Switching to Nothing Phone (4a) Pro? 10 pros and cons to keep in mind

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro Review: The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro falls into the premium mid-range smartphone category in India. Depending on the RAM and storage configuration, the starting price of this phone ranges from Rs 44,450 to Rs 55,999.

According to the company, it features an aluminium unibody design, powerful Snapdragon performance, an upgraded Glyph Matrix interface, a specialised 50 MP periscope zoom lens and much more. Sounds impressive, isn't it? But is it really that good in practice? Is it worth buying? Let's find out in this review.

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro Review: Price, Colours, Variants

The smartphone is available in three variants: 8+128GB, 8+256GB, and 12+256GB, priced at Rs 49,999, Rs 52,999, and Rs 55,999, respectively. Apart from this, the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro is available in three colours: Silver, Black and Pink. We used the 12+256 variant of the device in silver shade.

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro Review: What's inside the box?

In the box, you will get the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro smartphone, Nothing's SIM tool, a USB-C cable, and a case.

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro Review: Design

For the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro, the company has opted for a design that is completely different from its signature transparent look. The back of the phone is made of an aluminium unibody, a feature rarely seen these days. As expected with a unibody design, the middle frame matches the colour of the back panel since both are crafted from aluminium. The volume rocker and power button are on the right side, while the essential button is on the left. Perhaps the most interesting feature of its rear section is the 'Glyph Matrix'. For the camera, it features a pill-shaped module horizontally.

At the bottom, it has the SIM slot, primary microphone, USB Type-C port, and speaker grille. The secondary microphone is positioned at the top. The device has an IP65 rating, which indicates protection against dust, light rain, and splashes of water, but it should be noted that it is not completely waterproof.

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro Review: Display

The Phone (4a) Pro features a 6.83-inch flexible AMOLED display, which is larger than the previous model, i.e., the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro.

We found that the outdoor high-brightness mode (HBM) of 1,600 nits and a maximum peak brightness of 5,000 nits doesn't perform that well in real-world usage. However, the vibrant colours and deep blacks of the AMOLED display made the content look rich and detailed. We watched content using popular apps like YouTube and Instagram on the device, and the experience was quite good. The bezels on the display are also smaller compared to previous models.

One of the key highlights of Nothing's phone is its Glyph interface; it blinks whenever a timer, recording alerts, volume indicators, and notifications arrive, making it different and attractive from other smartphones on the market.

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro Review: Battery

Just like the Nothing Phone (4a), the Pro model is also powered by a 5,400mAh battery and supports up to 50W fast wired charging. There's no charging adapter included in the box, which is a bit disappointing, but you can use any USB-C charger, so it's not a big problem. The charging speeds are good. We use an 80W SuperVOOC charger, which took about 1 hour 02 minutes to charge the device from 0 to 100 per cent.

The battery performance is also impressive. With normal practical usage – which includes a mix of activities ranging from making phone calls and watching content to browsing social media or clicking photos – the device's battery easily lasts a full day, with some charge still remaining, we found.

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro Review: Camera

The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro boasts a triple-camera system, featuring a 50MP primary sensor along with a 50MP telephoto lens (with 3.5x optical zoom and up to 140x digital ultra-zoom) and an 8 MP ultrawide camera. For selfies, it offers a 32MP front-facing sensor, the same as the Phone (4a).

However, the Phone (4a) Pro further refines the Glyph interface. It features a 137-LED dot-matrix display on the back, along with a red recording light. The cool thing is that the Glyph display can serve as a (somewhat basic) live viewfinder for selfies taken with the rear camera and can also display a countdown for self-timer photos.

Now, let's talk about the photos. The main camera of the phone takes very good photos in daylight as well as in night light — clearly better than the non-Pro model. They lack that graininess, so we could say they are cleaner. But it doesn't always carry that greatness into 2x zoom.

Selfies taken with the Phone (4a) Pro also turn out very well. They capture a good amount of detail—even if it isn't quite at the level of a 32MP sensor, there is still plenty of detail. The dynamic range is excellent, too. The colour balance is impressive, offering vibrant tones with a hint of warmth.

Here are a few shots that we took in different surroundings and daylight conditions to assess the camera quality and experience:

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro Review: Performance

Nothing Phone (4a) comes with Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 processor, the same as the non-pro model. It runs Android version 16, with Nothing OS 4.1 on top.

During testing, the device did not show any lag while multitasking or using multiple apps in the background. It experienced some heating issues, particularly when there was no airflow around the phone—such as when kept in a jeans or trouser pocket, used with a thick protective case, or used in hot weather. The experience of light gaming was decent.

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro Review: Pros and cons

Reasons to Buy

* Premium aluminium unibody design.
* Unique and functional Glyph Matrix interface.
* Excellent all-day battery life.
* Good main camera and selfie performance.
* Smooth multitasking with no noticeable lag.

Reasons Not to Buy

* Outdoor display brightness is underwhelming.
* Charger not included in the box.
* Heating issues in certain conditions.
* 2x zoom camera performance is inconsistent.
* IP65 rating means it's not fully waterproof.