It has been about a year since the launch of the Nothing Phone (2a) by the British startup Nothing, and now we are getting the Phone (3a), an upgraded model that maintains the same price level. The price of the new smartphone starts at NIS 1,350 for the version with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage and goes up to NIS 1,600 for the version with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
Design: Nothing Phone (3a) – Maintains the Transparent Look
Nothing has its own unique design, which is preserved in its smartphones as well as in other products it makes, such as headphones. The Phone (3a) is no different in this regard; it comes with a transparent back that reveals its internal parts, along with a white backlight that changes in intensity according to the type of notification received on the device. It's easy to distinguish the new model from the previous one, thanks to the fact that instead of two lenses on the back of the device, there are now three.
In terms of protection, we get Panda Glass instead of the Corning glass that the company used in the previous generation (the glass that most manufacturers use in the market). The protection has been upgraded to the IP64 standard, meaning it can withstand moisture (but not submersion in water) and light dust. The smartphone is not light; it weighs 201 grams and is 8.4mm thick.
Screen: Nothing Phone (3a) – Large Screen and High Brightness
Smartphone manufacturers like to put large screens in mid-range devices, and this is no different in the Phone (3a). It features a 6.77-inch AMOLED display that offers rich colors, a 120Hz refresh rate providing smooth motion in the interface, and brightness that peaks at 3000 nits and reaches a regular mode of 800 nits. I didn’t have trouble viewing it in sunlight.
Interface: Comes with Gemini and Circle to Search
Two features that we are seeing more and more in smartphones this year are Google’s AI assistant – Gemini, which can be activated here by a long press on the Power button, and the Circle to Search feature, also from Google. This feature allows you to search anything displayed on the screen by simply circling it with your finger. It's a great and convenient feature to use.
The Phone (3a) comes with Android 15 (including 3 updates to the operating system) and the Nothing OS 3.1 interface, which has a retro and somewhat dull appearance. It's a clean interface with few third-party apps that the company installs, although it now includes its own gallery, no longer relying solely on Google’s.
An addition from Nothing in the interface is Essential Space. This is an AI feature that can be activated using a dedicated button on the right side of the device (which caused me to activate it more times than I wanted). It serves as a hub for all screenshots, voice notes, reminders, and more. Using AI, it organizes the content in a better way and allows centralized access to it. What’s nice is that you can take a screenshot and then dictate text that will remind you of what you wanted there. The voice recording is also saved here, and the transcription to Hebrew works.
Hardware: Runs Smoothly, But No eSIM
In terms of the processor, it’s the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, which is not the one you’ll find in flagship devices, but it runs smoothly, and I don’t recall encountering any performance issues while using it. The Bluetooth is 5.4, the WiFi is only version 6 (not even 6e, but this is probably not a critical issue in this case), and it has NFC.
There’s also no eSIM support for connecting to mobile carriers without a physical SIM card. If you want that, you should buy the Phone (3a) Pro for NIS 1,950.
Camera: A Photography Setup with 3 Sensors
Photography is always a sensitive area in mid-range smartphones, but it seems that Nothing has managed to find a reasonable balance. It features a camera setup with 3 sensors: Two 50MP sensors, one main sensor with optical image stabilization, a telephoto sensor with 2x optical zoom, and an 8MP wide-angle sensor (120 degrees). The photos are of good quality for the category, though don’t expect extremely high sharpness, and sometimes there’s a sense of over-processing and occasionally slightly faded colors. But for photos shared on social networks, it’s more than enough.
The selfie camera comes with a 32MP sensor, and it managed to produce decent pictures, though portrait shots felt slightly unnatural.
Battery: Solid Battery Performance
The battery life here is impressive; it lasted me from 7 AM until midnight, leaving me with 30% battery remaining. This corresponds to 4.5 hours of screen time. The battery has a capacity of 5000mAh. It supports 50W wired fast charging, but the charging head is not included in the package, so I couldn’t test the charging speed of the device. However, the company claims that you can charge 50% in 19 minutes and 100% in 56 minutes. What’s missing here is wireless charging, but this is not common in smartphones in this price range.
Price: NIS 1,600 (Official Distributor: Bug Network)
In conclusion, Nothing has been around for a few years now, and the Phone (3a) is a good opportunity to give it a try compared to competitors in the market. It offers an affordable price tag and good performance in the screen, battery, and processing power, along with a design that still looks special.
