Nothing Phone 4b Review: CMF Vibes at Nothing Price

After the unceremonious cancellation of the CMF Phone 3, many of us were left wondering what was next for the company. And we didn't have to wait for long, as Nothing started teasing the Phone 4b soon after and has now launched it. But does it bring a similarly good value for budget customers in the midst of the ongoing smartphone price hikes? Let me explain that in this Nothing Phone 4b review and answer your burning questions after spending a week with the device.

Nothing Phone 4b Box Contents

Given the tight budget, the Nothing Phone 4b comes with only bare essentials in the box: 

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

Let us first look at the Nothing Phone 4b processor, camera, display and other key specifications. 

Nothing Phone (4b) Key Details

Processor

Snapdragon 6 Gen 4

Display

6.77" FHD+ AMOLED (120 Hz)

Rear Camera

50MP8MP

Wide-angleUltra-wide

Front Camera

16MP

Wide

RAM/Storage

8GB

128GB

Battery

6000mAh (33W)

OS

Android 16 (Nothing OS)

See full specifications

Processor

Snapdragon 6 Gen 4

Display

6.77" FHD+ AMOLED (120 Hz)

Rear Camera

50MP8MP

Wide-angleUltra-wide

Front Camera

16MP

Wide

RAM/Storage

8GB

128GB

Battery

6000mAh (33W)

OS

Android 16 (Nothing OS)

See full specifications

Note: Our testing, opinion, and rating for this review are based on the phone's launch price. We recommend checking the current price before making a purchase decision.

Design and Build 

• 8.55 mm thickness, 210 grams weight
• Plastic frame and back, IP 64 rating
• Glyph bar with red recording light

I have been using the White variant for this Nothing Phone 4b review, and like most devices from the company, I didn't like the design at first. It is thick, wide and heavy and has an all-plastic build that does not feel premium. It reminded me of the Phone 3a and the uncomfortable experience I had while reviewing it. 

The sides are stiff, and despite what the company claimed, the Phone 4b is not completely transparent from the back. Instead, there is only a small see-through cutout at the top, similar to the Phone 4a Pro.

But a few days into my review, the Nothing Phone 4b design just grew on me. While it is made of plastic, the in-hand feel is solid and feels better in comparison to the OnePlus Nord CE 6. The button placement is also nice, and the smooth matte finish on the back makes it easier to grip and carry. 

Even the transparent window won me over, making the device look distinct from other options in the same price segment. Plus, there is a Glyph bar similar to the one we have seen on the Phone 4a. It has 4 sets of controllable LEDs and a red light that blinks while recording videos. 

I can see that the company had to cut some corners here and there in terms of design. And I wish we could have gotten a slimmer device instead, like the Phone 3a Lite, but there is no doubt that even with all the budget restraints, the Phone 4b looks and feels uniquely-Nothing in terms of design. 

Display and Audio Quality 

• 6.77-inch (1080 x 2344) Full HD+ 120Hz AMOLED display
• AGC Dragontrail Glass protection, HDR 10+ supported
• 2000 nits peak brightness

Before the launch, we expected that Nothing might go with an LCD screen on the Phone 4b. Thankfully, the device ships with a Full HD+ AMOLED screen with a 120 Hz refresh rate that looks vivid and sharp.

I binged hours of YouTube during my Nothing Phone 4b review period, and the content looked as good as you would expect from an AMOLED screen. Colours are punchy, and the blacks look clean. Netflix still doesn't support HDR, as with all Nothing phones, and the display tuning was slightly warm, but I fixed it inside the settings.

The only catch is the ugly chin at the bottom, which looks very distracting. I couldn't get over it for the first few days but eventually got used to it and didn't mind it much later on.

Another caveat is the low brightness. It has a peak brightness of only 2,000 nits, which is less than the older CMF Phone 2 Pro. This makes the screen hard to view in harsh or even moderate sunlight when outdoors. 

On a good note, the sound output from the stereo speakers was even better than that of the more expensive Phone 4a. It was audibly louder and fuller, and the audio felt cleaner too. 

Performance Tested 

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 4
• Up to 8 GB LPDDR4X RAM + 256 GB UFS 2.2 storage

The hardware makes it clear that the Nothing Phone 4b is a budget phone. It comes with the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 chipset, also seen on the likes of Oppo K13. I can't show the benchmarks since they are blocked at the time of writing. But the performance ceiling is lower than that of the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 processor. 

It delivers similar day-to-day performance to the Dimensity 7300 seen on the CMF Phone 2 Pro. Apps open up fast, scrolling is smooth, switching between different apps doesn't feel like an issue, and there are minimal stutters in the UI. 

Gaming is a different topic. During my Nothing Phone 4b review period, I played BGMI and Call of Duty: Mobile, and it handled them at 90 FPS on the lowest settings, but I experienced frequent frame drops. This became further obvious while trying to play Genshin Impact, where the phone struggled to manage 60 FPS on the lowest settings. And in one instance, the phone completely froze, too. 

