A year after the release of his phone (2A), Nothing returns to the front of the stage with his brand new phone (3a). The mid -range smartphone was a real surprise.
Never two without three. Nothing returns in force with its latest smartphone, Phone (3a). With its robotic look and its glyph interface, the London brand resumes its signature characteristics. The line of “A”, which aims to be affordable but at the height, therefore resumes the identity of NOTHING products, while integrating interesting and unexpected new products.
We were able to take charge of the brand new phone (3a) for a few weeks. The opportunity for us to be able to explore the capacities of the last product of Nothing, its many qualities, but also its few faults.
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An always original design
This is undoubtedly the biggest strong point in the phone (3a). True to its characteristic identity, Nothing has again bet on a modern design and unparalleled tech on the market. With a transparent back that reveals all the components of the device, Nothing fans will not be disoriented. It is true that the phone (3a) is very similar to its predecessor, the phone (2A), particularly with regard to the layout of glyph LEDs around the rear cameras.
The phone (3a) has 3 glyph LEDs, as is its predecessor. The lights light up in different ways depending on if the nature of the notification received, whether it is a message, a call or any application. The glyph system also works as a timer, making a luminous bar progress as your appointment or event is getting closer. We particularly appreciated the fact that the lights can interact with the rhythm of the music played on the smartphone.
Despite the resemblance, it is impossible to confuse the phone (3a) with its big brother. Thanks to the addition of a third camera at the rear of the smartphone, the latest Nothing is adorned with a real identity, which we particularly appreciated.
Despite a 6.77 -inch wide screen, the phone (3A) is pleasant to handle. Nothing intelligently positioned its pimples on the side of phoneallowing an easy grip and access to all features without having to replace your fingers. Rather light, the phone (3a) weighs only 201 grams.
The phone (3A) is available in three different colors, namely white, black or blue. Note that this last color is only accessible on the Official Nothing website.
A screen that does the job
As specified above, the phone (3a) is a large smartphone. With a 6.77 -inch AMOLED screen, Nothing offers us a wider device than the phone (2A), which reached 6.7 inches. If the screen offers an appreciable width, we deplore the width of the black bands that belt it.
The phone screen (3A) has an adaptive refresh rate reaching 120 Hz as well as a full HD+quality. The quality is therefore there. The brightness of the Nothing smartphone effectively adapts to the environment around, whether it is sunny or dark night. The screen has a maximum capacity of 3000 nits.
Despite its qualities, the phone screen (3A) hides a major and surprising defect. Indeed, we were able to notice during our test that the screen of the Nothing Smartphone was marked quickly. Over the days, many were scratches to accumulate one next to each other, until invading the screen. A major problem when you know that the main asset of the phone (3a) is its glyph system, and that the smartphone is made to be laid back to the sky.
Finally, the phone (3a) incorporates a facial recognition system as well as an efficient fingerprint sensor, allowing the smartphone to unlock quickly and without problems.
Performance at the rendezvous
With a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7S Gen 3 processor, the phone (3A) marks a clear improvement compared to its predecessor, which embarked on a mediatek Dimensity 7200 Pro. Thanks to this evolution, the Nothing smartphone can easily run mobile games, including the most gourmet resources, as GENSHIN IMPACT or else Advertising. These run at 60 IPS (image per second) and do not undergo any freeze when we apply high quality.
The phone (3a) only has a slight overheating after about 30 minutes of play. A real asset in view of the price that could not be more accessible (from the Nothing smartphone.
The camera, the black dot of the phone (3a)
If the phone (3a) has so far shown quality on the whole line, the camera is presented as a weak point. With three rear sensors, one more than the phone (2A), the new Nothing smartphone starts a clear evolution. With a main sensor and a 50 Mpx telephoto lens as well as an ultra-angle of 8 Mpx, the captured shots are detailed and of good quality.
However, we note that the phone (3a) has an annoying tendency to blacken photographs. A kind of dark filter covers each captured cliché, which does not allow a faithful transcription of the colors of reality. If this veil does not spoil the photo in itself, the images sometimes display a dismal atmosphere.
Regarding the zoom, the phone (3a) manages to capture good quality images, despite distant subjects. This is evidenced by this Parisian fountain, which retains rather clear features, despite uncommon colors.
On the other hand, we regret the absence of AI tools to improve an image. Despite a “improve” button, which will change the tone of your cliché somewhat thanks to artificial intelligence, no other feature is there. A defect all the more significant as the vast majority of the last smartphones released on the market integrate a whole range of IA tools.
Essential Space, the main novelty of the phone (3a)
A great novelty introduced by the phone (3A), the Essential Space button is presented as a new flagship asset of Nothing smartphones. Positioned just below the light/turn off button, the key has a smooth metal cover that makes it possible to distinguish it from the others. Like its competitors, Nothing seeks to give more and more importance to artificial intelligence, with a more original approach.
In fact, the Essential Space wants to be practical and effective. The phone (3a) allows, thanks to its new button, to keep your thoughts of the moment, to write what is through your head, to record a voice note … Several actions can be carried out on this same key.
By clicking only once on the Essential Space, it is possible to note the words that cross our minds, while by pressing at length, the phone (3a) records your voice so that you later find your words of the moment. Finally, by double-clicking, the smartphone opens the Essential Space application, in which all your memories are listed.
Innovative, however, this functionality remains anecdotal. The use of the Essential Space button was very rare during our test, even if we do not exclude that it can be essential in certain situation. We appreciated the originality of Nothing with this new touch, but it is surely not a decisive asset for the phone (3a).
A really appreciable autonomy
No big changes concerning the autonomy of the phone (3A), it integrating a 5000 mAh battery as its predecessor. As you can see on the screenshot below, the autonomy of the smartphone is very appreciable, since it has lost only 50% on the whole day of Wednesday, for 2h11 of use.
According to the London brand, the smartphone would be very resistant, since it would keep 90% of its capacities after 1,200 charging cycles, which is equivalent to more than 3 years.
Thanks to a quick charge of 50W, the phone (3A) is completely recharged in about an hour: a real asset for the Nothing device.
Connectivities
The phone (3A) is compatible with Wi-Fi 6 and the 2G/3G/4G/5G network. The Nothing smartphone works with Bluetooth 5.4, allowing us to couple it with all kinds of connected objects without encountering any problem. Same diagnosis concerning calls: communications were clear and audible.
Conclusion
Our handling of the phone (3a) turned out to be completely pleasant. We liked the latest smartphone, whether it was because of its performance, its autonomy, or its design. With an incomparable geek look on the mobile market, the phone (3A) also managed to stand out from its competitors with the addition of the Essential Space. An original but anecdotal feature that justifies the appearance of a brand new button.
If the Essential Space is not a remarkable sale argument, it should be noted the original approach of Nothing with artificial intelligence. The English brand has sought to make its phone (3a) practical, easy to use and effective, unlike its competitors who multiply at all Va the IA features.
The phone (3a) has mainly lost its splendor because of the limited capacities of its camera. The captured shots are dark and do not represent with loyalty the colors of your environment. Despite this defect, the Nothing smartphone was a nice surprise at the start of the year.