Nothing Phone (3) vs Nothing Phone (3a): Which is better?

Screen size

Phone (3)6.7"

Phone (3a)6.8"+1.5%

Technology

Phone (3)

GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G

Phone (3a)

GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G

2G bands

Phone (3)

GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900

Phone (3a)

GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900

3G bands

Phone (3)

HSDPA 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100

Phone (3a)

HSDPA 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100

4G bands

Phone (3)

1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48, 66, 71 LTE

Resolution

Phone (3)1260 × 2800 px+27%

Phone (3a)1080 × 2392 px

Refresh rate

equal specs

Phone (3)120 Hz

Phone (3a)120 Hz

Peak brightness

Phone (3)4,500 nits+33%

Phone (3a)3,000 nits

Pixel density

Phone (3)460 ppi+16%

Phone (3a)387 ppi

CPU speed

Phone (3)Octa-core (1x3.21 GHz Cortex-X4 & 3x3.0 GHz Cortex-A720 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A720 & 2x2.0 GHz Cortex-A720)+22%

Phone (3a)Octa-core (1x2.5 GHz Cortex-A720 & 3x2.4 GHz Cortex-A720 & 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A520)

RAM

Phone (3)12.0 GB+33%

Phone (3a)8.0 GB

Storage

Phone (3)256 GB+50%

Phone (3a)128 GB

Main camera

equal specs

Phone (3)50.0 MP

Phone (3a)50.0 MP

Front camera

Phone (3)50.0 MP+36%

Phone (3a)32.0 MP

Battery

Phone (3)5,150 mAh+2.9%

Phone (3a)5,000 mAh

Wired charging

Phone (3)65 W+23%

Phone (3a)50 W

Weight

Phone (3)218 g

Phone (3a)201 g+8.5%

Thickness

Phone (3)9.0 mm

Phone (3a)8.4 mm+7.1%

IP rating

Phone (3)IP68+0.7%

Phone (3a)IP64

Wi‑Fi

Phone (3)Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6/7, tri-band, Wi-Fi Direct

Phone (3a)Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct

Bluetooth

Phone (3)6.0, A2DP, LE+10%

Phone (3a)5.4, A2DP, LE

USB

equal specs

Phone (3)USB Type-C 2.0, OTG

Phone (3a)USB Type-C 2.0, OTG

5G support

equal specs

Phone (3)Yes

Phone (3a)Yes

NFC

equal specs

Phone (3)Yes

Phone (3a)Yes

3.5mm jack

equal specs

Phone (3)No

Phone (3a)No

SD card

equal specs

Phone (3)No

Phone (3a)No

Stereo speakers

equal specs

Phone (3)Yes

Phone (3a)Yes

5G bands

Phone (3)

1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 28, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 66, 71, 77, 78 SA/NSA

Phone (3a)

1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 28, 38, 40, 41, 48, 66, 77, 78 SA/NSA

Speed

Phone (3)

HSPA, LTE, 5G

Phone (3a)

HSPA, LTE, 5G

Announced

Phone (3)

2025, July 02

Phone (3a)

2025, March 04

Status

Phone (3)

Available. Released 2025, July 15

Phone (3a)

Available. Released 2025, March 11

Dimensions

Phone (3)

160.6 x 75.6 x 9 mm (6.32 x 2.98 x 0.35 in)

Phone (3a)

163.5 x 77.5 x 8.4 mm (6.44 x 3.05 x 0.33 in)

Weight

Phone (3)

218 g (7.69 oz)

Phone (3a)

201 g (7.09 oz)

Build

Phone (3)

Glass front (Gorilla Glass 7i), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus), aluminum frame

Phone (3a)

Glass front (Panda Glass), plastic frame, glass back

SIM

Phone (3)

Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM (max 2 at a time)

Phone (3a)

Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM

Other

Phone (3)

Monochrome LED display on the back (489 LEDs, notifications, timer, flashlight) IP68 dust tight and water resistant (submerged up to 1.5m for 30 min)

Phone (3a)

IP64 dust tight and water resistant (water splashes) 3 LED light strips on the back (notifications, camera fill light, 26 addressable zones)

Type

Phone (3)

OLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, 960Hz PWM, HDR10+, 4500 nits (peak)

Phone (3a)

AMOLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, 2160Hz PWM, HDR10+, 800 nits (typ), 1300 nits (HBM), 3000 nits (peak)

Size

Phone (3)

6.67 inches, 107.4 cm2 (~88.5% screen-to-body ratio)

Phone (3a)

6.77 inches, 111.5 cm2 (~88.0% screen-to-body ratio)

