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Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional: Two-minute assessment
The Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional (formally Nothing Cellphone (3a) Professional however I’m not typing that many parentheses) is probably the most attention-grabbing cellphone you should purchase for lower than $500 / £500 / AU$850, and for those who’ve been craving one thing completely different than the cheerful bubblegum styling of cheap Android phones, it’s best to contemplate the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional regardless of your value vary.
For a full $140 / £150 / AU$150 lower than the most affordable iPhone, the iPhone 16e, you will get the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional, which has a bigger display with a 120Hz refresh fee, an even bigger battery and sooner charging, plus extra storage and extra RAM.
You additionally get a digital camera with 3x optical zoom, a characteristic unparalleled at this value vary. Most inexpensive telephones provide you with large, ultra-wide, and macro cameras, not an actual zoom lens.
And all of that comes earlier than I get to the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional’s distinctive design (distinctive aside from the nearly-identical Nothing Cellphone 3a), which takes a stripped-down method to date that you would be able to actually see into the again of the cellphone as when you have x-ray imaginative and prescient.
This see-through look a signature of Nothing Cellphone units, together with the cool Glyph LED lights, although the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional seems to be a bit extra restrained and polished than earlier fashions. It seems to be extra like a circuitry subway map than an unintentional cellphone post-mortem.
The Nothing Cellphone LED lights are right here, in a easy ring relatively than an enigmatic ‘Glyph’ association like I noticed on the primary two Nothing Cellphone units. The Glyph system is extra than simply ornamental, it’s really fairly practical and a bit nostalgic.
I keep in mind when the LED lights have been a key promoting level for cell telephones and I’d spend time customizing my buddies’ gentle cues together with their designated ringtone. Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional let me try this once more, assigning gentle patterns to my family and friends. I even had enjoyable banging out my very own patterns on the glyph-maker software program.
I give Nothing lots of credit score – there are few telephones with a characteristic just like the glyph that’s this enjoyable. Most telephones are only a slab of glass with cameras on the again. Samsung would possibly provide you with a pen, however you pay quite a bit for it. With the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional (and Nothing Cellphone 3a), you get the distinctive glyph characteristic that is entertaining by itself and provides distinctive aptitude to your calls and alerts.
That mentioned, that is nonetheless a decidedly cut price cellphone, with a less-powerful chipset inside and restricted help for US networks. I noticed loads of lag and stuttering efficiency on this cellphone, greater than I’ve see on barely dearer and {powerful} telephones just like the OnePlus 12R and even the Google Pixel 8a.
I had no downside utilizing my Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional on AT&T’s community within the New York space. Nothing says some customers may need to name AT&T or Verizon to have their cellphone’s IMEI (a community identifier) whitelisted, or accepted, by the provider. T-Cell followers should not have any downside in any respect.
Efficiency points apart, it’s virtually unhappy that Nothing hasn’t created an much more premium machine above the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional, as a result of it’s clear that loads of work went into the interface and design, and cellphone followers who usually shun low cost telephones would possibly benefit from the minimalist and distinctive NothingOS. Do not knock it till you’ve got seen it.
The Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional feels particular. This isn’t a pared again cellphone just like the Galaxy A56, which is sort of a Diet Galaxy S25. The Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional improves on earlier Nothing Telephones with a extra sturdy design, a greater show, versatile cameras, and sooner efficiency throughout. That is the very best Nothing Cellphone ever, and that is one cut price cellphone you shouldn’t ignore.
Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional assessment: value and availability
- $459 / £449 / AU$849 with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage
- Obtainable within the US by means of Nothing Beta program
The Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional will probably be accessible worldwide in a single configuration for $459 / £449 / AU$849. You may select a white or shiny gray exterior and get 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage inside. That’s a decent quantity of storage and RAM for the worth – rather more than the 8GB/128GB you will get on the Samsung Galaxy A56.
Whereas not fairly this low cost, for a bit extra you should purchase the Google Pixel 8a or OnePlus 12R. Each of these telephones get discounted regularly to match the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional’s value, however these telephones have been each new in 2024. Samsung’s new Galaxy A56 will price about the identical because the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional, however that cellphone gained’t hit the US till a lot later this 12 months.
Many of the world can merely order the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional by means of Nothing.tech or a retail associate, however within the US there are a few hoops to leap by means of. Nothing saves cash by cheaping out on radio bands, so the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional doesn’t help each single band on the three main US carriers.
If you happen to use T-Cell within the US, you’re in luck with probably the most supported bands, however AT&T help lags a bit, and Verizon customers will probably be lacking sufficient bands that it’d make sense to look elsewhere for those who want the very best cell service potential.
