Typically priced between $500 and $1000, phones in this category offer much of what you need and very little of what you don\u2019t. They\u2019re often designed well, feel more premium than they otherwise should, and deliver a little bit of the high-end at a less expensive price.<\/p>\n
There are plenty of models sitting in this part of the market, but the two that command the lion\u2019s share come from two of the biggest manufacturers: Apple and Google, the makers of each respective major mobile operating system.<\/p>\n
So what happens when a challenger brand decides to do just that, challenging for a piece of the pie with something designed to be different?<\/p>\n
You end up with the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro, a handset that brings a lot to the table, but might just miss out on some of the important points.<\/p>\n
All reviews at Pickr are subject to experienced testing methodologies. Find out why you can trust us<\/a> and change the way you choose. Made from a combination of aluminium and plastic (or polycarbonate, if you want to be fancy), the Phone 4a Pro isn\u2019t quite as see-through as other Nothing phones have been, but manages to tread a more premium-looking line.<\/p>\n Instead, it\u2019s an aluminium casing with a cut-out section for the camera that shows the transparent design, more like a motif. It\u2019s a little like if Apple had decided to make the iPhone 17 Pro Max with a see-through camera. That\u2019s the vibe.<\/p>\n Like all Nothing releases, it\u2019s a look that will please or divide. Some will love, and others markedly less so. This reviewer digs it, though not everything in that little camera block is useful. It stands out, but not every feature stands up.<\/p>\n Features<\/p>\n For instance, there\u2019s a large circular LED screen acting as Nothing\u2019s \u201cGlyph Matrix\u201d, albeit a lower resolution take on the feature that popped up on the Nothing Phone (3) last year<\/a>. The idea is a continuation on Nothing\u2019s design language to use lights to communicate small messages, with glyphs for timers and messages, and basically just lights that pop up on the back of your phone when you don\u2019t want to waste time on the front.<\/p>\n The camera is the other obvious feature on the back, which is a three camera system made up of a 50 megapixel F1.9 main wide camera, a 50 megapixel F2.9 3.5X optical, and an 8 megapixel F2.2 ultra-wide, while the front sees a 32 megapixel camera.<\/p>\n There\u2019s more than simply what\u2019s on the back of this phone. The front sees a 6.83 inch AMOLED display running at a slick 144Hz and supporting the Full HD+ resolution of 1260\u00d72800, complete with Corning\u2019s Gorilla Glass 7i protecting things, and a pre-installed screen protector.<\/p>\n On the inside, you can expect a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 processor, armed with either 8GB or 12GB, and then either 128GB or 256GB storage. Our review model was the 12GB RAM \/ 256GB storage option.<\/p>\n Regardless of which model you land on, you can expect Google\u2019s Android 16 with Nothing OS 4 over the top, supporting three Android updates, essentially maxing out at Android 18 three years down the track.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll also find 4G and 5G, 802.11a\/b\/g\/n\/ac\/ax WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5, GPS, and Near-Field Communication (NFC) for Google Play, plus a wired USB-C port for charging and data, not to mention the Qi wireless charging if you need it in a pinch, as well.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also a fingerprint sensor built into the screen, IP65 dust and water resistance, a thickness of 8mm, and a weight of 210 grams for the handset.<\/p>\n In-use<\/p>\n Using the phone is easy enough, with both facial security and fingerprint security on offer, while the phone offers an assortment of widgetised home-screens and app menus to work with.<\/p>\n Nothing also offers an extra button other Android phones don\u2019t have, a silver rounded button on the left edge that uses some of the Nothing Essential AI software to snap a screenshot and record your thoughts.<\/p>\n Nothing\u2019s look<\/p>\n While the look of Nothing\u2019s Phone 4a Pro is largely touched on in the design, there\u2019s also a look to how you use the phone. And really, you have two choices: stock Android and stylised by Nothing.<\/p>\n Stock Android is basically like adopting a Pixel, kinda sorta, while Nothing\u2019s approach applies a combination of serif fonts, monochromatic and minimalist icons, and pre-sorted menus that give the phone a unique feel.<\/p>\n It\u2019s your choice, and there are even ways to tweak everything, complete with an AI approaches to wallpaper generation, though that\u2019s not the only way AI appears on the Phone 4a Pro.<\/p>\n Essential and AI<\/p>\n One of the key features in the Nothing range of late is AI, something you\u2019ll find from pretty much every phone maker, though Nothing goes a little deeper.<\/p>\n Yes, there\u2019s the whole Google Circle to Search thing, and yes, you can use Gemini to help you edit. All of that is pretty normal for any recent Android phone.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also Nothing\u2019s \u201cEssential Space\u201d stuff, allowing you to capture moments and screenshots, and having its AI analyse things and detail those as memories. You can record conversations and let the AI transcribe and summarise, with just that little bit more AI thrown in there for good measure.<\/p>\n Much like it is on other mobiles, you might choose not to use it, but there\u2019s a smidge more than simply circling to search and letting Google\u2019s Gemini talk to you as your personal chatbot of sorts.