Nothing Phone (4a) Review: A Mid-Range Camera King Nobody Saw Coming

The Nothing Phone (4a) has been one of my most anticipated smartphone launches of 2026. I have been eagerly waiting for it since the first look dropped. Plus, the rumours were promising big updates in the specs sheet too. Now that the phone is officially out, I can finally share my thoughts on the device, which I have been using for a week, and answer whether it's another Nothing success story or doomed to fail in this Nothing Phone (4a) review. 

Box Contents

As always, the Nothing Phone (4a) skips the charger and only includes the following items  inside the box:

• Nothing Phone (4a) smartphone
• Transparent silicone case
• Pre-applied screen protector
• USB Type C to C cable
• SIM Ejector tool
• Paperwork

Nothing Phone (4a) Key Details

Processor

Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4

• Adreno 810

Rear Camera

50MP (Wide-angle)

• Samsung ISOCELL GN9

8MP (Ultra-wide)

• Sony IMX355

50MP (Periscope)

• SAMSUNG ISOCELL JN5

Hybrid Stabilization

4K@30fps

RAM/Storage

8GB (LPDDR4X)

• 128GB (UFS 3.1)

Display

6.78" (120Hz)

• 1.5K AMOLED
• HDR10+

Battery

5400mAh (Lithium Polymer)

• 50Watt (wired)

Front Camera

32MP (Wide)

• Samsung ISOCELL KD1
• 4k@30fps

Design

Gorilla Glass 7i (Front)

• Glass (Back)
• Plastic Frame (Side)
• IP64 (Dust and Water Resistant)

OS

Android (Nothing OS)

• 3 year(s) of OS Update

See full specifications

Build and Design 

• 163.95 x 77.57 x 8.55 mm, 204.5 grams weight
• Plastic frame and back, USB Type-C 2.0
• IP 64 dust and water protection

Right off the bat, the Nothing Phone (4a) design looks different, yet the same altogether. You have the transparent top layer, giving a glimpse of the insides. The bottom is not too busy this time around. The phone looks cleaner, while still having rocking visible screw holes. A feat only Nothing can accomplish. 

The camera housing has also gone through a facelift, now surrounded by a shiny metallic plate, where the Glyph lights once used to reside. The camera bump looks more prominent with a grey strip outlining the 3 lenses inside. This is the fastest any Nothing Phone has grown on me, not just from the looks but also the in-hand feel.

The Phone (4a) is not as wide and is easier to handle compared to the Nothing Phone (3a). It also doesn't weigh much given the plastic frame, so one-handed use is comfortable. The button alignment has also been revamped with the volume and power buttons on the right, and the Essential key is left idle on the left side. So, no more accidentally pressing the AI button. 

It has the IP64 rating, so it can take a splash, but I would have loved complete dust and water protection like the competition. Overall, I have quite enjoyed the look and feel of the Nothing Phone (4a) during my review period, more than I did with any other phone from the brand in the past. 

Glyph Bar Overview 

• 63 mini-LEDs, 6 individually addressable zones
• Red LED while recording videos

The Nothing Phone (4a) ditches the traditional Glyph lights interface for a bar-shaped arrangement this time, called the Glyph Bar. It comprises 6 LEDs with 3 levels of brightness and a red indicator which twinkles while recording video. Just like the Nothing Phone (2). 

It can perform most Glyph actions like volume indicator, notification and call alerts, Glyph progress, camera countdown and Glyph timer. You can also adjust its brightness, but the scope of customisation is very limited.

I have already talked about my thoughts on the Glyph bar in my Nothing Phone (4a) design overview.  I expressed that I am not a fan of this setup. It looks too simplified and takes away the iconic aspect of Nothing Phones. That is why I did not use it much during my Nothing Phone (4a) review period. But many people I talked to preferred the Glyph bar for its minimal look. 

Display and Speaker Quality 

• 6.78-inch (1224 x 2720) 1.5k 120Hz AMOLED display
• Corning Gorilla Glass 7i protection, HDR 10+ supported, 10-bit panel
• 1600 nits High brightness mode, 4500 nits peak brightness

The screen resolution of the Nothing Phone (4a) has been improved to a sharper 1.5K compared to 1080p in the previous generation. As a result, the content looks more detailed and clear on this large AMOLED panel. The bezels are slightly thicker compared to most 2026 phones in this price range, and there is no Dolby Vision support like the Realme GT 7T or the POCO X7 Pro. 

That said, the screen does get plenty bright, as I took it on several outings for camera samples under harsh sunlight. The display protection has also improved to Gorilla Glass 7i, which is more durable. And the device ships with a pre-applied screen protector for further protection. I also found the stereo speaker setup to be ample loud and fulfilling during my Nothing Phone (4a) review period. 

Performance Tested 

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 (4nm), Adreno 810 GPU
• 12 GB LPDDR4X RAM + 256 GB UFS 3.1 storage

The Nothing Phone (4a) is the first phone in India to launch with the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4. It was last seen on the OnePlus Turbo 6V launched exclusively in China. It is not a performance-heavy chipset, but it provides sustained performance without overheating. Moreover, Nothing has finally upgraded the storage type to UFS 3.1 as well. As a result, here are the benchmark numbers I got on the Phone (4a). 

Note: We tested Antutu v10 on the Phone (4a) since v11 is blocked till the launch of the device. We will update the benchmarks sometime after the official release. 

In everyday use, the phone performs quite well and handles apps and multitasking with ease. Surprisingly, gaming was also pretty good on the device, even though it is not a gaming chipset. 

