Hey all,
I recently received the Nothing Phone (4a) in White colour, and my first impression about the design is very positive. The white variant looks very clean and unique, especially with Nothing’s transparent style on the back. It gives a different feel compared to most smartphones in this price segment.
𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏 & 𝑩𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅
Design of the Phone (4a) feels fresh and well refined.Back panel looks simple but attractive, and the white colour makes the details stand out nicely.
One noticeable change this time is the new Glyph Bar, which replaces the previous Glyph lighting pattern. It looks cleaner and more organised while still keeping the signature Nothing identify
Phone feels solid in hand and the build quality is good. However, the device is slightly bigger in size, so using it with one hand may not be very comfortable for everyone.
Battery & Charging
One big improvement this year is the 5400mAh battery, which is larger than before.
The phone supports 50W wired fast charging, but like previous Nothing phones, the charging adapter is not included in the box.
Battery backup testing is still going on, but the bigger battery should help with longer usage.
Camera
Nothing Phone (4a) comes with a triple rear camera setup, and on paper the camera hardware looks quite impressive for this segment.
The main camera is a 50MP sensor with OIS and a large 1/1.57″ sensor, which should help in capturing better details and improved low-light photos. In my early testing, the main camera captures sharp images with good colours and decent dynamic range in daylight.
There is also a 50MP telephoto camera with OIS, which offers up to 3.5x optical zoom. This lens helps in taking better zoom shots and portrait photos without losing too much detail.
The third camera is a 120° ultra-wide camera with a Sony sensor, which is useful for capturing landscapes, buildings and group photos with a wider field of view.
For selfies, the phone features a 32MP front camera, which should be good for selfies and video calls.
On the video side, the phone supports up to 4K recording at 30fps. Stabilisation seems decent so far, but I will test video performance more in the full review.
Nothing has also introduced a new camera watermark style this time, which looks different compared to previous Nothing phones.
I’m still testing the camera in different lighting conditions, so I’ll share camera samples and a detailed camera review soon.
Performance
Nothing Phone (4a) is powered by the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4, which is built on TSMC’s 4nm process and features an octa-core CPU with clock speeds up to 2.7GHz. It also comes with the 6th generation Qualcomm AI Engine, which helps in AI tasks, camera processing and overall system optimisation.
The phone uses UFS 3.1 storage, which offers faster read and write speeds, so apps open quickly and file transfers feel faster. It also supports up to 12GB RAM, which helps with smooth multitasking.
In my early usage, the phone feels smooth in day-to-day tasks like scrolling through social media, browsing, watching videos and using the camera. App switching is quick and the overall UI experience feels responsive.
The chipset is also designed to handle gaming and heavy apps quite well, but I will test gaming performance and thermal behaviour more in the full review.
So far, the performance feels reliable for everyday use, but I will share detailed benchmarks, gaming tests and long-term performance results later.
Display
The Nothing Phone (4a) features a 6.7-inch flexible AMOLED display with 1.5K resolution (around 440ppi) and an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate. The higher resolution makes text, photos and videos look very sharp and clear.
The display also supports HDR10+ and 1.07 billion colours, which helps in producing vibrant colours and better contrast while watching videos or viewing photos.
For brightness, the panel can reach up to 4500 nits peak brightness, which improves visibility in bright sunlight. So far in my usage, the screen looks bright enough for outdoor use.
Nothing has also added 2160Hz PWM dimming, which helps reduce flickering and can be more comfortable for the eyes during long usage, especially at low brightness.
Overall, the display experience feels smooth and fluid thanks to the 120Hz refresh rate, and the panel looks sharp and vibrant for everyday use like scrolling, watching content and gaming.
My Early Thoughts
Overall, the Nothing Phone (4a) feels like a balanced upgrade. The new Glyph Bar, bigger 5400mAh battery, improved display, and clean white design make it quite interesting in this segment.
I’m still testing the device, so a full review with camera samples, gaming test and battery stats will come soon.