Because of this, Nothing sells the Nothing Phone 3a and Cellphone 3a Professional within the US underneath a ‘Beta’ program in order that customers will concentrate on what they’re lacking. I used the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional within the New York space on AT&T. I obtained a textual content message from AT&T instantly that my cellphone wasn’t supported. I ignored the message and used the cellphone usually for the remainder of the week and I had no noticeable points. Community speeds have been good.
|
Storage / RAM |
US Worth |
UK Worth |
AU Worth |
|
256GB / 12GB |
$459 |
£449 |
AU$849 |
Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional assessment: specs
The Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional makes use of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chip, which is a reasonably new platform from Qualcomm, so it will possibly help all the newest software program in addition to upcoming AI options, ought to Nothing determine so as to add extra machine studying.
Probably the most excellent spec is the 3x optical zoom digital camera, which is exclusive on this value vary. Nothing makes use of periscopic lens expertise, such as you’ll discover on the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s 5X zoom lens, so as to add attain.
In any other case, the massive show is noteworthy for its excessive refresh fee and brightness, each of which prime Apple’s newest supposed-bargain iPhone 16e. Throughout the board, you gained’t discover a lot better specs on a smartphone with out spending a whole lot extra, and Nothing additionally offers you the distinctive Glyph lights round again.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Row 0 – Cell 1 |
|
Dimensions: |
163.52 x 77.5 x 8.39 mm |
|
Weight: |
211g |
|
Show: |
6.77-inch AMOLED |
|
Decision: |
1080 x 2392 |
|
Excessive brightness: |
1,300 nits (3,000 peak |
|
Chipset: |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 |
|
RAM: |
12GB |
|
Storage: |
256GB |
|
OS: |
NothingOS 3.1 powered by Android 15 |
|
Cameras: |
50 MP foremost; 50MP 3x zoom; 8MP ultra-wide |
|
Selfie Digicam: |
50MP |
|
Battery: |
5,000mAh |
|
Charging: |
50W wired |
|
Colours: |
Gray, White |
Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional assessment: design
- Completely distinctive clear design with LED Glyph lights
- A bit thick and heavy, however not an excessive amount of
The Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional stands out, even within the muted gray and white coloration choices accessible. At first look, buddies who noticed the clear again, with its roadmap of flat ribbon cables and antenna strains, requested what was occurring with my cellphone.
People who caught a glimpse when the Glyph lights flared all the time needed to know what cellphone I used to be utilizing.
The design is decidedly tech-forward, and the Glyph gentle patterns, with their matching sound cues, and the minimalist NothingOS interface solely reinforce this sense. Most telephones attempt to disappear behind the show and the content material, however the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional begs to be seen from each angle. I used to be in search of alternatives to put this cellphone face down so I may watch it ring.
The design is so uncommon that you just gained’t discover it feels a bit low cost. The seams should not as completely aligned as the sides on a Galaxy S25 or iPhone 16. The cellphone is thick – at 8.4mm, it’s thicker than an iPhone 16e or Galaxy A56.
The clear again is glass: a Chinese language knock-off of Gorilla Glass known as ‘Panda Glass’ as a substitute of plastic like earlier Nothing Cellphone units. The digital camera bump is large and unapologetic, with textured strains that draw a circle across the body. The Glyph lights ring the cameras, and also can act like a hoop gentle while you’re taking pictures.
The Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional incorporates a new Important Key, which is a button that can take a screenshot or report a voice memo. It gained’t simply retailer these entries, it feeds them into an Important House app that analyzes your notes with AI to offer you summaries and solutions. In observe… it wants work. I hope the Important Key will get repurposed in a future NothingOS replace in order that it will possibly do a bit extra.
Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional assessment: show
- Massive, vibrant show with a quick refresh fee
- Not as vibrant in our exams as Nothing claims
The Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional options an enormous, 6.77-inch AMOLED show that may refresh at a variable fee as much as 120Hz. It appeared vibrant, colourful, and easy in my time reviewing the Cellphone 3a Professional. There was some stuttering, however I think the slower chipset was responsible, because the show may deal with no matter video content material or fast-scrolling lists I threw its means.
I’m wondering if this show is overkill for Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional. NothingOS is almost monochromatic, and in reality there’s a monochrome mode if you wish to eradicate all colourful distraction out of your cellphone. Perhaps Nothing ought to have developed a singular show to play into these strengths, as a substitute of competing on coloration and brightness with Samsung and Google.
Nothing claims the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional can hit 3,000 nits at peak brightness, however in our Future Labs exams we couldn’t handle half that brightness stage. We nonetheless noticed peak brightness nicely over 1,000 nits, which is nice, however not what Nothing claims.
Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional assessment: software program
- NothingOS affords a singular look and loads of widgets
- Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional will get 3 years extra Android, 6 years extra safety
The Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional makes use of NothingOS on prime of Android 15, and NothingOS may actually be thought of a Theme and Widget combo pack. It doesn’t add a complete lot of helpful options to Android, however as a substitute it succeeds by taking away distractions.
By distractions, I imply coloration and shapes. The look of NothingOS can finest be described as a monochrome, low-resolution, dot matrix theme. There’s an precise monochrome mode you may allow, however the primary NothingOS theme is generally black and white, with graphics that cut back iconography, like clouds and the solar within the climate app, to a collection of huge dots.
It form of works, for those who like this fashion. Nothing even consists of an AI wallpaper generator, a characteristic very en vogue with the smartphone elite, although on this case the alternatives are rather more restricted than you’ll discover on a Galaxy or Pixel cellphone.
On my Galaxy I would create a ‘lamp of flowers in pink and purple,’ with hundreds of potential mixtures of nouns and colours. On my Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional I can select ‘flora’ and ‘iridescent’, and as much as 30 complete combos. What you get finally ends up trying like a wallpaper that Nothing may need included with its cellphone anyway.
If you happen to press the brand new Important Key twice, you open a brand new Important House app, the place you’ll find the screenshots that you just took and the voice memos you saved. Solely the screenshots that you just seize utilizing the Important Key find yourself right here. If you happen to press the ability button and quantity down, you get a screenshot in your Gallery, however not within the Important House. Bizarre.
Truthfully, I didn’t have any use for the Important Key or Important House throughout my time with the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional, and I didn’t really feel I used to be lacking something besides a greater use for the brand new button. I not often take screenshots or report voice memos, and I’m not going to alter my conduct for this cellphone, so for those who’re like me, you gained’t see the profit. Hopefully Nothing will add extra to make this convenient for extra individuals.
Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional assessment: cameras
- Good cameras (however not so good as Nothing’s bragging)
- A 3x optical zoom lens is exclusive at this value
The individuals have spoken, and folks say they need three cameras, so most inexpensive Android telephones include three cameras, however none of them provide you with optical zoom just like the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional. The Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional has a intelligent, versatile array of cameras, making it a stable choose for those who want an actual zoom lens.
Most telephones at this value provide you with a superb wide-angle digital camera, a mediocre ultra-wide, and a horrible, low decision macro digital camera. The Galaxy A55 and the Motorola Edge 2024 supply that digital camera setup, for example. Nothing offers you much more digital camera bang on your buck.
You get an actual 3x optical zoom with a periscope lens, which simply means it’s extra compact than a standard zoom lens. You additionally get an enormous 50MP sensor on that zoom lens, along with the 50MP foremost sensor. The ultra-wide sensor is barely 8MP, however who cares when you may have all that zoom.
The selfie digital camera is a 50MP sensor as nicely, which is an excessive amount of for selfies. I ended up with a file that’s six instances as massive as an iPhone 16 Pro selfie, though it doesn’t have as a lot element or readability.
The picture high quality from the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional is okay, however not unbelievable. The Pixel 8a offers you higher photographs on this value vary, at the very least with its foremost digital camera, although it solely shoots as much as 12MP. The Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional can shoot 50MP photographs, however you must dig by means of settings to make that occur, in any other case you get an ordinary 12MP file.
It’s clear from the picture samples that there’s a lot of AI processing occurring with the Nothing photographs. On the zoom photographs, I may get a fairly good shot total, but when I look intently the picture takes on an oil paint high quality that makes it clear a pc crammed in lots of gaps and erased all of the noise.
Earlier than this cellphone launched, Nothing teased us by claiming that its new cameras can be nearly as good as an iPhone. It’s not even shut, however the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional isn’t a foul digital camera. It takes a lot better photographs than any Motorola cellphone I’ve used, and it has extra versatility than comparable Samsung Galaxy A-series telephones. It’s a stable digital camera setup for the worth.
Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional assessment: digital camera samples
Picture 1 of 7
Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional assessment: efficiency
- Efficiency is sweet sufficient to get by
- There are extra {powerful} telephones with much less fashion
Nothing took a step up with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chip inside each the Nothing Cellphone 3a and Cellphone 3a Professional, however the platform nonetheless isn’t fairly quick sufficient to maintain up with the calls for of Android 15 and NothingOS. I encountered loads of lag in my time with the cellphone, usually unhealthy sufficient that the display would cease responding to faucets after which would catch up abruptly. It was irritating, however it didn’t occur too usually, not on daily basis.
The Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional isn’t going to be the very best cellphone for hardcore video games like Call of Duty Cell or PUBG, however it would do superb with informal video games like Balatro and Marvel Snap. Vampire Survivors choked the cellphone when the display crammed with enemies, however it recovered rapidly sufficient that I didn’t lose the spherical.
Frankly, the competitors at this value doesn’t supply a lot better efficiency – the Pixel 8a isn’t successful any benchmark crowns. If you’d like a quick cellphone for much less, the OnePlus 12R is your finest wager, in any other case you’ll simply must spend extra if you need a severe cellular gaming machine.
Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional assessment: battery
- Nice battery life and wonderful charging speeds
- No wi-fi charging
Battery life on the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional was wonderful, and the cellphone had no hassle lasting me a full day on a single cost with battery to spare. The cellphone additionally expenses in a short time, although Nothing skimps by not providing any charger within the field, quick or in any other case.
The Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional can cost as much as 50 watts, and I examined it with my very own variable charger that may cost as much as 50W or extra. The Cellphone 3a Professional charged in a short time, and I obtained to 100% in simply over 50 minutes, which is even sooner than Nothing claims. That’s sooner than the Galaxy S25 and the iPhone 16.
With a 5,000mAh battery inside (and a really darkish, black interface), the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional conserves energy properly. In our Future Labs exams, the Cellphone 3a Professional lasted slightly below 15 and a half hours, virtually the identical period of time because the Samsung Galaxy S25. In my actual world exams, I had no hassle taking photographs and dealing by means of a full day on a single cost.
Do you have to purchase the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional ?
|
Attributes |
Notes |
Ranking |
|---|---|---|
|
Worth |
Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional affords distinctive fashion, versatile cameras, and nice battery life in comparison with different telephones on this value vary. If you happen to’re conscious of its shortcomings, its an ideal purchase. |
5 / 5 |
|
Design |
The clear again is cool and the glyphs are practical and distinctive, however the cellphone remains to be thick and the important key isn’t very important. |
3 / 5 |
|
Show |
A really good show with a easy refresh fee and a vibrant peak, all in service of an interface that tries to be monochrome and low-resolution. Oh nicely, it’s nonetheless fairly, and really huge. |
4 / 5 |
|
Software program |
NothingOS is sort of a trendy, minimalist theme with a pack of helpful widgets and never many different helpful options. The Important Key and House weren’t very helpful, and AI instruments are very restricted. |
3 / 5 |
|
Digicam |
A lot better digital camera capabilities than you’d count on from a cellphone this low cost, with high-resolution cameras and actual optical zoom. There’s lots of AI assist that makes photographs look a bit faux, however provided that you look actually intently. |
3 / 5 |
|
Efficiency |
Efficiency was very laggy, with stuttering and stalling within the interface and as I used apps. It wasn’t all the time an issue, however when the cellphone obtained slowed down, it was very irritating. |
2 / 5 |
|
Battery |
Wonderful battery life lasted greater than a day in my exams, and simply so long as many flagship telephones in Future Labs. Charging can also be quick, for those who purchase a quick charger (there’s solely a USB-C twine within the field). |
5 / 5 |
Purchase it if…
Do not buy it if…
Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional assessment: additionally contemplate
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional |
Google Pixel 8a |
Samsung Galaxy A56 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Worth (at launch): |
$459 / £449 / AU$849 |
$499 / £499 / AU$849 |
$499 / £499 / AU$??? |
|
Chip |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 |
Google Tensor G3 |
Samsung Exynos 1580 |
|
Cameras |
50MP foremost; 8MP ultrawide; 50MP 3x Zoom |
64MP foremost (16MP photographs solely); 13MP ultrawide |
50MP foremost; 12MP ultrawide; 5MP macro |
|
Charging |
50W wired |
18W wired; 7.5W wi-fi |
45W wired |
How I examined the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional
I used the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional for per week earlier than this assessment was revealed. In that point, I examined the cellphone extensively, alongside the Nothing Cellphone 3a, utilizing the identical work and private apps and accounts on every.
I used the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional for taking photographs, speaking with work colleagues utilizing messages and Slack, and conducting video convention calls. I performed video games, and edited photographs from my Google Photos library.
I linked the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional to a Pixel Watch 3 and Nothing Buds. I additionally linked an Xbox wi-fi controller to play video games. I linked the Cellphone 3a Professional to my automobile for multimedia and to different Bluetooth audio system for audio.
I examined the Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional on my private AT&T Wi-fi account within the New York Metropolis space, together with Connecticut, the Hudson Valley, and New Jersey, with no hassle.
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First reviewed March 2025