Resolution

Phone (3)

1260 x 2800 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~460 ppi density)

Phone (3a)

1080 x 2392 pixels (~387 ppi density)

Protection

Phone (3)

Corning Gorilla Glass 7i, Mohs level 5

Phone (3a)

Panda Glass, Mohs level 5

Other

Phone (3)

Phone (3a)

Ultra HDR image support

Phone (3)

Android 15, upgradable to Android 16, Nothing OS 4.0, up to 5 major Android upgrades

Phone (3a)

Android 15, upgradable to Android 16, Nothing OS 4.0, up to 3 major Android upgrades

Chipset

Phone (3)

Qualcomm SM8735 Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 (4 nm)

Phone (3a)

Qualcomm SM7635 Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 (4 nm)

CPU

Phone (3)

Octa-core (1x3.21 GHz Cortex-X4 & 3x3.0 GHz Cortex-A720 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A720 & 2x2.0 GHz Cortex-A720)

Phone (3a)

Octa-core (1x2.5 GHz Cortex-A720 & 3x2.4 GHz Cortex-A720 & 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A520)

GPU

Phone (3)

Adreno 825

Phone (3a)

Adreno 810

Card slot

Phone (3)

Phone (3a)

Internal

Phone (3)

256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM

Phone (3a)

128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM

Other

Phone (3)

UFS 4.0

Phone (3a)

Triple

Phone (3)

50 MP, f/1.7, 24mm (wide), 1/1.3", PDAF, OIS 50 MP, f/2.7, (periscope telephoto), 1/2.75", PDAF, 3x optical zoom. OIS 50 MP, f/2.2, 114˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.76"

Phone (3a)

50 MP, f/1.9, 24mm (wide), 1/1.57", 1.0µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS 50 MP, f/2.0, 50mm (telephoto), 1/2.74", 0.64µm, PDAF (25cm - ∞), 2x optical zoom 8 MP, f/2.2, 15mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/4.0", 1.12µm

Features

Phone (3)

LED flash, panorama, HDR

Phone (3a)

LED flash, panorama, HDR

Video

Phone (3)

4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS, OIS

Phone (3a)

4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS, OIS

Single

Phone (3)

50 MP, f/2.2, (wide), 1/2.76"

Phone (3a)

32 MP, f/2.2, 22mm (wide), 1/3.44"

Features

Phone (3)

HDR

Phone (3a)

Video

Phone (3)

4K@60fps, 1080p@60fps

Phone (3a)

1080p@30fps

Loudspeaker

Phone (3)

Yes, with stereo speakers

Phone (3a)

Yes, with stereo speakers

3.5mm jack

Phone (3)

Phone (3a)

WLAN

Phone (3)

Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6/7, tri-band, Wi-Fi Direct

Phone (3a)

Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct

Bluetooth

Phone (3)

6.0, A2DP, LE

Phone (3a)

5.4, A2DP, LE

Positioning

Phone (3)

GPS (L1+L5), GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSS, NavIC, SBAS

Phone (3a)

GPS, GALILEO, GLONASS, BDS, QZSS

NFC

Phone (3)

Yes

Phone (3a)

Yes

Radio

Phone (3)

Phone (3a)

USB

Phone (3)

USB Type-C 2.0, OTG

Phone (3a)

USB Type-C 2.0, OTG

Sensors

Phone (3)

Fingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, proximity, gyro, compass

Phone (3a)

Fingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass

Type

Phone (3)

Market-dependent versions:· Si/C 5150 mAh - International model· Si/C 5500 mAh - India model

Phone (3a)

5000 mAh

Charging

Phone (3)

65W wired, PD3.0, PPS, QC4 15W wireless 7.5W reverse charging 5W reverse wireless

Phone (3a)

50W wired, 50% in 19 min, 100% in 56 min

Colors

Phone (3)

White, Black

Phone (3a)

Black, White, Blue, Community Edition green

Models

Phone (3)

A024

Phone (3a)

A059

Price

Phone (3)

$ 719.00 / £ 569.00 / € 597.82 / ₹ 46,880

Phone (3a)

€ 299.52

Phone (3) vs Phone (3a)

Which is better?

Choose Phone (3) for

Choose Phone (3a) for

Biggest differences

Phone (3)

Phone (3a)

Head-to-head comparison

Display

Specifications Comparison

Network

Performance

Cameras

Battery

Build

Connectivity

Display

Performance

Cameras

Battery

Build

Connectivity

Launch

Body

Display

Platform

Memory

Main Camera

Selfie camera

Sound

Comms

Features

Battery

Misc