Hey Nothing fam,

First off, huge props to the team for dropping the Phone (3a) today—March 4, 2025! That telephoto lens, brighter screen, and Action Button? Chef’s kiss. The design keeps that Nothing soul we all vibe with. But can we talk about the hardware for a sec? I feel like we’re stuck in a bit of a time warp with some of these specs, especially when the Phone (2a) already had us wondering the same thing last year.

Let’s break it down:

  • LPDDR4X RAM & UFS 2.2 Storage: The 3a’s still rolling with these in 2025. Don’t get me wrong, they get the job done for most of us—smooth multitasking, decent app loading—but competitors like Poco and Redmi are shipping UFS 3.1 or even 4.0 at this $349 price point. File transfers, game loads, and future-proofing take a hit here. Phone (2a) had the same setup, and I was hoping for a glow-up this time.

  • Snapdragon 7s Gen 3: Okay, it’s an upgrade from the 2a’s Dimensity 7200 Pro—better efficiency, solid gaming with the Adreno 710. But it’s still a mid-tier chip when 2025’s mid-range scene is flirting with Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 or Dimensity 8300 levels. Feels like we’re a step behind the pace setters.

  • 8MP Ultrawide: Love the new telephoto (seriously, 2x zoom at this price is wild), but dropping from the 2a’s 50MP ultrawide to 8MP? That’s a downgrade I can’t unsee. Wide-angle shots are gonna lose detail, especially in low light.

I get it—Nothing’s keeping costs down, and the software magic (Android 15 with Nothing OS 3.0 looks crisp) picks up some slack. But in 2025, when even budget kings are pushing faster storage and RAM, it’s hard not to feel like the 3a’s hardware is stuck in 2022 while the design screams 2025.

What do you all think? Am I nitpicking, or should Nothing bump up the internals to match the innovation elsewhere? Would’ve loved to see UFS 3.1 or LPDDR5 sneak in here—imagine the snappiness! Let’s hear your takes—Carl, if you’re lurking, drop some wisdom!

Cheers,

vaibs

    Related discussions

    I agree with the comments here and I think the goal is to make it have the appearance of a flagship while being low-cost. However, the UFS 2.2 is a bummer to be on the 3(a) pro. I can understand using it for the 3(a) but the pro should have something better for sure.

    For some people, mobile phone specs aren’t that important as long as the phone gets the job done. These days, there’s nothing that sets phones apart; every company markets high-end parts, and they all have the same design and gimmicky advertising. I switched from a Pixel to a Nothing because Nothing 2a’s unique design caught my eyes, and I don’t regret that choice so far. From my experience I found that the Pixel isn’t the best choice for mobile gaming either. Most people don’t care about the specifications unless the operating system runs smoothly. Most people tend to prefer iPhones, Pixel, or Nothing phones for their optimization and design. And majority of them game on PCs and consoles.

      I’m confused as to why eSIM capability has been disabled in the 3a given that the 3a and 3a Pro share the same internals (camera notwithstanding).

      vovan-v But the thing is attracting user is a good thing but retaining is other.

      I might buy for looks but I won’t recommend anyone to buy just for looks. As many people use their phone as daily driver, making calls, using office apps etc.,a slowness or laggyness would degrade the overall feel of it.

      I agree software optimisation can be done but at a certain point, you can’t just rely on one and ignore the other.

      If that is the case then why not use old samsung galaxy phone with clean android custom UI.😂

        SamarthNP1 Well that might be your personal experience, I’ve not had similar issue with my device so far, you can’t get everything at that price range, if you want higher spec pay more and get another device it’s that simple.

          SamarthNP1 I’ve had a NP1, NP2, tested the CMFP1, and even had a 2a+ for a time. All of them were highly optimized and the experience of actually using them was great. 🤷‍♂️

              sh0ck First I bought my NP 2 due to the design aspect as I had moved from MI series phones after using them for more than 7 years. Although, I knew that I shall be compromising with an old chipset but I was so happy with my long usage. Battery consumption is low, software is very much optimised with that chipset. No hang till date other than few lags while intense gaming after 2 years of usage. Overall NOTHING knows how to serve their customers well unlike Xiaomi.

                  krishanugoswami great to hear that, I’m just trying to start a healthy conversation trying to look for a reason that justify this, maybe some hardware compatibility or cust cutting whatever it is.

                  Also I believe it won’t be issue for now, but in long term after 2 -3 years down the line as apps and features gets more resource heavy.

                  Ofcourse we can switch to a new phone. But I would keep the device if it’s still delivers the work.

                      I was thinking of buy 3a Pro, but looking at all the comments, it doesn’t seem like a good choice

                        Remember, especially with a manufacturer for a product like a phone, the development cost for components in a handset can be massive, especially when the costs of testing for approvals worldwide mount up as sometimes a manufacturer can’t lean on ’well the UK have approved it, surely that’s ok for South America?'. If Nothing take on the development costs for a new chipset or a new camera or whatever then we’re not getting £3xx handsets at the store, we’re getting the same handset except for £5xx or £6xx or whatever. Budget devices have to contain compromises and, as already mentioned in posts in this thread, it’s how they’re integrated and then supported by the OS and software development that can make (or kill*) the experience. We get what we pay for as consumers, but right now what i’ve paid for (the Blue 3a) is pretty damn good.

                        *I’m looking at you OneUI lol, the experience killer.

                        I got my 3a yesterday. But not sure if we can call 3a’s hardware is in 2022. 3a feels a lot smoother and faster in every single task compare to how it feels with 2a. Maybe we expect something out of 3 with more top tier premium specs. 3a managed to show that everything doesn’t have to be extreme or ultra for everything. The phone has enough power for the tasks and it works better than I expected.

                        This is a solid phone.