What just happened? Nothing has unveiled two new budget smartphones at Mobile World Congress 2025 in Barcelona. The Phone (3a) and Phone (3a) Pro succeed last year’s Phone (2a) and Phone (2a) Plus, offering multiple upgrades, including a faster processor and improved cameras.
Both phones feature the same 6.7-inch flexible AMOLED display with a 2392 x 1080 pixel resolution, 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, and up to 1,000Hz touch sampling rate in gaming mode. There’s also a 2,160Hz PWM frequency, up to 3,000 nits peak brightness, and Panda Glass protection. The devices are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset, coupled with up to 12GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage.
The Phone (3a) Pro comes with a triple-camera setup at the back, headlined by a 50MP Samsung 1/1.56-inch main sensor paired with an f/1.88 aperture lens with OIS and EIS. It is accompanied by an 8MP ultrawide shooter with an f/2.2 lens and a 50MP Sony 1/1.95-inch periscope telephoto camera with an f/2.55 lens, OIS, and EIS, featuring 3x optical and 60x digital zoom.
The Phone (3a) also packs triple rear cameras, led by a 50MP Samsung 1/1.57-inch primary camera with an f/1.88 aperture lens, supporting OIS and EIS. Additionally, it gets a 50MP Sony 1/2.74-inch telephoto camera mated to an f/2.0 lens with EIS support, offering 2x optical zoom and 30x digital zoom. The Phone (3a) has the same ultrawide camera as the one on the Phone (3a) Pro.
Finally, the Phone (3a) rocks a 32MP front camera, while the Phone (3a) Pro features an upgraded 50MP selfie shooter capable of recording 4K videos with adaptive AI stabilization and night video enhancement. Nothing claims that the software optimization improves brightness by 74.4 percent and reduces noise by 33.7 percent compared to Phone (2a).
Both the Phone (3a) and (3a) Pro sport 5,000mAh batteries with 50W wired charging that Nothing claims can juice up the devices from one to 50 percent in 19 minutes and to 100 percent in 56 minutes. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, and USB-C. Other hardware features common to both devices include IP64 rating, in-display fingerprint scanners, and stereo speakers.
Both handsets feature Nothing’s trademark Glyph Interface with support for 10 new ringtones and notification sounds. Other Glyph features include Glyph Timer, Essential Notifications, Volume Indicator, Glyph Composer, Glyph Torch, Glyph Progress and more. On the software side, the phones run NothingOS 3.1 based on Android 15. Nothing promises three years of Android updates and six years of security updates for both devices.
Pricing for the Phone (3a) starts at $379 for the 12GB RAM + 256GB storage variant, while a similarly specced Phone (3a) Pro will cost $459. The former will go on sale via nothing.tech and other retailers on March 11, while the latter will be available for purchase from March 25.
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