Games like BGMI support Smooth graphics with Ultra Extreme 120 FPS, and the same goes for Call of Duty: Mobile. It can also run heavier titles like Genshin Impact at high graphics at 60 FPS. There were times when the performance dipped to 40 FPS. But, even after hours of gaming, I did not encounter any heating issues during my Nothing Phone (4a) review period. It is by no means the best gaming mobile phone, but it can stand up to the task if necessary. 

Software and Updates 

• Nothing OS 4.1 based on Android 16
• Up to 3 Android updates, 6 years of security patches

The software continues to be the best in the range, with the new Nothing OS 4.1 right out of the box. This is a clean, minimal and close to stock Android experience. However, it does come with Instagram and Facebook pre-installed this time. Nothing did say that this will be the trend going forward, but at least the Glance lockscreen is nowhere to be found. 

The UI runs quite smoothly, and Nothing has implemented haptics into it really well. From scrolling photos in the Gallery app to changing volume, every interaction provides a gentle vibration which elevates the user experience. Nothing OS 4 also brings a new pitch-black theme, which looks great on Phone (4a)'s AMOLED display, and there are new lockscreen clock styles that look quite fancy. 

There's also Nothing's AI Essential Space which has also undergone some new improvements. It can now categorize your memories, for more personalized results. However, I barely used it during my Nothing Phone (4a) review period, since I didn't find much use for it to begin with. 

Cameras Reviewed 

• 50 MP (main), f/1.9, 1/1.57", OIS, video recording upto 4K 30 FPS
• 50 MP (Periscope), f/2.88, 3.5x optical zoom + 8 MP (ultrawide), f/2.2, 120˚
• 32 MP (selfie), f/2.2, video recording up to 4K 30 FPS

The cameras are another huge highlight of the Nothing Phone (4a). It comes with a triple camera setup, like last year. But it's bringing a stronger 3.5x W-shaped telephoto lens, along with improved image processing. Without any further ado, here are the photos taken from the Phone (4a). 

The main 50MP lens takes natural-looking photos. The colour contrast is well-balanced, and the HDR is handled perfectly. You can see how good the details look in this photo of the Qutub Minar, with the monument's intricacies clearly visible. Or this night shot of the temple covered in flowers. The images surpassed my expectations in some instances.

However, once you take the shot and zoom into it, the details start to fade away. This is the same case with both day and night photos. The image looks sharp and in-focus. But zooming in clearly shows the loss in quality. Another thing I noticed during my Nothing Phone (4a) review period is that it takes a few seconds to process the photo. On multiple occasions, I had to wait for the device to finish processing. 

Heading to the ultrawide lens, it captures decent images of the subject from a wider perspective. However, I did notice a slight colour disparity between the main and the ultrawide lens. Not to forget that this is just an 8MP lens, so there aren't many details in the wide shots once you start to look more into it. 

The 3.5x telephoto is the main highlight of the Phone (4a). It delivers very natural colours, even better than the main lens at times. It is almost as good as the proper periscope lens on the Phone (3a) Pro. You can get much closer to the subject and take more detailed photos. As you can see, the colours look good in this photo of a temple decorated with flowers. 

Even at 7x, the quality barely drops down and the images still turn out very well. This is evident in the photo I took of the Qutub Minar, with the Indigo logo on the plane clearly visible. Pushing it to 10x can still deliver some amazing looking images. However, post this stage, AI kicks in which tries to compensate for the loss of quality by oversharpening the image. As you can see in this 20x shot of the flower that I took. I can push it upto 70x, but the image quality degrades significantly. 

Coming to the front, there is a 32 MP selfie camera takes photogenic photos. But it tends to whiten the face a bit at times, and some facial details are also missing. This could be easily fixed with a software update. The portrait photos also turned out quite lovely, with accurate cutout of the subject and soft blur in the background. 

Overall, the camera is the strongest aspects of the Nothing Phone (4a), and it will be one of the best camera mobile phones to beat in its price category. In case, you're looking for a more comprehensive take about its photography game, you can check out our Nothing Phone (4a) camera test. 

Battery Life and Charging 

• 5080 mAh battery capacity
• 50W Fast charging supported, 50% charge in 22 minutes

For some reason, the Nothing Phone (4a) does not come with a silicon carbon battery, like the Phone (3) or any other phone in the segment. As a result, it only comes with a moderate 5080 mAh capacity. I initially thought this might not be enough, but the phone proved me wrong. Throughout my Nothing Phone (4a) review period, I averaged around 8 hours of screen on time with 10% left in the phone. 

This was after more than an hour of gaming, scrolling Instagram for whole night, watching YouTube videos, taking the phone out for camera samples and videos. Even with hotspot turned on, the Phone (4a) delivered almost 5 hours of screen on time before running dry. And while it does not come with a charger, it does support 50W fast charging. This can top up the phone from 0–50% in just 22 minutes. 

Nothing Phone (4a) Review Verdict: Should You Buy It?  

If you like the look of the phone, want a good cameras, prefer a mostly clean, stock Android look, and don't mind giving up some performance then the Nothing Phone (4a) is the perfect device for you. The company has definitely refined the experience, and made the necessary changes that people have been asking for.

With upgraded storage, better processor, higher resolution display and an excellent telephoto camera, this is a worthy successor to the Nothing Phone (3a) series. There is room for improvement, but Nothing has had a good track record of fixing problems with regular updates. So, at a starting price of Rs 31,999 and discounts, it becomes an easy recommendation in 2026.