I Can't Recommend Cheap Samsung And Google Phones When This Android Rival Exists

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Pros: Bold creation successful a alternatively old market, NothingOS is soft and responsive, larger artillery pinch accelerated charging
• Cons: Glyth Interface is little intuitive now, nary US bearer availability, nary wireless charging

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I won't hide nan lede: Nothing Phone 4a Pro is nan company's astir premium-looking telephone to date. The instrumentality has a beardown characteristic and chopped characteristic that you won't find connected immoderate other sub-$500 phone. If Nothing's aged Glyph lights, a customizable LED portion interface connected nan backmost of nan device, were excessively overmuch for you, nan Phone 4a Pro consolidates them successful a Matrix wrong nan camera module without losing nan nosy vibe.

Also: Forget iPhone 17e: Nothing's Phone 4a Pro costs little and looks a full batch better

At $499, Nothing's caller Phone 4a Pro competes straight pinch much well-established players, specified arsenic nan Google Pixel 10a and Samsung Galaxy A56 5G. The telephone offers a coagulated package, but tin it return connected nan manufacture heavyweights to drawback a spot successful your pocket? I utilized it for a fewer days to find out.

A creation I quickly fell successful emotion with

The Nothing Phone 4a Pro looks awesome successful pink.

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The Nothing Phone 4a Pro is simply a departure from past year's maximalist approach, and for bully reason. You now get a metallic build that feels much premium successful nan hand. In comparison, nan Galaxy A56 looks basic, while nan Pixel 10a pops successful reddish and has an "affordable phone" feel.

I emotion nan caller subtle pinkish colour connected nan Phone 4a Pro. It is possibly my favourite telephone colour this year. I for illustration that brands are choosing to connection much shades than boring blacks and whites, and Nothing's execution is perfect. You tin besides bargain nan instrumentality successful metallic aliases black.

Also: Bad artillery life connected your Android phone? Changing these 12 settings will do you wonders

Nothing borrowed its Glyph Matrix from nan much costly Phone 3 and put nan characteristic wrong a translucent camera module connected nan Phone 4a Pro. The Matrix is placed adjacent to nan cameras and useful arsenic before, notifying you astir nan apps of your prime aliases showing you nan clip and artillery level. The characteristic is unfastened to developers for creating caller tools.

Nothing Phone 4a Pro camera module pinch its Glyph Matrix turned on.

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However, Phone 4a Pro's Matrix show isn't touch-sensitive and lacks a dedicated Glyph Button. The characteristic has a much subdued, little functional attack to Phone 3's much applicable interface. You can't swipe aliases property a fastener to move betwixt different functions, which makes nan Matrix redundant. 

I haven't utilized nan characteristic overmuch because I don't want to beryllium bothered by notifications erstwhile my surface is off. Also, I tin spot nan clip connected my watch. Maybe nan characteristic will amended arsenic it gains much functionality.

Both Nothing Phone 4a and 4a Pro are IP65-rated for particulate and splash-resistance. This capacity intends they won't past prolonged submersion successful water, for illustration IP68-rated phones. In comparison, nan Pixel 10a and Galaxy A56 5G are amended -- they person IP68 and IP67 ratings, respectively.

One of my favourite Android skins

The Nothing Phone 4a Pro successful action.

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On nan front, you get a brighter and somewhat larger surface than before. The Phone 4a Pro has a 6.83-inch AMOLED show that supports a 144Hz refresh complaint (down to 30Hz) and 5,000 nits of highest brightness for HDR content, which is astir 66% brighter than its predecessor. 

The surface is comfortably legible outdoors for nan price. Like different $500 phones, nan device's surface tin struggle successful harsh sunlight owed to precocious reflectivity. But, different than that, there's not overmuch to fault. The surface is simply a vibrant sheet that offers an enjoyable content-consumption experience.

The Nothing Phone 4a Pro is powered by nan Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 chipset, paired pinch 8GB aliases 12GB of RAM, depending connected nan retention variant. In my five-day period, nan telephone was fast, responsive, and easy to use. The apps loaded quickly, jumping betwixt societal media was swift, and adding thoughts to my Essential Space was intuitive.

