So, with the launch of Nothing Phone 3a Lite Nothing has made their way to the “Offline only” phone category
But 3a Lite feels weird
Let’s talk in detail - 3a Lite review
1. What’s in the box -
- - Phone
- - Type C - C cable
- - Sim ejector
- - A clear case
- - Some paperwork
Now, the box may seem big as in typical Nothing fashion it doesn’t have a charger in the box.
2. Design & Build -
Whoever I’ve asked about the design of the 3a Lite has kinda appreciated this design in the end as it’s not that flashy & IDK why people think that we can open the phone from the back. LOL
I’m kinda okay with the design but I do feel it lacks depth which the other Nothing phones have in general
As for the build it’s a Glass and plastic build.
Matte plastic frame with a glass back and SUPER tactile buttons (Yea, they’re that tactile)
3. Display -
Here we have a 6.77 inch 120hz Amoled with a 1300HBM
I frankly have no complaints with the display, It’s fairly colour calibrated, has good brightness levels, symmetrical bezels, contrast ratios are also done well
It’s just the bezels on this. The size is chonky as per 2025 (26 soon) standards, So I hope in 2026 we don’t see this chonky bezels on any Nothing phones launched under the budget category.
4. Performance -
It has a Mediatek Dimensity 7300 Pro which is the same chip as their more budget offering under CMF named CMF Phone 2 Pro
It also has UFS 2.2 & LPDDR4x to support your daily functioning
But, With a prolonged usage of this phone I’ve felt that this needs some optimization updates as of now because it’s not that this is a laggy phone or something, but as I’ve used the CMF Phone 2 Pro myself I feel that the 3a Lite responds to commands a fraction bit late like it needs a breather or something every now & then
That said, After the latest update (November security patch) this issue has reduced a lot.
Now, it’s much better but I feel it would take 1 more update to get there fully.
5. Cameras -
Main 50mp, Samsung GN9 which is f/1.88
Wide angle is 8mp, GalaxyCore GC08A8 which is f/2.2
Macro which is 2mp (Let’s leave that)
Selfie is 16mp, Galaxycore GC16B3C which is f/2.4
As for videos, Main can do till 4k 30fps whereas the Ultra wide & Selfie can do till 1080p 30fps. The quality of videos is fine. Not something ground breaking but does the job done well.
As for the photos, Here are the samples for you to judge ~
6. Battery & Charging -
I expected this to also have great battery life but this time it feels that something is not right, while the 3a Lite continuously gave me 7hrs of SOT on an average CMF gave me near 9hrs with the same usage
But, If I’m not picking out & comparing, This still gives good battery life. The cell’s 5000 mAh.
As for charging it actually charges in a much efficient way as compared to my experience with the CMF Phone 2 Pro which had some slow charging issue that was later fixed by the brand
It takes around 1hr 15/20 mins to charge the phone from under 10% to 100%
Supports 33 watt charging.
7. Misc. -
~ Single speaker but the quality is very poor
~ Haptics are great
~ Software is Nothing OS 3.5 based on Android 15 which is not that great of a thing to do when the phone’s launching in the end of 2025
~ Connectivity has been great, No issues there
~ RAM management is fine
~ Single LED Glyph tho’ is very minimal but loses out on the Glyph lights essence with no Glyph timer, Music visualization etc. (Essential notifications are there)
~ Essential key works as intended and if you regularly use Essential space it does become your 2nd memory
All these things makes this phone a good fine deal for an offline centric phone but TBH I feel Nothing shouldn’t have removed the Telephoto lens
Added 2 Pre-install apps are fine to me as they aren’t those trash games or any weird gambling apps. Just Facebook & Instagram which I feel is fine
Lock Glimpse on the other hand brought a lot of hate but I genuinely feel Nothing should keep using this (Except flagships) cuz sustainability is very tough with the “Clean only experience” Tho’ the option to turn it off while setting up the phone is fairly appreciable.
So, That’s all for my experience thread/review of the Phone 3a Lite, A phone targeted for the offline audience (masses)
One last thought, I feel Nothing should continue this “Lite” series & do all sorts of their software experiments (Glance, pre-installs etc.) here as the normal average consumer simply doesn’t care. Just keep those things uninstallable/can be turned off.
Signing out with my last review of this year & I hope 2026 brings bigger possibilities for us all.
Happy new year everyone✨
_ Anshu. ❤
