This flashy Android phone made me forget the flagship products – and the price is frightening good

There is no bigger reality check for a technological journalist than when you are in a family meeting, define your phone on the dining table, and the gravitational attraction of innovation does its job. Curious eyes, familiar questions and impatient hands of younger cousins ​​are almost always guaranteed when I test the latest iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, etc. But lately, this phenomenon has occurred less and less.

Also: the best Android phones to buy in 2025

Even foldable phones have lost part of their attraction to traditional eyes, which I blame on stagnant prices and without decreases. But the last device I tested, the Nothing 3A proseems to have invigorated things. It may be the transparent rear design, the brilliant glypheric lights or the absolute island of a bump of camera that shouts: “I take good photos.” Everyone seems to have a different answer to it.

After testing the Notheing Phone 3a Pro for almost a month now, I receive the speech. But one thing is certain: at $ 459, you cannot find a more well balanced handset than that.

Nothing products have paved the way in industrial design – with regard to creativity and details – since the creation of the company, and the 3A Pro phone is no different. Whether you opt for the all -black finish or the slightly more exciting gray, the phone has a transparent support that protects the different screws, data ribbons and components below.

Like previous Nothing phones, the glyph interface is present, a unique LED light assembly that flashes to indicate the notifications, alerts and incoming timers.

Also: nothing phone 1 review: you haven’t seen anything yet

Nothing has done a much more important game of its shiny rear cover design when it launched the phone 1 almost three years ago, but since then the smart interface has taken a rear seat. This does not bother me, because it always serves its objective of being a statement of state of the display without putting a spectacle of disturbing light each time.

In fact, the ability to define a constant tag only for specific notifications (hopefully important), such as my wife’s text messages, allowed me to remain more concentrated on other tasks. This is the best because the original notification has led on phones. Do you remember these?

The rest of the design is similar to the phone 2A and 2A more from last year, especially if you opt for the gray finish of similar appearance (see above). However, holding company The two generations by hand reveal major material changes: the rear lid is now made of glass instead of plastic, and the large camera bump makes the 3A Pro phone much heavier.

Also: I thought that the budget phone market was in ruins – then I held the last Google pixel

In a turn of surprising events, I would say that the 3A Pro phone is nothing less ergonomic to date, with a bulge that accentuates only the unequal weight distribution of the phone. Whether it’s reproaching the news on the metro or navigating the streets of New York in one hand, I should often move my fingers to get a secure socket on the phone. A clear case, in particular the one who makes the bump of the camera more rinsed, can remedy it.

Conversely – and you will have to excuse my geekery for a while – I completely love the placement of the button on the 3A Pro phone. The right power and the essential keys and the left volume rocker are located around the center of the frame, so they are still only a click, whether you hold the phone with your left or right hand.

In particular, the new essential key, which serves to archive AI, is treated with a brilliant coating instead of Mat, so it is easier to discern.

The essential key, which fuels the essential space of Nothing, is one of the most practical IA features that I have tested. A click on the button takes a screenshot, the AI ​​model tried any text or visual information, and you can attach a note or a voice recording for future reference. It is very similar to the application of Google Pixel screenshots, but the possibility of making commands is further than the interpretation of nothing.

Also: I tried Google Pixel screenshots and that’s all I would like a feature to be

While in Barcelona for the Mobile World Congress, I frequently save the location of local restaurants and meeting places by dictating: “Remind me to come here to The scheduled time. “About 30 minutes before an event took place, I would receive the recall on the phone with the screenshot. Although the functionality works as expected, it is not perfect.

In an ideal world, the essential space can be synchronized with third -party services like Google Calendar or Gmail. Then, I would receive reminders even if I did not have my phone in my hand.

Anyway, I don’t congratulate anything to have kept his initiatives of Subtiles, at least to start. Instead of pushing the 3A Pro phone as the next best device to help you summarize emails and write text messages, the company sets up all other aspects, including its camera system and its performance.

The large camera upgrade, and what separates 3A Pro phone from the 3A phone is the new 50MP telephoto lens with a 3X optical zoom. The addition of a dedicated periscope camera means that you can capture more distant subjects without counting on digital culture. I took several photos with the new camera while browsing the streets of Barcelona. I found that the production was competitive with my Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and Xiaomi 15 Ultra, which both cost about three times the price.

Also: I replaced my $ 3,500 Sony camera with an Android 200MP phone – and it spoiled me high

It is only if you are not breathtaking, of course, because the 3A Pro phone can capture moments in relatively natural colors and contrasts but fails in sharpness and in detail. This is particularly the case with low -light photography when the darkness of the environment makes it difficult for the camera to accurately reproduce the images.

Remember that it is a phone of $ 459, so I would always note its release in level B; The main objectives and telephoto lens will serve you much better than what you get the Motorola and Samsung handsets at similar prices.

Regarding daily performance, the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 7S Gen 3 chip, associated with 12 GB of RAM, on the 3A Pro phone obtained by most of the tasks I launched, including loading and rapid scrolling via social media flows, response to emails, streaming films and videos and mobile games. Aside from occasional stuttering and executives that have fallen during navigation on text services like Reddit, I never felt frustrated when using the phone.

It helps that nothing in the operating system is at the cleaner end of the Android spectrum, with practically no bloatware or excessive features. (You can even opt for an original Android aesthetic instead of nothing of the points matrix, although I recommend being more adventurous when you use a phone like this.)

Also: nothing new budget Android phones is only Samsung and Apple look bad

Finally, the 3A Pro telephone is both a champion of endurance and load, with a 5,000 mAh battery which competes with flagship products and a 50 W wired rate. However, you do not get a compatible load brick in the box, and the ourselves of the wireless load will leave users from the mid -range phones competing like the Motorola Moto G 5G Style (2024) Pixel 8a scratching her head.

ZDNET purchase advice

That is to say, the Nothing 3A pro Checks many boxes, more than any phone in its price range, but its most unique features, from polarizing design to the key essentially, make it just as convincing for technology enthusiasts using flagship phones. During the tests, I even saw several iPhone users planning to go to the 3A Pro phone, whether for digital well-being that glyph lights promote or the fashionable user interface.

There is a socket with the 3A Pro phone and nothing of the telephones in general: the American beta program, a purchase registration procedure which is only accessible via Nothing’s Web Store. (You may think is a way the company reduces costs with its American phones.)

Although the purchase directly from nothing always comes with the warranty of your standard manufacturer and a 30-day return period, after-sales support (read: finding replacement parts and connecting to different cellular networks) is notably less structured than in your typical transporter store. Commercial transactions are also less aggressive and compared to the traditional payment plan, you buy the telephone off and unlock.