Why the Phone (4a) Pro is the Nothing phone for people who hate Nothing

Nothing has been brave with the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro.

It has left its fully transparent design language behind, and adopted a modern, less flashy overall style, while still retaining what makes its phones so unique.

Is it brave, in the same way jumping out of a plane without a parachute would be? No.

I’ve spent a short time with the phone, and here’s why it’s a clever move, and why I think it has the potential to pay off long-term.

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Posts By  Andy Boxall

Cool design

Taken in a new direction

Up until the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro, the brand’s phones were defined by two things, the Glyph LED lights and the extensive use of transparency.

Nothing evolved the Glyph lights into the Glyph Matrix with the Nothing Phone 3, a controversial decision but one which has paid off, because it engages Nothing’s strong community with the ability to create widgets, and allowed the company to try new things without abandoning its roots.

For the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro, only the camera module includes Nothing’s signature transparent materials, along with the new Glyph Matrix, but the rest of the phone has an aluminum unibody, which is decidedly not transparent.

Just like the Glyph Matrix, Nothing has evolved its phone design without leaving what makes its devices so unique behind.

In doing so, it doesn’t risk alienating its staunchest supporters, but can also attract those previously put off by its bold designs. This is why Nothing’s design effort may pay off long-term.

Holding the Phone (4a) Pro

Glyph Matrix upgrade

The switch to an all-metal case and chassis is a master stroke. It feels solid and expensive when you pick up the phone. The metal has a lovely smoothness, and the phone feels well-balanced in your hand. It reminds me of the OnePlus Nord 4 in this respect.

Its plain design only serves to amp up the bold camera module. It’s swooping, curvy, and dotted with circles, squares, and stadium shapes. What could be messy is instead futuristic and oddly coherent.

The camera module is Nothing’s previous design intent, condensed down into one-third of the rear panel, ensuring the phone doesn’t lose anything that made previous Nothing phones so special.

The Glyph Matrix has new widgets, such as a moon phase, but, unsurprisingly, it has lost the capacitive Glyph Button seen on the Phone 3. It doesn’t matter. It neatly bridges the gap between the simple Glyph Bar on the Phone (4a) and the full Glyph Matrix experience on the Phone 3.

What about the rest of the phone?

Great mid-range specs

If you’re expecting the (4a) Pro to have a dramatically different spec sheet to the Nothing Phone (4a), prepare to keep your expectations in check.

What you get is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 processor (not a 7S Gen 4) and a base 8GB of RAM or a top 12GB RAM model, with either 128GB or 256GB of storage space. The 5,080mAh battery has 50W wired charging.

The screen is a little larger at 6.83-inches with a 1,260 x 2,800 pixel resolution, a 144Hz refresh rate, and 800 nits brightness, with a boost to 1,600 nits in sunlight.

Finally, it has a 50-megapixel main camera, an 8MP wide-angle camera, and a 50MP periscope zoom camera for a 3.5x optical zoom. The main and telephoto cameras both have optical and electronic image stabilization (OIS and EIS).

Where are the differences?

Nothing major

The two spec sheets are closely matched, with only a few obvious differences, but what about when you dig down into the details?

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Here are a few of the notable alterations. The Phone (4a) Pro uses LPDDR5X RAM instead of the LPDDR4X RAM in the (4a), the maximum refresh rate is 144Hz, an IP65 rating instead of IP64, and 7.5W wired reverse charging.

While both phones have a 50MP main camera, the Phone (4a) Pro uses a Sony LYT-700C and not the Samsung GN9 in the Phone (4a), but the wide-angle and telephoto are the same.

Which one to buy?

Not so hard a choice

When the specs are so similar, which Phone (4a) to buy may come down to design preference. Or, if you’re in the US, the Phone (4a) Pro is the only choice, as the non-Pro will not be released.

The 8GB/128GB Phone (4a) Pro will be available on Amazon and cost $499, while the 12GB/256GB model will cost $599.

Based on my early impressions of both phones, Nothing has a couple of winners on its hands, and I don’t think you’ll go much wrong with either. We’ll have a full review very soon, when we’ll know for sure.

Nothing also launched the Headphone (a) over-ear headphones at its London event.