Nothing Phone (4a) Pro tested: The surcharge is worth it
19/3/2026
Translation: machine translated
Pictures: Jan Johannsen
More details on pictures and more performance: The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro offers tangible advantages over the standard model.
A year ago, I wasn't convinced by the Pro version of the Nothing Phone (3a). This year is different: I would pay the extra for the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro. The new design leaves me ambivalent. But more performance, better pictures and eSIM are extremely attractive.
Sleeker design, aluminium and a pixelated «Glyph Matrix»
The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro departs from its previous design paths. Instead of transparency and lots of details, the manufacturer is using metal in a smartphone for the first time. It already did this last year with headphones. The unibody aluminium casing is downright boring for a Nothing smartphone. At least the playful details don't disappear completely: the camera elevation is full of them.
Nothing offers the Phone (4a) Pro in three colours. A subtle pink colour complements the classic silver and black versions. At 7.95 millimetres, it is the manufacturer's thinnest smartphone. It is protected against dust and splash water in accordance with IP65. Nothing also specifies 20 minutes of submersion in water up to 25 centimetres deep - but there is no corresponding IP protection class.
«» As with the Phone (4a) to the other side. This reduces the risk of confusion between the button for Nothing's AI collection tool and the power button.
The Phone (4a) Pro lights up on the back, as befits a Nothing Phone. While the Phone (4a) manages with just a few light elements, the manufacturer has installed a round «Glyph Matrix» in the Pro. It works in a similar way to the Phone (3), but has a coarser resolution with 137 mini LEDs.
The Glyph Matrix is always exciting when you place your smartphone on the display. Among other things, it then shows the time or the battery level when charging. I can also see who is calling me if I have previously assigned my own graphics to contacts. Rules can also be defined for apps, contacts and keywords so that the Glyph Matrix shows me in Do Not Disturb mode when someone contacts me who may disturb me.
The progress indicator is still in the trial stage. It shows me, for example, how much time has already elapsed for an appointment, how far away my called vehicle or the food delivery is. However, this only works with three apps so far: Google Calendar, Uber and Zomato.
This is better with the Phone (4a) Pro
Besides the design, the Phone (4a) Pro differs from the Phone (4a) in three relevant ways. Support for eSIM is a clear advantage. There is also a more powerful processor, a better image sensor for the main camera and a display with a higher refresh rate.
Nothing uses the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 in the Phone (4a) Pro. In the sum of several benchmark tests, it performs better than the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 in the Phone (4a). The performance of the CPU is only about ten per cent higher. In the graphics calculations, over 50 per cent. Compared to the Phone (3a) Pro, the increase is also significant. Interestingly, the (4a) Pro even beats the Phone (3) with the nominally better Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 - but only for the CPU. The more expensive smartphone is clearly ahead when it comes to the GPU.
Image sensor with more details
The data for the main camera is almost identical: 50 megapixels, f/1.9 aperture, 24 mm focal length, 1 µm pixels. On closer inspection, it is noticeable that the sensor size differs to the second decimal place. While Nothing Phone (4a) uses the Samsung GN9, the Pro version has the Sony LYT700C.
At first glance, no difference can be seen in the photos of the cameras. They look the same on the smartphone - apart from nuances in colour reproduction.
The photos from the (4a) Pro are slightly sharper in their original size.
The more intense colours of the (4a) Pro are noticeable in the dark in night mode.
Images: St Pancrass
In addition, the difference in the level of detail is even greater under these conditions.
Not an earth-shattering difference - but once you've seen it, you'll prefer to use the main camera of the Phone (4a) Pro.
Larger display, smaller smartphone
The AMOLED display of the Phone (4a) Pro is slightly larger at 6.83 inches - 0.05 inches to be precise. As the frame around the touchscreen is slightly narrower, the housing of the Pro version is even 0.3 millimetres narrower and one millimetre smaller. This also changes the resolution to 2800 × 1260 pixels, which results in a pixel density of 440 pixels per inch and ensures a sharp display. The colour reproduction and the adaptive refresh rate of 30 to 144 hertz are also positive. The standard model achieves up to 120 hertz.
Nothing also increases the outdoor brightness of the Phone (4a) Pro by 300 nits to 1600 nits. The typical brightness remains unchanged at 800 nits. Gorilla Glass 7i protects the display from scratches and other damage. It should survive drops from a height of one metre without damage.
