Slowly but steadily, Nothing has achieved a strong hold in the mid-range segment. The previous series from the company did manage to grab users’ attention. Building on this, the brand has unveiled the 4th generation phones — Nothing Phone 4a and Nothing Phone 4a Pro.
I have already reviewed the 4a variant, so I will share insights on the Pro variant. Starting at a price of ₹39,999, the phone is set to heat up the premium mid-range segment. In this review, we will find out how the Nothing Phone 4a Pro fares when compared to the Nothing Phone 3a Pro and the supposed flagship from the brand — Nothing Phone 3 — and what more it offers than the Nothing Phone 4a.
Let’s dive deep.
Design
Nothing has always stood out in the market for its unique and quirky designs. When Nothing Phone 4a Pro was launched, there was some criticism on social media suggesting the brand is moving away from its original design language. However, I would like to disagree. The Nothing Phone 4a Pro stays very much true to the brand’s identity. This time, the aircraft-grade aluminium unibody makes it look and feel like a clear upgrade over the material used earlier. It is also slimmer at just 7.95mm and noticeably sturdier than the previous generation.
On the back, the camera island along with the Glyph Matrix continues to hold the Nothing identity without trying too hard. This time, the Glyph Matrix has been carried forward from the Nothing Phone 3 and is 57% larger than what we saw earlier, featuring 137 mini-LEDs with their brightness going up to 3000 nits. Unlike the segmented glyph strips on the Nothing Phone 3a Pro, this implementation feels far more functional and interactive. It can now show a digital clock, timer, battery indicator, volume feedback and even custom symbols for selected contacts, so you often do not need to even turn the phone around to check notifications. The Always-on Glyph tools also make the experience feel closer to what Nothing earlier reserved only for its flagship lineup. Over time, this becomes less of a design highlight and more of a practical feature that actually changes how you interact with the phone. The overall look lends a highly technical feel to the phone.
Despite being a large phone, the Nothing Phone 4a Pro never feels uncomfortable or heavy in the hand. Button placement remains practical with the Essential Key positioned separately for quick AI actions. The front has a clean and open look with thinner bezels and a strong screen-to-body ratio. Protection has improved with Gorilla Glass 7i, and the IP rating has moved up from IP64 on the 3a Pro to IP65, making the device more reliable for everyday usage.
Display
The Nothing Phone 4a Pro comes with a 6.83-inch AMOLED display with 1.5K resolution, making it sharper than the Full HD panel on the Nothing Phone 3a Pro. The screen supports up to a 144 Hz refresh rate and offers improved touch response of up to 2500 Hz. In daily use, scrolling feels extremely smooth and interactions feel quick and responsive.
Brightness is another area where the phone clearly improves on the previous generation. With peak brightness reaching 5,000 nits and outdoor brightness going up to 1,600 nits, visibility remains strong even under direct sunlight. Compared to the Nothing Phone 3, the display experience here feels surprisingly competitive despite the price difference. Against the Realme 16 Pro Plus and the Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus, the panel stands comfortably in the same league with its balance of brightness, resolution, and responsiveness.
OS and AI
The Nothing Phone 4a Pro runs Nothing OS 4.1 based on Android 16, and this continues to be one of the cleanest Android experiences available in this segment. The interface remains minimal yet expressive, with smoother animations and improved transitions across the system.
AI plays a more meaningful role this time. The Essential Key now acts as a gateway to Essential Space, where screenshots, voice notes, reminders and saved content are automatically organised and analysed. Features like Essential Search, lock-screen widgets and contextual suggestions make the phone feel smarter without becoming intrusive. The addition of Stable Diffusion support for on-device image generation also shows how Nothing is pushing AI beyond basic utility features.
Performance
Powering the Nothing Phone 4a Pro is the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 processor, which is a noticeable upgrade over the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 used in the Nothing Phone 3a Pro. The chipset delivers improvements in CPU, GPU and AI performance, making the phone feel quicker in everyday usage. The review unit with 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage enabled comfortable multi-tasking.