<\/p>\n Glyph Matrix<\/p>\n The other main feature is the aforementioned circular screen on the back, the \u201cGlyph Matrix\u201d. Technically, it\u2019s a continuation of previous glyph concepts, ideas which have largely been lights, and even look simply like a bar of lights in the Nothing Phone 4a. <\/p>\n The Phone (4a) Pro\u2019s Glyph Matrix is actually the same concept as what appeared in the Phone (3) last year, only with a lower resolution. You can map icons to its compact screen, and have them show up when notifications and alerts would chime, basically giving you a compact screen to look at.<\/p>\n Like last year\u2019s phone, it\u2019s an interesting idea, albeit one let down by a much lower resolution display. <\/p>\n Fortunately, there\u2019s more going on then simply a less impressive matrix. <\/p>\n Performance<\/p>\n Armed with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4, it\u2019s pretty clear the Phone 4a Pro is a mid-range mobile, but it\u2019s one that feels stronger than you\u2019d expect it to.<\/p>\n The hardware isn\u2019t breathtakingly high-end, but it\u2019s also no slouch, achieving acceptable performance both in the benchmark and day-to-day. It\u2019s abundantly clear this isn\u2019t wielding flagship performance like a model twice its price (and then some), but it handles its own fairly well altogether.<\/p>\n In real-world terms, you might see a few moments of lag here and there, but most of our time with the Phone 4a Pro was breezy and easy. It rarely skipped a beat.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tDevice Nothing Phone 2a (2024)<\/p>\n MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro<\/p>\n Motorola Edge 60 Fusion (2025)<\/p>\n MediaTek Dimensity 7300<\/p>\n Motorola Edge 50 Pro (2024)<\/p>\n Snapdragon 7 Gen 3<\/p>\n Nothing Phone 3a Pro (2025)<\/p>\n Snapdragon 7s Elite<\/p>\n Nothing Phone 4a Pro (2026)<\/p>\n Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4<\/p>\n Google Pixel 10a (2026)<\/p>\n Google Tensor G4<\/p>\n Samsung Galaxy S25 FE (2025)<\/p>\n Samsung Exynos 2400<\/p>\n It\u2019s a similar story over in the world of 5G, because this is one of those high-speed 5G mobiles. Truthfully, most phones these days are 5G phones, and usually anything above $399.<\/p>\n As such, you can expect relatively quick speeds from the Nothing Phone 4a Pro, provided you\u2019re within reach of a tower, the network isn\u2019t too packed, and your telco allows you to make the most of the mobile plan you have.<\/p>\n Tested using the Telstra wholesale network by way of Belong in Sydney, Australia, we found speeds maxing out at 226Mbps, which was easily quick enough for 5G tests. You may find faster is available, though it will depend on some of those factors we noted earlier.<\/p>\n Camera<\/p>\n Next up is the camera system, and for that, you\u2019ll find a combination of three cameras in a design that feels both new and yet also familiar. A simple glance might make you think of what Apple has created on the iPhone 17 Pro Max<\/a>, but the whole thing has been given a Nothing twist.<\/p>\n For starters, it\u2019s transparent, or a little bit that way, covered in clear plastic and feeling slimmer than what Apple achieved. Granted, the camera technology is different, so Apple is likely using larger cameras hence the larger size, but for anyone interested in what Nothing has to offer, it\u2019s a similar-yet-different vibe.<\/p>\n Inside, there are three cameras, covering 50 megapixels for wide and close, but something much lower for ultra-wide.<\/p>\n Most of the shots you take should look solid. Images are fairly sharp with great colour. Highlights can blow out almost too easily, but the portrait mode has some capability and delivers this almost filmic quality in its generation.<\/p>\n About the only catch in the camera is the ultra-wide, which lets the team down. <\/p>\n ou get a 50 megapixel main and a 50 megapixel telephoto, but are left with 8 megapixels ultra-wide, and it doesn\u2019t really handle all that well. Colours and light can blow out on all the cameras, but more so here than any other.<\/p>\n Camera profiles<\/p>\n One of the other intriguing features Nothing has thrown in is camera profiles, which are little programmed modes you can tweak with specific filters pre-applied. Think of Nothing\u2019s camera profiles as being more like preset film simulations, but without the grain. It doesn\u2019t take long to realise why.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll be able to make little presets for the camera and even share them with others, creating a social dynamic for the phone camera we\u2019ve not really seen anyone try outside of an app.<\/p>\n The whole thing has a sort of VSCO-like feel, but without the app used by the film simulation and photo-social network of old (if it\u2019s still around, then maybe skip the \u201cold\u201d term).<\/p>\n Beyond the profile sharing, the idea has merit because you can quickly jump into retro simulations that let you flex creative muscle on the phone camera all too easily. Even Apple\u2019s photographic styles features<\/a> aren\u2019t quite this suave and savvy.<\/p>\n Some images even offer an almost soft snapshot vibe not far out of kilter from some of the warm tones of renowned photographers. It\u2019s not quite the same, but this reviewer is reminded somewhat of 70s retro photos<\/a>, giving the camera a little more than you might expect from a phone, especially one at this price point.<\/p>\n While the 50 megapixel wide camera isn\u2019t quite like a proper film body, the custom profiles afforded to it give you that extra flex for making a series of images really, truly yours.