Three cameras, battery and software are identical to the non-Pro
The cameras in addition to the main camera, the battery and the software are shared between the Phone (4a) Pro and the normal (4a).
The telephoto camera of the Phone (4a) Pro has a resolution of 50 megapixels and a focal length of 80 millimetres. Compared to the main camera, this corresponds to a magnification by a factor of 3.5.
The ultra-wide-angle camera also has to make do with 8 megapixels on the (4a) Pro. The result is usable photos during the day. In the dark, however, I find the image quality unsatisfactory.
The front camera delivers selfies with 32 megapixels. This is enough to capture your own face in sharp detail. Even if the backlighting from the low sun in the London sky is a major challenge.
The battery of the Phone (4a) Pro has a capacity of 5080 mAh. The 80 mAh more compared to the predecessor is irrelevant. The PCMark 3.0 battery test determines a runtime of 17 hours at half display brightness. This is the same as the Phone (3a) Pro. The Phone (4a) only achieves 18 minutes more. When charging, the (4a) Pro accepts up to 50 watts via USB-C cable. Wireless charging is missing.
Nothing offers a smaller version of the (4a) Pro with 8 gigabytes (GB) of RAM and 128 GB of storage than its predecessor. In view of the increased storage prices, the manufacturer wants to keep the entry-level price low. However, it is still 50 euros higher than the Phone (3a) Pro. For the variant with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage, the price increase is as much as 90 euros or 100 francs.
New AI tools for NothingOS
The NothingOS 4.1 based on Android 16 runs on the Phone (4a) Pro out of the box. In addition to visual customisations in the Nothing design, the user interface comes with its own apps and AI tools.
However, the biggest innovations are not yet available at launch. They will be released in an update in a few weeks. The «Relaxation Hub» is a widget designed to provide relaxation with calm background music or breathing exercises. «Essential Voice» uses AI to convert your speech into well-structured texts.
The gallery app from Nothing gets its own AI tool and tries to remove reflections or pedestrians from photos. In my tests, it hardly works with reflections and with pedestrians it is always a surprise how the AI fills the empty space. Sometimes it fits well into the picture, sometimes it is immediately obvious that an AI was at work. But it recognises the people reliably. I'm more impressed by the seven frames that add shooting data to my photo and make it look smart.
There are also various AI tools that Nothing collects under the term «Essential». In addition to the already mentioned «Essential Space» there is a search or «Memory». This function creates automatic reminders from your recordings for appointments, shopping or anything else that catches its eye. The Essential Recorder converts audio recordings into text and summarises them. You can mark important moments with the Essential Key. The function analyses 300 minutes per month.
The Essential App Builder is designed to deliver customised apps for your needs using AI. If you are happy with them, you can make them available to others in the Playground. So far, however, this is just a game for me.
There are two catches with the software: Nothing provides security updates for six years, but only function updates for three years. In addition, Nothing Phone (4a) Pro starts pre-installing third-party apps. Tiktok, Instagram and Facebook can be deleted with one click, but in the past the manufacturer has not charged for this.
In a nutshell
This year, the Pro version is better
Nothing has made the right adjustments to make the Nothing (4a) Pro appealing to me. While I still tended towards the basic model with the predecessor, this year I'm on the pro side. I'm particularly impressed by the sharper images from the main camera, the additional graphics performance and the eSIM option. Then there's the narrower edge around the display and the glyph matrix with more information content than a glowing bar.
The battery, the other cameras and the software are also good, but also identical to the base model. Conversely, this means: If you don't need eSIM and can live with the small compromises in image quality and performance, the Nothing Phone (4a).
Pro
- Better main camera
- More graphics performance
- 6 years of security updates
Contra
- Ultra-wide-angle camera in the dark
- No wireless charging
- only 3 years of function updates
Header image: Jan Johannsen
Jan Johannsen
Senior Editor
Jan.Johannsen@galaxus.deAs a primary school pupil, I used to sit in a friend's living room with many of my classmates to play the Super NES. Now I get my hands on the latest technology and test it for you. In recent years at Curved, Computer Bild and Netzwelt, now at Digitec and Galaxus.
These articles might also interest you
14 comments
later