I've had the luxury of getting hands on with Phone (3a) Lite for the past month, as part of the Community Review Program thanks to @Deepanshu_Saini_ - here are my thoughts!
The unboxing
Quite a standard, satisfying experience for Nothing products now - tear off the strip, pull the flap and the box opens. No more destroying the whole box like previously when you had to rip it in half. Inside, I was surprised and happy to find an included case! This is something that Nothing had done for the first time with the Phone (3), so I expected this to only continue with the flagship range. The fact we're seeing it in the box with the most budget phone they've produced gives me high hopes that they'll continue this trend in future.
There was an unbranded USB C cable and Nothing's transparent SIM ejector tool too. There's also a pre-applied film screen protector as with all Nothing phones. Personally I leave these applied for as long as possible, before purchasing and applying a new one.
Now for the phone itself. I'm not a power user, nor a big mobile gamer, so let's start with the part I care most about in a new phone.
The cameras
Main camera: Considering the budget price of the Phone (3a) Lite, I found that the the 50 MP main camera sensor is capable of taking some really nice shots! I was able to put the camera through its paces with a mixture of easy, bright light shots and some low light shots. Most of the shots came out very well. On the rare occasion, I found that low light colours were a little too saturated - something that I imagine can be worked on with software updates.
With Phone (3a) Lite running Nothing OS, you of course get access to the same camera app as with all Nothing phones, which includes included presets and others you can create or download from playground.nothing.tech.
Wide angle: It's a similar story for the ultra wide lens, despite it only being 8 MP. I gave it the same treatment with some difficult scenarios and it performed well. I do find that in some shots, the edges are a little soft. This is more likely caused by the lens itself, so perhaps can't be fixed over time.
Macro lens: This is the only lens I struggle to justify. I've tried taking some macro photos in a variety of scenarios, and they just never came out well for me. Perhaps it's a skill issue, but I've taken good macros on both Phone (3a) Pro and Phone (3) in the past, so I expected to easily get good photos with the macro lens here too. Since it's only 2 MP, could money have been saved if this lens was simply omitted from the product? We'll never know.
The hardware
I'm not going to pretend to be the guy who knows all about phone specs, which chips are best and antutu scores. Instead, I'm going to say that Phone (3a) Lite performs great for a phone that costs £249. There was areas of slight lag when the phone was first released, but this has been resolved with a software update. For day to day tasks, switching apps, browsing the web and watching videos, I found the phone coped fine!
The design is definitely more toned down than previous devices. I'm also using the black version - something I'm not very used to, since all of my own Nothing devices are white. I do like the stealthy look of the darker elements though. One thing to note is that the red square on this phone is just that - a red square; a design element. There is no recording indicator on the 3a Lite. Nothing always do a great job of making their budget products feel high quality in your hand, and 3a Lite is no exception. The plastic frame has a soft, smooth feel to it, and the glass back feels like it doesn't belong on a device in this price range!
The Glyph Light
Despite not being a big Glyph Interface user on previous Nothing phones, I can see how a light like this could appeal to those that want the Glyph notification experience without a full light display on the back of their phone. I've heard some Phone (3) users complain that the Glyph Matrix doesn't catch your attention from across a room like the Glyph Interface does, and this Glyph Light, despite it being small, is certainly capable of that! I hope Nothing can try to combine both a Glyph Interface/Light and the Matrix (which I'm more a fan of, personally) in future devices.
The software
Phone (3a) Lite runs Nothing OS, which for me, is one of the biggest reasons to get a Nothing phone. I spent many hours as a OneUI user, trying to get all of my apps and widgets to look uniform and aesthetic. Nothing OS allows you to do this effortlessly. There's a great range of first party widgets, more widget and apps on the Play Store from our talented community members, and with the introduction of the Playground, more users will soon be able to make Nothing OS aesthetic widgets too.
One of the other selling points for Nothing OS has always been its lack of bloatware, something I unfortunately can't say continues with Phone (3a) Lite. When setting up the phone, you'll find region-dependent preinstalled apps (for me it was Facebook and Instagram), though these can be uninstalled, and soon the services will be able to be uninstalled too.
We also saw the introduction of Lock Glimpse - a feature I can't say I was too bothered by being installed on this phone specifically, with this being a budget range device. This can also be disabled if desired, and they plan on allowing you to rotate through your own photos or wallpapers on your lock screen soon too. I do hope that this isn't the start of a slippery slope for Nothing into the wider world of bloat.
Final verdict
The Phone (3a) Lite is a solid phone, but it joins an already existing solid line-up, so may be a little confusing to some potential purchasers. Overall, if you're eyeing up the CMF Phone 2 Pro but want the more iconic Nothing design and a more premium feel, definitely consider the 3a Lite - especially as the specs are near identical! Phone (3a) Lite is coming to India on 27 Nov.
However, if you've got the budget to spend just a little more, or you can find a deal (especially around Black Friday!) then look at the Phone (3a). And if you'd like a budget Nothing phone with a bit more "oomph" in the camera department, especially with telephoto and macros, I'd go towards the Phone (3a) Pro.
