Nothing Phone 4a First Impressions

At the London global event, Nothing showcased the Phone 4a series, which will likely get good mileage from the company, considering they don't plan to launch a premium device. While the Phone 4a Pro looks nothing like what we have seen from the house of the London-based brand so far. Gadgets 360 got access to the Phone 4a a week before the launch, and here's what I feel about the all-new mid-range smartphone from Nothing.

Nothing Phone 4a: The Familiar One

The Phone 4a follows the design language for which Nothing has been known for since its inception. Starting with looks, it features the signature transparent design and comes in Pink, White, Black, and Blue. Of course, the Blue and Pink look outstanding, and I would pick either of these any day over Black and White. The camera deco at the back of the Phone 4a is an evolution of the Phone 3a we saw last year. The pill-shaped aluminium element at the back houses the triple cameras, which look decent, while the clear glass body shows attention to detail. The Phone 4a gains the Glyph Bar at the back, a new addition taken directly from the company's last year's flagship Phone 3. It's a bar of LEDs at the back, meant for Nothing devices to reduce screen distractions and to track notifications.

It packs a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with a 1224x2720-pixel resolution and a 440 PPI pixel density. The display supports a peak brightness of 4500nits, and the time I spent with the Phone 4a feels like one of the better screens I have used compared to its predecessor. It is a great display for your daily multimedia consumption.

On the protection front, the Phone 4a gets IP64 for dust and water resistance, while the front features Gorilla Glass 7i. The cameras have also got upgrades. The main 50-megapixel camera now has an f1.57 aperture and uses a Samsung GN9 sensor. It also gets OIS (optical image stabilisation). Nothing touts that the biggest update is in the periscope lens system, which now has a tetraprism setup, uses a Samsung JN5 sensor (same as the Phone 3), and also supports OIS. Then, there's an 8-megapixel Sony ultrawide sensor. At the front, there's a 32-megapixel sensor with a 89-degree field of view.

The Phone 4a also gets an in-display optical fingerprint sensor that works smoothly. Under the hood, the phone is powered by a 4nm-based Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4, and in the limited time I spent with the Phone 4a, it handles daily multitasking with ease alongside some light gaming. Stay tuned for our review of the Phone 4a, where we will deep-dive into the performance and camera features.

The smartphone runs Nothing OS 4.1, based on Android 16, and offers new features such as a refreshed lock screen, redesigned icons, and a deeper dark mode. There's also an AI Dashboard that gives you an overview of optimisations on the device. There are some upgrades as well, including a more customisable lock screen, Live Notifications across the screen, and a Glyph Interface. The company has promised 3 years of Android updates and 6 years of security patches. Of course, there's also Nothing Essential AI tools like Essential Search and Playground, a tool where anyone can create Essential apps for their home screens. With the Phone 4a, the company has introduced Essential Space support for the cloud. We will talk in detail about the software in our review.

Under the hood, the Phone 4a packs a 5400mAh battery and supports 50W fast wired charging. In the limited time I have spent with the Phone 4a, it takes roughly 35 minutes to charge from 0 to 70%, which is decent.

Initial Thoughts

The Nothing Phone 4a, at a starting price of Rs. 31,999, is a good price considering the era we live in, where memory supply constraints have pushed prices upwards, and the ultimate burden has fallen on consumers. However, I would have loved to see the base variant featuring 12 gigs of RAM. I have had a great week with the Phone 4a, and I am impressed by the battery performance and bright display, which have made it my go-to device for all my multimedia needs. Stay tuned to Gadgets 360, as we will soon be publishing a detailed review of the Nothing Phone 4a.

Disclosure: Nothing sponsored the correspondent's flights and hotel for the event in London.