (gallery tools):
• Useful but inconsistent
• Needs better accuracy

Rating: 7/10

—

Network & Connectivity 📶

Specs: NFC, WiFi 6, 5G, Bluetooth 5.4

No major issues:
• Stable connectivity
• Good Bluetooth performance

Observed a few call drops, but unclear if it’s network or device-related.

Rating: 9/10

—

Display & Multimedia 🎬

Specs: 6.78″ AMOLED LTPS, 120Hz

• Display is sharp and vibrant
• Good color reproduction
• Speakers are loud and clear

Only drawback:
• ❌ No HDR support on Netflix

Here is a thread to check out the multimedia performance:

Rating: 9/10

—

RAM Management 🧩

Specs: 8/12GB LPDDR4X, UFS 3.1

• Normal apps → handled well
• Heavy apps/games → reload after ~20 mins

Decent, but could be slightly better.

Rating: 8/10

—

Final Thoughts 💭

After 28 days, the Phone 4a delivers a balanced and reliable experience — with a few areas needing improvement.

✅ Recommended for:

• Clean UI lovers
• Unique design enthusiasts
• Decent camera users
• Light to moderate gamers
• Balanced usage

❌ Not ideal for:

• Performance-heavy users
• Pro gamers
• Camera perfectionists

Personally, I’d pick Phone 4a over 3a any day.
The design, software, and new Glyph implementation make it a more complete package.

—

Final Rating: 8/10 ⭐

Still needs improvement in:
• Camera optimization
• Gaming stability
• AI feature maturity

But overall, a solid and well-rounded device.

As the review period comes to an end, I’ll continue using the Phone 4a for the next few days until the reverse pickup happens.

If you have any queries about the device, feel free to drop them — happy to help 😊

And as always, a big thanks to the community team for giving me this opportunity once again to review the product 🙌

Until next time. Cheers 🍻