So I wouldn't consider the Phone 4b as one of the best gaming phones under Rs 30,000. If you have gaming needs, it is worth investing more in a device like the recently reviewed Redmi Turbo 5. 

Software and Updates 

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

Software has always remained the high point of any Nothing phone, and it does not disappoint here. The Phone 4b ships with NothingOS 4.1 based on Android 16, and it is a lightweight skin with minimal junk. This is one of the big reasons why the phone feels so smooth to use despite the performance limitations. 

The UI boasts a one-of-a-kind monochrome theme that looks nice and different, with only essential customisations to speak of. While on the topic, there are also Nothing's Essential AI features to let you save screenshots, record and transcribe voice notes. 

Nothing also didn't skip out on any Glyph lights on the Phone 4b either. It includes everything from notification support to live progress. But the OS isn't completely clean, as there are a few pre-installed apps included. You can obviously uninstall them, but I found it necessary to mention it here. 

Camera Review 

• 50 MP Main, f/1.8, OIS (Samsung GNS sensor), video upto 4K @ 30 FPS
• 8 MP Ultrawide, f/2.2, 119˚
• 16 MP Selfie, f/2.4, video up to 1080p @ 60 FPS

On the camera side, the Nothing Phone 4b sports only a 50 MP main, an 8 MP ultrawide and a 16 MP selfie camera. There's no telephoto camera here, and only the bare necessities. So let's see how they perform. 

Main Camera 

Daylight shots from the main camera look good. Colours lean close to natural but get a slight boost that never tips into looking artificial, which makes them ready for social media sharing. HDR handling is solid too, holding detail in tricky lighting without over-processing the scene.

I took the Phone 4b to Qutub Minar for camera samples on a hazy monsoon day with barely a cloud in sight. And even against a bland, washed-out blue sky, the photos held up well, as you can see. 

However, the limits of the smaller sensor start showing up when you crop into 2x. There are little details in the image, as is visible in the shot of a pillar with a plane in the background. Shadows look like dark patches, and low-light photos don't bode well either. 

Shots look fine at a glance, but give a closer look for more than a second, and the quality starts to feel faint. In comparison, the night shots I took for my Motorola Edge 70 Fusion review had better quality in both day and night situations. 

Ultrawide Camera 

The ultrawide camera offers some pleasant grand shots, handling landscapes and architecture better than I expected. That said, the 8MP resolution can only go so far. There are few details to speak of, and I wouldn't use it in low-light scenes at all. 

I also have to call out Nothing's black-and-white filter here. It produces a crisp, contrasty monochrome shot that appears as impressive as the Leica-tuned filters that I raved about in my Xiaomi 17T review.

Front Camera 

The selfie camera does a good job capturing near natural-looking results. It also adds a subtle bokeh effect to the background even without Portrait Mode, and I actually preferred shooting it this way.

Portrait Mode itself struggled with my curly hair, blurring it out more than I would like, so sticking with the natural mode gave me better results overall.

Video Quality 

Video tops out at 4K @ 30 FPS on the main camera, and the footage held up well, with good stabilisation. The front camera is more limited, capping out at 1080p recording, which is a reasonable trade-off at this price.

Battery Life and Charging 

• 6,000 mAh battery capacity
• 33W Fast charging supported, 7.5W reverse wired charging
• 1-100% charge in 80 minutes as claimed by the brand

The battery life is another area where the Phone 4b managed to impress. It comes with a 6,000mAh capacity, the largest we have seen in any Nothing device, and it easily lasted me throughout a day. I would typically be left with a 25% charge, and I got an average of 7 hours of screen-on time during my Nothing Phone 4b review period. 

The phone does not ship with a charger but supports 33W max charging if you have a PD adapter handy. In my testing, it took around 1 hour to refill the device from 1-100%, which is reasonably good. 

Nothing Phone 4b Review Verdict: Should You Buy It? 

Nothing Phone 4b does not feel like the surprise hit, unlike the Phone 3a Lite before it. Instead, it seems like a last-minute decision to repackage the cancelled CMF Phone 3 and slap the Nothing name on an entirely new series to make it reasonable to sell it at a higher price. 

The signs become obvious once you start paying close attention. It cuts down on essential features like a good processor, telephoto camera, and brighter display, which were the norm in this price segment. The decision seems to be a response to the skyrocketing smartphone prices, and I don't think there is anything that Nothing could have done about that.  

Still, the Phone 4b manages to deliver a smooth UI with long updates, a design that is iconic to Nothing, and an AMOLED screen with an in-display fingerprint reader. And for Rs 29,999 with offers, it is not the best phone for the price but a good recommendation for anyone looking for an affordable mid-range device in 2026.