I received my order on Tuesday, April 22nd, so it’s been exactly 11 days since I’ve been testing the Nothing Phone 3A.
- Unboxing, design and performance
I won’t hide my excitement when I did the unboxing haha, here are a few pictures:
- The box is super stylish, I love the design and the embossed textures!
- After opening the box, here’s what you find inside:
So we have the phone, a charging cable, and a LED bulb (my first thought was: WHAT IS THIS LED BULB FOR?) → we’ll get to that soon… SUSPENSE!Well, turns out I was being silly — it’s not a tiny LED bulb at all ahahaha, it’s just the SIM card ejector tool… but with a super cool design!
- Here are two short videos of the phone turning on:
Video 1
Video 2
As you can see, I received the white Nothing Phone (3A). Not everyone likes white, but I can assure you that the Nothing design makes it look classy and stylish.
- After doing some research online and exploring the phone, here are the specifications of the model I received:
- Dimensions : 163.5 × 77.5 × 8.4 mm
- Weight : 201 g
- Display : OLED / 6.77 " / 1080 × 2392 px / 387 ppp / 120 Hz adaptatif
- HDR Display Support : Yes
- Screen Protection : Scratch-resistant
- Color : White
- Storage : 128 Go
- RAM Extension options : 2, 4 et 8 Gb
I thought it was really awesome that the screen protector is already included with the Nothing Phone 3A. It’s the first time I’ve seen that — and it’s brilliant!
I was really surprised by how well it works. I have a fingerprint sensor on my laptop, and it doesn’t always work properly.
But with the Nothing Phone (3a), I had absolutely no issues during my 11 days of testing. It’s fast, smooth, and reliable — I was genuinely impressed!
- Battery
I’m really satisfied with the battery life of the Nothing Phone (3a). Even during long gaming sessions, the battery doesn’t drain quickly — and trust me, I’ve played a lot!
On top of that, I managed to charge the phone from 0 to 100% in about 1 hour and 15 minutes, which is definitely a strong point.
Bonus point: I really like the little charging animation haha — it’s a small detail, but it makes the experience even more enjoyable
- Let’s talk about the camera!
I took a few photos with the Nothing Phone (3A) and, even though I’m not really into photography, I really appreciated the image quality!
The colors are accurate, the details are sharp… Honestly, it was a real pleasure.
Here are a few examples:
Here, I can even see the details of my mouse and the wear marks — that really shows how well the camera captures textures and small elements. Impressive for a phone in this range!
Zooming in at 4x is mind-blowing — nothing is blurry, and I love it! The level of detail stays super sharp, even with zoom, which is pretty rare in this price range.
Here are two more photos:
The only small downside for me is that the zoom in macro mode lacks a bit of precision.
But overall, for a phone in this price range, the camera is truly impressive.
- NOW ! Let’s talk about GAMING
And what about gaming performance?
Well, I really enjoyed it! I tried several games, but mainly Call of Duty Mobile, and the Nothing Phone (3a) handled it really well — smooth, responsive, and no noticeable overheating.
Here are a few pictures and videos from my gaming sessions:
Call Of Mobile
- Finally, the Essential Key :
This button allows you to perform several useful actions:
- Double press: opens the Essential Space app
- Single press: takes a screenshot, which is automatically saved in Essential Space. You can then add a voice note if you want
- Long press: lets you record a voice note, which is also stored in Essential Space
I haven’t used it much yet because I didn’t really need it, but it could be useful in the future.
For example, it’s great for taking a screenshot and then adding a voice note to remember why you captured it.
It could also be very handy in a work context, to quickly save an important piece of information or an idea to follow up on.
To put in a nut shell. Honestly, what I liked the most about the Nothing Phone (3a) is the design. It’s just so unique — you instantly know it’s a Nothing phone, and I love that it stands out from the rest. The battery life? Great. Even after long gaming sessions (and trust me, I played A LOT), it held up really well. And the fast charging? Super handy — in just over an hour, you’re back at 100%.
I was also really surprised by the camera. I’m not usually into photography, but I genuinely enjoyed taking pics with this phone. The colors are vibrant, the details are sharp, and the 4x zoom is kind of mind-blowing. I played a lot of Call of Duty Mobile too, and the phone handled it like a champ — no lag, no overheating. As for the Nothing OS interface, it’s clean, smooth, and easy to use. No fuss, just good vibes.
Now, of course, a few small things could be better. There’s no microSD card slot, so you need to choose your storage wisely. The charger isn’t included, which is a bit annoying. And the macro zoom could be sharper — but honestly, that’s not a feature I use that often.
To sum it up: I’m really happy I got to test this phone. Before this, I probably wouldn’t have considered buying it — but now? I’d totally recommend it. It has all the flagship feels without the flagship price tag. Great value for money.
My rating: 9/10
Thank you @HeyupTeam for this opportunity
