Review: I want to love the Nothing Phone 3a Pro, but common sense gets in the way

Nothing could have made this the easiest phone review I’ve done all year. The Nothing Phone 3a Pro is a fantastic blend of performance, value, and fun — all qualities we need in more phones in the US, especially at its midrange price. Under normal circumstances, it would be a no-brainer recommendation, but Nothing is not a normal company, and its American operations leave much to be desired. It seems content to leave stateside buyers on the fringe.

I understand Nothing is in business to make money, and it needs to put its resources into markets where it can maximize returns. However, its US presence almost feels insulting, especially when I’m teased with hardware I want to fall in love with. The Nothing Phone 3a Pro is a wonderful midrange phone, but it has a fatal flaw that makes it a nonstarter for anyone but hardcore enthusiasts.

Prices, specs, and availability

The Nothing Phone 3a Pro will be available for pre-order on Nothing’s site for $460. In the US, it comes in one configuration: 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. You can choose either gray or black, but both feature a translucent look through the glass to the back of the phone. Unfortunately, the Phone 3a Pro will only be available through Nothing’s beta program, a problem I will highlight later.

The phone is compatible with US networks. I’ve been using mine for a few weeks on T-Mobile without issues with speed or VoLTE. However, AT&T and Verizon aren’t typically welcoming of phones they don’t sell in carrier stores. While many of the bands needed are supported, it’s best to call ahead and make sure your IMEI number is whitelisted before inserting your SIM card.

What I like about the Nothing Phone 3a Pro

I love the Nothing Phone 3a Pro’s design. A smartphone manufacturer rarely launches a phone that is almost intentionally divisive. When you look at a Nothing phone, you’re meant to feel something; it doesn’t matter to Nothing whether that’s love or hate. People who hate the phone wouldn’t buy one anyway, but people who strongly connect to the device become long-time customers. It’s a unique design, and it’s been a conversation starter every time I show it to someone.

Nothing’s Glyph Interface is a significant part of the design. Many dismiss it as a gimmick, but I find it useful. I don’t assign a different Glyph pattern to every contact, but I like the visual feedback I can see from across the room when I get a new notification. Always-on displays were an excellent innovation, and the Nothing Phone 3a Pro has a good one. However, in my eyes, nothing beats the raw functionality of a notification LED, and the Glyph Interface comes close to what we had on the phones of yesteryear.

Under the hood, the Phone 3a Pro doesn’t disappoint. It’s powered by a Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset with 12GB of RAM, which is more than enough performance for daily tasks and decent frame rates on mobile games. I had zero hiccups or slowdowns in testing, and the Phone 3a Pro’s vapor chamber did a solid job keeping the device cool. Like location for real estate, more RAM is vital for phones under $500. The Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 is solid for the money, but 12GB of RAM keeps the user experience smooth.

A phone like the OnePlus 13R offers more power but costs almost $150 more. If your budget is $500, Nothing made the right choices with the Phone 3a Pro to achieve impressive performance while maintaining value. It’s a tricky balance, especially with rising prices, but Nothing typically finds the sweet spot.

Nothing usually impresses with displays, and the Phone 3a Pro’s panel continues that trend. It’s a vibrant 6.77-inch AMOLED 1080p display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The screen is bright enough for outdoor viewing, and I love its saturation. NothingOS doesn’t supply as many controls for tuning the display as its competitors, but the options available do the job.

Panda Glass protects the screen. While I’d prefer Gorilla Glass, I’ve become less concerned about the type of glass on a phone. I’ve had plenty of phones with Panda Glass that haven’t shattered, and I don’t care what class of Gorilla Glass you have on your device. If you hit it at the wrong angle and the universe isn’t smiling that day, your phone will break.

I’m also a fan of Nothing OS. I enjoy the dot matrix aesthetic and the option to choose between a more stylized version of Android or a stock experience. NothingOS 3.1 running Android 15 is solid, and the company promises 3 years of OS upgrades and 6 years of security updates. NothingOS 3.1 offers more lock screen widgets than before. I would’ve liked a larger customizable area, but I’m satisfied with the content I can put on the lock screen, including the media playback tile.

NothingOS has a clean and straightforward menu system, and I’m fond of the little noises and satisfying clicks the system makes during regular usage. I rarely keep the sound on smartphones anymore, but Nothing phones are always the exception. Nothing also does the best job of explaining security patches. A long list often accompanies each update, with icons and descriptions of what was worked on that regular users can understand.

Essential Space is Nothing’s answer to Samsung’s Now Brief. It’s an AI-enhanced app for organizing content and events. The Phone 3a Pro has a dedicated physical button on the side of the phone that brings it up. You can use voice to put a prompt into the system, or add events or photos manually. It’s significantly more complicated than it needs to be, and it takes a minute or two to analyze a short voice clip. I was able to set meetings on it, but I feel I’d need to dedicate more time to putting in photos and plans to get the most from the feature.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the Phone 3a Pro’s cameras. It has a triple-lens setup: a 50MP primary sensor, a 50MP 3x telephoto lens, and an 8MP ultrawide camera. It’s a legitimate triple-lens array, and I’m glad Nothing didn’t include an awful low-res macro lens like so many others.

It’s a versatile camera on a sub-$500 device, and I’m pleased with the images it outputs. The color is fantastic with excellent contrast in good lighting, and the telephoto lens impressed me more than I thought it would. The Nothing Phone 3a Pro captures motion better than my significantly more expensive Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Nighttime photography is also better than expected at this price, and indoor images in less-than-ideal lighting still have vibrant colors and decent clarity.

The Nothing camera app has the same clean configuration as the rest of NothingOS. It’s not quite as good as the images I get from my Pixel 8a, but it’s at least a discussion. All told, the Phone 3a Pro has one of the best camera systems I’ve used on a midrange phone, and you’ll be pleased with the results if you buy one.

What I don’t like about the Nothing Phone 3a Pro

I have some more traditional gripes about the Phone 3a Pro. It has a dual speaker setup, but the sound is soft. Even with the volume cranked up, hearing songs is a struggle. I had the volume at 50% and checked several times to see if I had started the track I was listening to because I couldn’t hear anything.

Unfortunately, I wish I could limit my complaints about the Phone 3a Pro to more mundane matters, but Nothing makes that impossible. Nothing offers a 14-day warranty on the Phone 3a Pro through the beta program, and according to its site, Nothing offers no after-sale service beyond this period.

It’s a laughable amount of time, which means you’re out of luck if something were to go wrong with your device through no fault of your own after 14 days. Nothing might exchange devices if there’s a massive defect in enough units, but I’m not willing to bank a $460 investment on whether Nothing feels merciful on a given day.

I can’t recommend a phone from a company that doesn’t offer users any protection after the sale. It doesn’t make sense unless you’re a hardcore Android enthusiast looking for something different. I wish Nothing would change its US strategy and come to our market with conviction. Much like my frustrations with OnePlus, the company dangles its feet in the American market without taking on Samsung and Google in any meaningful way.

Should you buy the Nothing Phone 3a Pro?

Unfortunately, I can’t recommend a phone I enjoy as much as the Phone 3a Pro. In the US, we are desperate for high-quality Android smartphone competition, and it’s disheartening to see an oasis off in the distance only to realize it’s a mirage.

The Phone 3a Pro has the specs, performance, design, and price to be a runaway winner in our markets, but Nothing needs to show commitment before I can return the favor and label it one of our favorite Android phones. I like the Phone 3a Pro, but unless you’re an overseas buyer, there’s no reason to risk it.