Nothing Phone (4b) First Impressions

Nothing's smartphone range is expanding, and we have an all-new Phone (4b) in India. The company says the introduction of the new Phone (4b) builds on the success of the Phone (a) series and offers a new entry point. With the launch, Nothing's smartphone range now starts with the Phone (4b), with the Phone (4a) in the mid-range, while the Phone (4a) Pro is available in the premium mid-range segment. The Phone (3), launched in 2025, remains Nothing's flagship offering in India. It's worth noting that there's no CMF phone coming this year, so the Phone (4b) has some massive expectations to meet.

On paper, the Phone (4b) gets bells and whistles, including design elements from its elder siblings, like the unibody design from the Phone (4a) Pro and the Glyph Bar from the Phone (4a). The Phone (4b) also has the biggest battery on any Nothing phone. Additionally, Nothing hasn't skipped adding the Essential AI tools accessible through the Essential Key.

The biggest surprise addition is the RCB limited-edition Phone (4b), which comes in Red with the team's logo on the back. It will be available at Nothing's Bangalore store and will be limited in number. And, I got some time to spend with the RCB edition of the Phone (4b). Alright, let's break down what you get with the all-new Nothing (4b), the brand's new entry point in India.

Nothing Phone 4b is offered three colourways

Nothing Phone (4b) Price in India

Much like other launches in 2026, Nothing's new launch isn't untouched by steep memory prices across the industry. But the brand claims it has still managed to deliver a balanced product without compromising plenty of standard features.

The Phone (4b) is priced in India at Rs. 34,999 for the 8GB + 128GB storage model, and there are no surprises: if you buy with the launch offers, the effective price can be as low as Rs. 29,999. There's also an 8GB RAM + 256GB model priced at Rs. 38,999.

Nothing Phone 4b features up to 256GB of onboard storage

If you want a Nothing device, then the Phone (4b) is the entry point, and the launch offers are the best way to get it. The Phone (4b) will go on sale in India starting July 14 and will be available across Flipkart and offline channel partners. The Phone (4b) RCB Edition, on the other hand, will be available at Nothing's Bengaluru store today.

Nothing Phone (4b) Looks Familiar

At first look, you will understand that the Phone (4b) looks very similar to its other 4-series siblings - Phone (4a) and Phone (4a) Pro. At the back, there's the camera housing with the signature exposed mechanics behind the camera bump. The company says it has used precision-injected thermoplastic polyurethane so that you can still see the colour beneath.

Nothing Phone 4b sports a 6.77-inch display

Do note that the exposed design characteristic has helped Nothing build a cult following in India within six years and, of course, in markets where it operates globally. The design is the biggest USP of the Phone (4b), and I'm not surprised. It looks different from all other phones available in the same price bracket.

The rectangular glass housing at the back sports a dual-camera setup, an LED flash, and the Glyph Bar. The Phone (4b), despite being touted as Nothing's entry-level model, features the Glyph Bar, which displays notifications without requiring constant screen checks. Nothing says that the signature Glyph Bar has a more refined form on Phone (4b) and features 45 individually controlled mini-LEDs with brightness up to 3,500 nits. It notifies of incoming notifications, charging progress, and recording indicators, and can also be customised. One of my favourite features of Nothing devices is the Glyph Bar because it offers a less-distracting way to interact with your smartphone.

Nothing Phone 4b gets a hole punch display cutout

The phone has a unibody polycarbonate design with a primer coating, a colour coat, and a UV top layer to reduce smudges. The back has a textured panel, and the hand feel is nice. The Phone (4b) also has IP64 dust and water resistance, and it can withstand submersion in up to 25 centimetres of water for up to 20 minutes. Nothing claimed during the briefing that the Phone (4b) is 20 percent more bend-resistant than the Phone (3a) Lite, thanks to its unibody design.

I also had some time with the limited RCB Edition, and I can confidently say it's designed for hardcore RCB fans. Apart from the Red colour and the RCB logo on the back, the Phone (4b) gets minor UI additions. If I had to choose a colour, I might actually pick one between Red and White. There are also Blue and Black colours that look stunning.

Overall, the Phone (4b) feels like a refined version in the 4-series and borrows plenty of elements from its sibling, which isn't a bad thing considering the price gap. We will deep dive into more granular details in our in-depth review of the Phone (4b).

Nothing Phone (4b) features a 50-megapixel main rear camera

Phone (4b) Offers Signature Nothing Experience

I have to start with the battery on the Phone (4b). The company has put in its biggest-ever battery on a phone for the Indian market. While the rest of the markets get a 5200mAh battery, the Indian version packs a massive 6000mAh battery. I have been using the Phone (4b) on a single charge for almost 1.5 days, and it can handle everything you throw at it, whether it's multimedia consumption, gaming, extensive camera use, browsing, or more.

In the product briefing, Nothing claimed that the Phone (4b) features impact-resistant Safe Cell Technology and maintains 90 percent of its capacity after 1,200 charging cycles. The company is confident that the Phone (4b) can easily last about 3 years of regular use. Well, indeed, that looks impressive on paper, but wait until we test it in our review.

It also supports fast charging and can charge from 0 to 50 percent in 30 minutes, while 0 to 100 percent takes about 80 minutes.

Nothing Phone 4b RCB Edition ships in a Red shade

The Phone (4b) is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 SoC, and in the limited time I spent with the device, it proved to be a decent everyday performer. In fact, for gamers, the Phone (4b) also packs a vapour chamber - identical to what we saw on the Phone (4a). It has dual stereo speakers, and the output was fine in the limited testing I did.

The smartphone runs Nothing OS 4.1 based on Android 16 and comes with three Android OS updates and six years of security patches.

The smartphone features a 6.77-inch Super AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. It offers a 1080x2344-pixel resolution and a 381 PPI pixel density. It offers a peak brightness of 2000nits. Nothing has also added an in-display optical fingerprint sensor on the Phone (4b). In the limited time I spent with the device, it turned out to be a decent everyday companion, but wait until the verdict on the display and how it compares to the same price segment.

Nothing Phone 4b sports the Glyph Bar interface

On the camera front, the Nothing Phone (4b) packs a 50-megapixel main camera with dual OIS (optical image stabilisation) and EIS (electronic image stabilisation). Then, there's an 8-megapixel wide-angle lens with a 119.5-degree field of view. It also supports 4K video recording at 30fps and sports features like dual video recording. It comes with a host of features in the camera app that we have seen in previous Nothing devices. At the front, there's a 16-megapixel sensor. The cameras are fine in the limited testing I did, and I will reserve verdict on these till the review drops.

Stay tuned for our in-depth review of the Nothing Phone (4b).