Nothing Phone 4a Pro Arrives With 144Hz AMOLED And 140X Zoom For $499
Nothing is attempting to steal some thunder away from Google's Pixel 10a with its mid-range Phone (4a) and Phone (4a) Pro. Unveiled at a high-profile event at London’s Central Saint Martins, both version feature new Glyph notification lighting, while the Pro model debuts as the company's first metal unibody handset and its slimmest release to date.
The obvious showstopper between the two is the Phone (4a) Pro, which comes in at 7.95mm thick. It's definitely not the thinnest by far, but your hands and pants pocket will be grateful for the change. By wrapping the device in a precision-milled aluminum chassis, Nothing has gone more premium while (we presume) enhancing thermal management since the aluminum unibody acts as a heat sink, working alongside a 5,300mm² vapor chamber to keep the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 chipset running happily.
While the back is now opaque, the brand hasn't abandoned its light-based calling card; the Pro features a Glyph Matrix integrated into the camera island. The revised setup is comprised of 137 mini-LEDs that are significantly brighter than previous iterations, offering functional lighting for notifications and timers without the X-ray look of previous gens.
Most brands usually claim how they've upped the ante on the cameras, and it's no different here. Both phones have a triple-camera array, headlined by a 50MP primary and a 50MP periscope telephoto lens (with 3.5x optical zoom). On the Pro, this system is backed by the new TrueLens Engine 4, which uses AI segmentation to process 13 RAW frames into a single Ultra XDR photo.
The Pro further distinguishes itself with a 6.83-inch AMOLED display that hits 5,000 nits of peak brightness and a 144Hz refresh rate, which is quite impressive at this price point.
The regular Phone (4a) remains more accessible, utilizing a Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 processor and a 120Hz screen. It retains a hint of the classic Nothing look with a duo-tone transparent finish on the upper section of its rear panel, though it introduces a more compact Glyph Bar instead of a full matrix. Something new for the brand is that the (4a) series will get Pink and Blue color options alongside the traditional Black, White, and Silver.
Running on the new Nothing OS 4.1 based on Android 16, both devices promise three years of OS updates. The Phone (4a) Pro, the only version offered here in the U.S., is priced starting at $499, positioning it directly in the line of fire of the all-new Google Pixel 10a. Pre-orders are set to begin March 13 and units will start shipping on March 27.
