Hi Nothing Community!
My name is Fran, and I was selected to take part in the Community Review Program for the release of Nothing’s new device: The Phone (3a) Lite. In this post I’ll comment on my first impressions after a few days of using the phone, what I did like and what I did not. Later on I will post a more detailed analysis of the device after some more days of use, focusing mainly on the camera capabilities
Before starting, I would like to say thanks to @Deepanshu_Saini_ for counting on me to be part of the program. I also want to say clearly that Nothing does not have any control whatsoever on my review, and they asked me to be completely transparent on my thoughts, as they want to get real feedback from everyday users.
For the impatient ones, here’s a summary of my first thoughts, what surprised me for good, and what was disappointing for me.
First thoughts after seeing the design:
- This looks like a restyled CMF Phone 2 Pro. Same camera layout, same size, just the Nothing style.
- Triple camera layout? Is this a macro camera? Why would they do that?
- I can’t see any Glyph… oh, wait, there’s a dot here. I guess that’s minimal.
- It’s kinda cool, I like the design.
What surprised me for good:
- The AMOLED screen is really good for a phone in this price range.
- The main camera works almost as good as in my 3a Pro, although it has no OIS. For this price range, it’s quite good.
- Including a MicroSD card storage expansion is a very nice feature.
- The haptics are surprisingly crisp.
What disappointed me:
The macro camera is almost useless at 2MP. They could’ve just let it out and focus on improving other specs (50MP Ultra Wide, or adding OIS).
The phone brings a couple pre-installed apps (facebook, Instagram, Lock Glimpse). They can be uninstalled, but it raises some questions about Nothing’s “No bloatware” principles.
Now I will give my point of view on several aspects of the phone, starting by the design:
Design
I liked the design since the first moment. It has the classic Nothing aesthetic, with a “fake” battery lid, visible screws, and a camera layout that is way more eye-pleasing than the one in Phone (3). The Gluph is just one dot in the corner of the phone, which I don’t find too disturbing. I do love the Glyph interface, but I find this configuration to be coherent with the “Lite” tag, as it is the minimal expression of what the Glyph could be, totally opposed to the Glyph Matrix.
Just like many others in this community, I would love this phone to be more compact (it has the same size as the 3a Pro). However, I understand that this phone is aimed at a mass market with average consumers, who probably prefer bigger phones. In any case, it would be cool to se a Nothing Mini in the future, but I doubt this will happen.
The phone looks very similar to the CMF Phone 2 Pro. I don’t think this is a coincidence, and it is probably related to saving manufacturing costs or something like that. Another member of the review program tried a case for the CMF 2 on this phone and it fit perfectly. I don’t see this as an issue but more of a curiosity.
Credit: @Antonio_Luis
The lock and essential buttons produce a very crisp “click” when pressed, and I find this very satisfying.
Hardware:
As I mentioned in my impressions, the screen is a strong asset for this phone. AMOLED, very fluid and sharp, all in a budget phone is a nice touch given the price range.
The battery is correct for this type of phone, with 5000mAh being a common number in most phones nowadays. It does not have the most powerful charge (33W) but it is enough for the average user.
I am very glad that Nothing decided to include a MicroSD card slot, since this is a feature that a lot of users request. This also allows the user to afford a phone with lower storage (cheaper) and still be able to use it without worrying about the available space.
The phone comes with a clear case, which is really good! We will see whether it yellows over time or not, but it’s a nice add-on.
Lastly, I must say that the construction of the phone feels pretty good for a budget phone that costs 250€. Also, the haptics surprised me a lot, which is a feature that I don’t usually like in budget phones.
Software:
The phone comes with Nothing OS 3.5, and I must say that I could barely see any differences with the current OS 3.2 that I have on my 3a Pro. Nevertheless, the OS works smooth and fluid like any other Nothing device, so no surprises here.
