Nothing Phone 3a lite- Expectations met, or a let down?

JochieSantiago

So, today , we all saw the release of the Nothing Phone 3a Lite, and I, for one, feel like it is just a CMF phone with the NP3 influence. With only a single speaker, a Mediatek 7300 pro chip (CMF) and a single light dot on the back (so, glyph dot?) and a 5000mah battery with 33w charging.

It’s sad to see, considering the software could have made it better. But we all know bloatware is coming to it. And again, NOTHING on the OS 4 beta update.

Honestly, it feels like Nothing is trying to get some profit with this phone, disregarding the CMF line.

Let me know what you guys think. Are you planning on getting the NP3 a Lite- or do you see it fall behind the CMF phone 2?

andrejsava

JochieSantiago I’m honestly disappointed. We didn’t need another budgeter budget phone than the 3a. They already have multiple devices that cover that part of the market. We didn’t need another one. They could’ve done something unique like a mini phone. Hell, nothing at all would’ve been better than this. They’re just spamming pointless devices.

Hugo

CMF isn’t a company under nothing anymore

JochieSantiago

Hugo the point is that there is the CMF phone, even if it’s not part of Nothing, comparing both devices, they are basically the same. The only difference is the design.

themountofmint

Hugo so what? You think then it’s necessary to make almost a full copy under the Nothing brand? Why not just leave two different (from now) brands in different price ranges? CMF is for budget and “play” purposes and Nothing is for a little bit of premium and avant-garde thought. As for me🤷🏼‍♀️

Anonymous963

Hugo it’s literally called CMF by Nothing… and the phones are sold on the Nothing site… plus I don’t see CMF OS on it

Coldpaw

Hugo From where do you have this information? The company literally is “CMF by Nothing”, the old cmf.tech website now leads to nothing.tech and their whole portfolio is fully integrated into Nothing’s line up.

Anonymous963

It’s a repackaged CMF Pro 2 with the 50mp 2x telephoto lens removed… so ultimately a bit of a let down value wise

Hugo

JochieSantiago and a glyph light

JochieSantiago

Hugo you mean the glyph dot?

Hugo

JochieSantiago I said glyph light, not glyph lights..

Tbh, I think nothing should try glyph bars instead, something similar to what the did with glyph progress on the 3a pro

CMF1_hacker

I’m pro-3a(lite).

The CMF does feel inexpensive in the hands and this will be sorted here.

It must be the same PCB at the CMF2P, so it’s going to have a mono speaker and SD support.

the price point is bang on and will be sub-£200 by year end.

wish this was out when I bought my CMF1.

I’m OK with NTL profiting on the already designed PCBs in a better looking package. They need some profit.

JochieSantiago

CMF1_hacker @Hugo guess we’ll have to wait and see how it performs and if they improve the OS 4 beta for it.

I know they have to make a profit, and I do hope the NP3a Lite- sells well. But for me, I need the official OS 4 release if I wanna stay in the Nothing market.

Mewny

Hugo yeah!! What I thought also instead of this glyph “dot”. It looks cooler because this just simply looks like a torch light 🥲

CMF1_hacker

JochieSantiago You’ve already bought the hardware, so you’re somewhat irrelevant, as are all of us. They can’t really make more profit off of us, except to keep us in the ecosystem with accessories.

javcekPL

Cmf is a much better choice. I have no idea why 3a lite was created. It’s completely unnecessary.

RamakrishnaArumugam

Lite version is for those who want a Nothing style design at CMF cost!

Anonymous963

RamakrishnaArumugam

But this is more expensive than CMF 2 Pro with worse specs (50mp 2x camera swapped for 2mp ewaste macro)

Hugo

Coldpaw https://techent.tv/2025/10/01/nothing-spins-off-cmf-as-a-separate-subsidiary/