In a sea of copycats, Nothing smartphones stand out with their signature transparent backs. It's a refreshing design that Nothing has continued to tweak over the years. And this March, we welcome two more phones sporting the Nothing design with the new Nothing Phone (3a) series.
Thanks to our friends at Nothing Malaysia, we got an early sneak peek of the Nothing Phone (3a) and Nothing Phone (3a) Pro. The two new models offer improved hardware performance and software features, plus changes to the design and UI that fans may appreciate. Below are some first impressions of the two new phones.
Nothing Phone (3a)
Compared to last year's Nothing Phone (2a), there are enough changes to the Nothing Phone (3a) for the differences to be noticeable. While the edges remain flat, the corners are less rounded and the transparent back features a new layout. There's also a slight tweak to the Glyph interface's LEDs. Interestingly, below the power button is a new button with a glossy polished finish. Nothing calls it the Essential Key, but more on that later.
There are some bigger changes too. For instance, the phone has a glass back to make the see-through parts stand out even better. It's a bit of a fingerprint magnet but combines with the aluminium body for a more premium and durable body. Overall, the Nothing Phone (3a) feels cleaner and more symmetrical than its predecessor.
Of course, some elements remain familiar, like the red square patch and camera positions. However, there are now three cameras instead of two, with the new one being a 50MP telephoto camera. Colour-wise, we got to try the white one, but the Nothing Phone (3a) also comes in blue or black.
As for the software, Nothing OS 3.1 maintains the layout that fans love. It's clean, free from bloatware, and features updated widgets. You can also share your favourite widgets, a function introduced late last year. Also, the camera app now has presets that combine filters with selected camera settings. It also lets you create custom presets that you can share.
What's new is the Essential Space, which Nothing's CEO Carl Pei describes as a digital journal. The system is mapped to the Essential Key, which lets you quickly save, record and process various things by pressing or holding the button. This includes screenshots, conversations, photos, and more. By the way, the button can't quick launch the camera app. But when using the camera app, pressing the Essential Key sort of functions like a camera shutter, except it saves the photo to the Essential Space.
Once saved, the Space can categorise your new files, create to-do lists, set up reminders, transcribe your conversations, and more. When you want to check the contents you've saved, double-press the Essential Key or tap on the Essential Space widget to access the Essential Space. It's a simple but practical application of AI on a smartphone and one that many may find very useful.
However, there's definitely room for Nothing's developers to improve. It would also be great if users could remap the Essential Key to another function. While that defeats the purpose of the Essential Space, at least users would have the option to use it for something else.
Essentially (pun intended), the system serves as a way to organise things like photos, screenshots or notes. For people who don't like to organise or categorise their files (like me), you won't find a better "lazy man" button.
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro is mostly the same, at least in terms of design. However, there's an immediately apparent key difference - the rear camera module. Although it has three cameras too, the Pro model drops the 50MP telephoto camera for a 50MP periscope camera. It also doesn't share the same horizontal layout, with the ultrawide camera moved to fit the periscope camera.
A periscope camera requires more physical space inside a phone. As such, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro has a thicker camera module, making it look chunkier than most mid-range devices. Fortunately, it has good balance and symmetry, so it doesn't wobble on flat surfaces.
In exchange for a thicker camera module, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro has better optical zoom than its counterpart. In fact, this Sony LYTIA 600-powered periscope camera promises 3x optical zoom, which is great if you need to snap a photo of a subject from a distance.
Closing
So far, we love how the two new phones look and perform. Priced at RM1699 and RM1999, the Nothing Phone (3a) and Nothing Phone (3a) Pro offer great value for people who want a solid mid-range device that works. It doesn't have some of the fancy features available on flagship phones, such as wireless charging. However, we think they offer good value considering their asking prices.
Of course, we plan to test the phones more and will write an in-depth review, so you can then decide whether you want one of these phones. In the meantime, stay tuned to TechNave for more news on the latest mobile devices.
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