Another point to mention is how well the TrueLens Engine 4.0 that process the pictures. I am aware that some users don’t personally like how Nothing processes pictures, but I must say that they bring the pictures this phone takes to another level. When put side to side, sometimes it can be hard to tell which photo was taken with the 3a lite or the 3a pro.
However, I want to take a moment to reflect about the bloatware situation. As I said earlier, it was disappointing for me to see some pre-installed apps, since Nothing always took pride in not having any bloatware on their devices. And now, they released a statement explaining the reasons behind this, and that it will only affect “selected non-flagship devices”. I do understand the reasons for this, but as someone who feels somewhat connected to this brand, it is a disappointment, because it makes me question which other claims could be taken down.
Sure, the apps can be uninstalled, and most of us would install Instagram anyways, but to me it is more about a loss of identity to the brand.
In the end, Nothing is still a company, and companies must make revenue, so it only makes sense to release a phone with some questionable choices (bloatware, near-useless macro camera, big phone) just to boost their sales
Camera performance:
I could not try the cameras as much as I would like, so I will review them in detail in another post.
However, I am very pleased with the main camera capabilities. I tried it both in broad daylight, HDR conditions and at night, and the results were good, even better if we take into account the price range.
Here are some shots taken with the main camera:
The ultrawide sensor, at 8MP is just falling behind, and it can get a decent shot in good daylight, but in darker conditions, the quality drops off abruptly. Also, the low resolution make it lack sharpness in the pictures.
A picture of the same tree wih the ultra wide sensor.
The macro camera, at 2MP still has me wondering why it is even there. Alright, it might be fun to try to use it (it is not easy to get a decent shot), but I don’t see any need for a 250€ phone to have a dedicated macro camera, especially when this phone is aimed at a non-enthusiast crowd. Wouldn’t it make more sense to leave the macro camera out and put that money into, let’s say, having OIS in the main sensor? Or a better UW sensor?
Here’s a comparison between a macro shot with the dedicated camera and with a crop out of the main camera:
Macro shot
Cropped shot
I remember seeing statements from members of Nothing saying that phones with a macro-dedicated camera did not make any sense, so I am wondering: what changed here? I am guessing that they used the same PCB as in the CMF Phone 2 and they had to put any camera there. Otherwise, I cannot really find an explanation. Seriously, if any member of the Nothing team is reading this, I would be grateful to have an honest explanation about this so this does not keep me awake at night 😂.
I could find a couple statements in X (formerly Twitter) from Akis and Carl:
About the video capabilities of the phone, they are just fine for the price range. 4k 30fps video is enough, and it is good to have 1080p 60fps as well. The electrical image stabilization (EIS) makes the videos a bit blurry in certain conditions, but I guess it’s normal given the price range and the lack of an optical image stabilization (OIS).
The selfie camera also gave me a correct impression, with decent pictures for the price range. However, selfie video is only capable of 1080p 60fps, no 4k whatsoever.
Conclusion:
I want to close this post discussing the price. 250€ for this phone looks like a solid deal to me. And I am quite sure that soon there will be some kind of sale (black friday is coming) which will probably bring it down to the 200€ range. Some people wonder how can this coexist with the CMF Phone 2, and to me the answer is clear: It does not matter. Consumers can choose which product they prefer and just go with it. Whether this is better or worse for Nothing’s business should not matter to us, but to their board.
Would I recommend this phone? I would certainly recommend it to anyone looking for something in this price range. The most relatable situation that comes to my mind is if one of my parents would want a new phone, I would probably recommend them this phone, because it is affordable, reliable and it has a very polished and smooth software. On top of that, 3 years of major Android updates, and 6 years of security patches makes this a good phone for someone who does not require the latest technology on their daily use.
I would not, however, recommend this phone to any tech enthusiast who is looking for the better specs. Not because the phone is bad, but because it is simply not aimed at that type of consumer.
Thank you all for reading until here, and I will be happy to read your comments and reply to any questions you might have.
PD: Seriously, if you work for Nothing, please send me a DM explaining the reason why this phone has a macro camera, I am very curious to understand the reasons.
