Nothing's latest mid-range smartphone, the Phone 4a Pro, features a solid aluminium body and a large dot-matrix LED display on the back, challenging the notion that mid-range phones cannot be fun. Priced at £499, it sits between the regular Phone 4a at £349 and the flagship Phone 3 at £699, competing with devices such as the Google Pixel 10a.
The phone has a 6.83-inch OLED screen, making it one of the largest handsets on the market, comparable to the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra or iPhone 17 Pro Max. The rear camera island houses a circular dot-matrix LED screen that can display notifications, time, timers, and charge levels, and can also function as a rough selfie viewfinder or show widgets like a moon phase tracker.
Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 chip, the Phone 4a Pro handles daily tasks smoothly and can run games at medium settings, though it may warm up during extended play. The battery lasts over two days with moderate use, including seven hours of active screen time on a mix of Wi-Fi and 5G, and still has about 20% charge left after heavy use.
The phone runs Nothing OS 4.1, a customised version of Android 16, offering slick performance and extensive customisation options, including retro dot-matrix-style icons and widgets. It includes Google Gemini integration and AI tools such as Essential Voice for dictation, though this requires an internet connection. The Essential Space app syncs up to 2.15GB of data to Nothing's cloud, but access is limited to Nothing phones.
The camera system includes a 50MP main sensor, a 50MP 3.5x telephoto lens, and an 8MP ultrawide, plus a 32MP selfie camera. The main camera performs well in good light but struggles in low light, while the telephoto lens delivers sharp, colourful images. The phone supports up to 140x digital zoom.
Nothing promises three years of Android version updates and six years of security updates, which is less than some competitors. Additionally, some apps like Netflix do not support HDR playback due to certification issues. Despite these drawbacks, the Phone 4a Pro offers a unique design and solid performance for its price.