<\/p>\n Battery<\/p>\n Testing out the battery, we found the 4a Pro\u2019s 5080 mAh of life could handle a good day and a half of regular use, though spend more time with the screen and camera, and you might need a nightly charge.<\/p>\n Pushing ahead with a proper battery rundown, the Nothing Phone 4a Pro managed close to 24 hours of solid runtime, achieving just shy of it, and marginally below what the Nothing Phone 3a did with our bespoke rundown app<\/a>, Battery Bench. <\/p>\n By comparison, it actually managed three hours more than the 3a Pro this model replaces<\/a>. And it achieves better battery life in our tests compared to most of the contenders worth competing against in the mid-range. <\/p>\n Nothing Phone (4a) Pro battery life<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tDevice \t\t\t\t\t\t\tNothing Phone 4a Pro<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tGoogle Pixel 10a<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tNothing Phone 3a Pro<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tApple iPhone 17e<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tNothing Phone 3<\/p>\n That\u2019s pretty good, and real world usage with phone as our daily driver gave the handset room to move, as well.<\/p>\n Testing the Phone 4a Pro as if it was ours, we found a day and a half was normal for the handset, with a full two days of life possible if you bolted for a USB-C cable near the end of the day, or pulled back from the screen.<\/p>\n Most people will likely charge nightly, but the very fact that you don\u2019t technically need to gives the Nothing 4a Pro something to work with.<\/p>\n The omission of Qi2 magnetic wireless charging<\/a> is a bit of a sour point, especially given at least one competitor does have it, found in the MagSafe-compatible iPhone 17e.<\/p>\n Value<\/p>\n Priced from $949, the Phone 4a Pro makes the case for value by giving you a little more in everything.<\/p>\n The 256GB iPhone 17e with one camera is $999<\/a>, and the 256GB two camera Pixel 10a is also $999<\/a>. Meanwhile, the 256GB three camera Nothing Phone 4a Pro undercuts both by making it $50 less, and still arriving with its own personality. <\/p>\n This is no iPhone clone, nor is it a wannabe Pixel. Nothing has made its own clever little beast. We\u2019re not at all bemoaning the price in the slightest. You even get a case in the box.<\/p>\n What needs work?<\/p>\n Surprisingly, the combination Nothing has set up for the 4a Pro works quite well. It\u2019s a lovely phone that comes with some clever ideas to make it stand out. This isn\u2019t your ordinary phone, and clearly not yet another Android phone made to match a style.<\/p>\n But there are things that also don\u2019t work in this handset, and one of the things that doesn\u2019t work in this phone is the Glyph matrix, also known as the extra screen that helps make the Nothing Phone 4a Pro stand out.<\/p>\n Here on the 4a Pro, it\u2019s big and suggestive that it will be useful. The reality is that it\u2019s not, and Nothing has bigger pixels to thanks.<\/p>\n Whereas the Phone (3) used smaller pixels that could show the little LEDs up nicely, the 4a Pro is more a mid-range phone that the flagship the Phone 3 managed to be. That difference means a lower quality Glyph Matrix screen that makes it more difficult to see. the shape of glyphs clearly.<\/p>\n Things are totally fine when the glyph is simply a light flash, much as they would be with the older style of glyph lights on the back of these phones. But when the matrix has to look like anything with form or shape, the big size of the pixels just comes out looking clunky and overly retro.<\/p>\n Even the feature that should make it ends up looking like a blur of white pixels, with the camera mirror utterly useless.<\/p>\n Yes, you can turn the Glyph Matrix\u2019s LED panel into a small preview screen for taking photos. Unfortunately, the lack of any detail renders it pointless. <\/p>\n If you like looking at a blob of white at varied opacity, you\u2019ll get it. You just won\u2019t get the mirror you were hoping for. Better look at another gadget for that, such as Insta360\u2019s Snap screen<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ultimately, the mid-range incarnation of the Glyph Matrix just doesn\u2019t work as well as Nothing intended. If you\u2019re anything like us, you\u2019ll do what you can to not look at the thing. It\u2019s just not useful at all.<\/p>\n And then there\u2019s the look, which will definitely divide.<\/p>\n While Nothing has long been about transparency in a very literal way, the Nothing Phone 4a Pro feels like a firmer realisation of that. It is mostly normal while the camera lets you peek under the hood, kinda-sorta.<\/p>\n This is still very much a stylised take on transparency; you\u2019re not getting a clear look at the sensor stack and other pieces of tech. It\u2019s like diet transparency: the whiff of transparency without the fact that it\u2019s happening in real life.<\/p>\n What we love<\/p>\n But it works surprisingly well, and it\u2019s a feature we actually liked.<\/p>\n We\u2019re also fans of the camera system, which also isn\u2019t perfect, but dares to be different. It\u2019s almost retro and film-like.<\/p>\n
\nDesign<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/nothing-phone-4a-pro-review-2026-03-jpg.webp.webp\")
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The look of the Phone 4a Pro (left) is probably easier to get used to than the 3a Pro (right).<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/nothing-phone-4a-pro-review-2026-02-jpg.webp.webp\")
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