App launches feel fast, switching between tasks remains smooth, and memory optimisation works efficiently. Even extended usage sessions did not reveal noticeable slowdowns. Storage speeds have also improved thanks to UFS 3.1 support, which helps with faster loading times.
In benchmark testing, the Nothing Phone 4a Pro scored 1318 in Geekbench single-core and 4170 in multi-core performance. GPU performance stood at 4605, while the AnTuTu score reached 1,466,382. For comparison, the Realme 16 Pro Plus scored 1332 single-core, 4285 multi-core, 4786 GPU and 1,445,602 on AnTuTu. The Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus scored 1237 single-core, 3167 multi-core, 3515 GPU and 1,057,569 on AnTuTu.
So yes, the phone falls slightly short in raw benchmark numbers against some rivals. However, in real-world usage, the difference is not very noticeable. Games like BGMI run smoothly and the gaming shortcut panel adds a dedicated gaming feel to the experience. The phone maintains stable performance without lagging during extended sessions.
Camera
Cameras have quietly become one of the biggest areas of improvement for Nothing across generations, and the Nothing Phone 4a Pro clearly reflects that shift. Compared to the Nothing Phone 3a Pro and even the standard Nothing Phone 4a, the Pro variant brings a more capable and refined imaging setup, especially with the addition of the new Sony LYT-700C main sensor with OIS, paired with a 50 MP periscope telephoto lens offering 3.5x optical zoom and support for extended hybrid zoom. The setup also includes an ultra-wide camera, while the front gets a sharp selfie sensor designed for social media-ready output.
Nothing Phone 4a Pro camera sample
| Photo Credit:
Haider Ali Khan
During my usage, what stood out most was the consistency in colour reproduction and the cleanliness of the images captured across lighting conditions — something that immediately gives the camera system a more dependable feel in daily photography.
Nothing Phone 4a Pro camera sample
| Photo Credit:
Haider Ali Khan
For its part, daylight photography looks detailed and balanced. Colours remain natural and the camera does not try to over-process scenes aggressively. Indoor shots came out particularly well, with good highlight control and consistent dynamic range. AI processing is present but not very noticeable, which works in favour of preserving natural-looking images.
Nothing Phone 4a Pro camera sample
| Photo Credit:
Haider Ali Khan
Night photography also performs reliably. Images reflect real lighting conditions instead of artificially brightening scenes. Noise control remains stable and details stay intact even in challenging lighting environments.
Nothing Phone 4a Pro camera sample
| Photo Credit:
Haider Ali Khan
Portrait shots benefit significantly from the periscope lens. Subject separation is accurate and background blur looks natural in most cases. The results feel closer to what we usually expect from higher-end devices.
Selfie performance is also sharp and consistent. Skin tones appear natural and details remain intact in both daylight and indoor lighting conditions. Overall, it would be fair to say that the camera capabilities here allow the Nothing Phone 4a Pro to comfortably hold ground in its segment.
Battery
The Nothing Phone 4a Pro packs a 5,080 mAh battery, which is the largest battery ever used in the company’s ‘a’ series lineup. In daily usage, the phone easily lasts a full day and can stretch further with moderate usage patterns.
Charging support remains practical with 50W wired charging, taking the phone to around 60% in roughly 30 minutes and completing a full charge in just over an hour. Battery health optimisation features also ensure long-term reliability, with the device designed to retain strong capacity even after extended charging cycles.
Verdict
The Nothing Phone 4a Pro builds meaningfully on the strengths of the Nothing Phone 3a Pro while bringing features like the Glyph Matrix, improved cameras, brighter display and smarter AI tools into the mid-range segment. Compared to the Nothing Phone 4a, the Pro variant clearly offers a stronger camera system and a more premium overall experience. At the same time, it borrows some flagship-level elements from Nothing Phone 3, especially in design identity and glyph functionality.
For users looking for a distinctive smartphone with balanced performance, a capable camera system and one of the cleanest Android experiences in this price range, the Nothing Phone 4a Pro stands out as a strong option in the segment.