Also: I was a telephone addict: These 7 tricks stopped maine scrolling and curbed my surface clip - fast

Essential Space is Nothing's AI productivity app that launched past year. The characteristic serves arsenic a communal abstraction for storing screenshots and sound notes, aiming to make consciousness of your random thoughts. I find Essential Space useful because I'm ever looking for transportation ideas, and they get astatine nan astir random moments successful my testing periods. The characteristic lets maine quickly seizure my thoughts pinch nan property of a button. I for illustration it.

The Essential Space fastener connected nan Nothing Phone 4a Pro.

Prakhar Khanna/ZDNET

You tin entree nan Essential Space pinch a beingness fastener connected nan broadside of nan phone. Using nan characteristic is beautiful straightforward: a press-and-hold takes a screenshot of immoderate you're looking at, and you tin past adhd a sound statement to it.

Nothing is shipping its caller telephone pinch Nothing OS 4.1 based connected Android 16. I for illustration nan monochrome look of its civilization skin. While nan tegument tin beryllium confusing astatine times if you struggle to admit app icons, I particularly emotion this UI for its widgets.

I for illustration having speedy shortcuts successful nan shape of widgets connected my homescreen, and (disappointingly) not galore Android skins instrumentality them arsenic good arsenic Nothing aliases Samsung. Nothing OS allows you to instal these widgets connected some nan homescreen and nan lockscreen for a much personalized experience. You besides get a Private Space, which hides delicate apps and photos down a password.

Also: I saw nan Nothing Phone 4a successful aggregate colors astatine MWC - and these 2 sewage nan astir love

The Phone 4a Pro is promised to get 3 years of Android updates and six years of information updates. The update argumentation isn't arsenic bully arsenic nan Pixel 10a's 7-year update cycle. However, nan semipermanent information update support is simply a awesome addition, since that protection straight relates to a phone's lifespan. You tin expect to support utilizing this telephone for different 5 years.

The instrumentality packs a 5,080mAh artillery and supports 50W accelerated charging. The complaint successful my reappraisal sample has comfortably lasted an full time pinch mean usage. You tin expect nan telephone to get you done nan time pinch ease.

Versatile cameras for a $499 phone

On nan backmost of nan instrumentality are 3 cameras. There's a 50MP main camera, an 8MP ultrawide camera, and nan aforesaid 50MP telephoto sensor (with 3.5x optical zoom) arsenic nan flagship Phone 3. I haven't put nan telephone head-to-head against nan Pixel 10a, but nan caller 12-bit Image Signal Processor (ISP) is promising. However, nan camera UI was sluggish astatine times.

London buildings changeable connected nan Nothing Phone 4a Pro.

Prakhar Khanna/ZDNET

The Phone 4a Pro captures decent colors pinch bully detail. The telephone genuinely shines successful nan sun erstwhile there's plentifulness of light. I for illustration nan opposition and definite aspects of Camera Presets. Urban adds a bully vignette effect and warmer tone, while Soft Focus gives your portraits a dreamy look.

Portraits changeable connected nan Nothing Phone 4a Pro person a lukewarm reside and bully separator detection.

Prakhar Khanna/ZDNET

These Presets tin beryllium accessed by swiping up successful nan viewfinder, pinch each 1 showing a sample changeable group arsenic an example. It would beryllium bully if Nothing could show nan colour tuning successful nan viewfinder itself pinch an info icon for much information. More often than not, I want to spot a preview of really nan segment mightiness look, alternatively than selecting a filter, waiting for nan changeable to process, and checking it retired successful my first fewer photos.

ZDNET's buying advice

The Nothing Phone 4a Pro is simply a bully Android action astatine a bully price. It's nan astir premium-feeling telephone I've tested successful its value bracket. Nothing isn't acrophobic to beryllium bold, and I'm gladsome it retained nan Glyph lights, contempt opting for a metallic build. 

Sure, this usability isn't arsenic functional arsenic I'd like, but I emotion nan phone's non-generic, chopped creation connection -- thing overmuch needed successful a scenery wherever larger manufacturers are branding aged parts arsenic new.