Nothing Phone 4a Pro review: No need to go pro

The Nothing Phone 4a Pro is one of the better devices you can buy under $1,000. It’s snappy, it has a high-end feel to it, and you won’t get a more versatile camera setup at this asking price. There’s just one problem: the “standard” Nothing Phone 4a shares most of its spec sheet with the Pro, and gets you most of the way there for $300 less. Sure, the Phone 4a Pro is technically competing with the likes of Google’s Pixel 10a and Apple’s iPhone 17e, but in reality, Nothing’s biggest rival here is itself.

Keeping it weird

Nothing has a history of keeping it weird with its phone designs, and has heavily leaned into transparency as an aesthetic on most its devices. The Phone 4a Pro is a departure from this, and has the potential to be Nothing’s most divisive design yet. Instead of transparent glass, Nothing has used an aluminium body and added an iPhone 17 Pro-inspired camera plateau. 

The camera plateau still has some of Nothing’s signature design elements, but it doesn’t gel with the rest of the phone. The camera plateau and the aluminium unibody look like they’re from two different devices; they don’t look like they were designed in unison. Hell, the curvature of the camera plateau is different to that of the phone. That might seem like nitpicking, but Nothing pitches itself as a design-first company.

In addition to three cameras, the plateau houses the “Glyph Interface” – a circle of lights that ostensibly works as a second screen. The Glyph Interface lights up when you get a notification (which can be annoying if you have a group chat popping off), and can show a persistent icon for important ones. While it does have other use cases, these aren’t very well thought out. 

The Glyph Interface can display a timer, but you need to start it through the settings menu or notification centre. Starting a timer in the Clock app won’t have it appear on the back of the phone. It can also show a representation of your volume levels when you’re dialling it up or down, but only when the front display is on. What is the point of a screen on the back lighting up when you’re already looking at your phone?

Otherwise, the Nothing Phone 4a Pro itself is a nice device. It’s premium in the hand, has a lovely display with minimal bezel, and nice clicky buttons. The one thing to note is that it is only rated IP65. This means the Phone 4a Pro can survive light water spray, but isn’t protected against submersion. That’s a box every similarly priced rival ticks.

Not nothing

The Phone 4a Pro is a strong contender in most of its core competencies. To start, I’d say it has the most versatile camera setup you’ll get under $1,000, thanks to the 3.5x telephoto lens. Even in tricky lightning conditions – like a gig – I was able to get solid results. Punching into 7x zoom does make these less consistent, but you can still get nice shots with a bit of luck. Notably, you’ll also find this lens on the standard Phone 4a.

You’ll get lovely shots from the primary lens, but it isn’t without its foibles. It doesn’t handle motion as well as the iPhone 17e or the Pixel 10a, which can lead to blurry photos, and the night mode isn’t quite as reliable. It still takes good photos, but in some cases, you might need a few attempts. The Phone 4a Pro’s main photographic weakness is the ultra-wide lens. It’s a lowly 8MP sensor, and the results tend to be inconsistent at best, especially in low light.

In terms of performance, there isn’t too much to note here. The Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 that powers the Nothing Phone 4a Pro is a perfectly snappy chip for day-to-day performance that can still handle moderate gaming. It is a little slower, on paper, than the Tensor G4 in the Pixel 10a for example, but most shouldn’t have complaints. But as with the secondary lenses, the same chipset powers the Nothing Phone 4a, and it makes more sense in a $649 device.

The Nothing Phone 4a also has reliable battery life. Expect up to seven hours of screen time per charge, which is a full day of moderate usage with a comfortable buffer. Just note the Phone 4a doesn’t support wireless charging.

When it comes to software support, Nothing promises three years of software upgrades and six years of major security updates for the Phone 4a Pro. That’s not bad, but many brands do better at this price point. The Pixel 10a, for example, is promised seven years of both, while Samsung’s Galaxy A series phones have a six-year commitment for both software and security.

Nothing Phone 4a Pro – Final Thoughts

The Nothing Phone 4a Pro is a solid device, but the pragmatic choice for most will be saving yourself $300 and getting the non-Pro Phone 4a instead. There’s a slight camera downgrade on the primary lens and 128GB of storage (you only save $100 if you opt for the 256GB Phone 4a), but those are the main trade-offs you make. You’re getting the same kind of performance, battery life, and secondary camera. Sure, you miss out on the aluminium build and the Glyph Interface, but those aren’t necessarily practical considerations.

Similarly, the omissions made by the Nothing Phone 4a Pro mean it doesn’t quite go toe-to-toe with similarly priced rivals like the iPhone 17e and Pixel 10a. A shorter software support lifespan and the lack of proper water-resistance are more palatable when you’re spending $649, rather than $949. There might be merit to a funky design, but if you’re after bang-for-bang, don’t go Pro. Buy the cheaper Phone 4a.