There are many good smartphones in the under £400 price range! But my favorite is neither from Samsung nor from Xiaomi. Instead, I was taken with a smartphone from a young manufacturer from Europe. In this review, I’ll tell you which one it is and why it impressed me.
Does it always have to be a flagship? Not everyone can or wants to spend a four-figure sum on their next smartphone. Truthfully, it doesn’t have to be this way. There are smartphones starting at just £300 that you can enjoy for many years. Take the Redmi Note 15 Pro+ from Xiaomi or the Galaxy A56 from Samsung. But my new recommendation comes from a small UK manufacturer: The Nothing Phone (4a) not only looks stylish but also offers really good features for just £349. I was allowed to test the new smartphone in everyday use for two weeks. Do note that the Nothing Phone 4a is unavailable in the US.
Detailed Design in Color, At Last!
With Nothing, the Phone 4a also impressed with its futuristic design as usual. Small details such as the symmetrical display edges or the well-thought-out button placement are not par for the course in this price range. The fact that Nothing relies on plastic here is all right, as it fits in with the aesthetics. The feel is good as the smartphone fits in the hand perfectly. Those who prefer metal can opt for the Pro version of the smartphone, which has an aluminum unibody.
For the very first time, Nothing dares to be bold with color and offers the Phone 4a in blue or pink in addition to black and white. The colorful, transparent plastic is reminiscent of design icons from the 1990s, such as the first iMac or the Gameboy.
Unfortunately, the light strips were abandoned last year and replaced by a pixel display in the flagship. There is still a tiny lightbar present in the Nothing Phone 4a. This can visualize timers or light up for notifications. It is a nice touch and also an occasional conversation starter — even if I would like Nothing to return to the light strips at some point.
Nothing Phone 4a At a Glance
The Nothing Phone 4a features the latest Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 mid-range chip, which means the smartphone offers excellent everyday performance on par with other mid-range smartphones from Samsung and Xiaomi, which will cost several hundred euros more at launch. The basic version offers 128 gigabytes of storage space and is only available in black and white. For an additional €40, you get 256 gigabytes of storage space and a larger selection of colors.
Nothing uses a 6.78-inch AMOLED panel for the display. In the review, it impressed with a sharp display, good viewing angles, and vibrant colors. The brightness is also high enough to easily read the smartphone outdoors while in the sun. We measured it to be 1,300 nits in the review, which is an excellent value in this price range.
The battery is sufficient at 5080 mAh, an average value in this price range. The battery life itself also proved solid at around 22 hours in our benchmark. In everyday life, I can easily get through longer days with the Nothing Phone 4a. It charges at 50 watts, and a complete charging process takes around 70 minutes. Nothing relies on the open PD standard here, which means you can use any suitable charger and also charge other smartphones, tablets, or notebooks using the same charger.
Nothing OS, Android, and Updates
The operating system uses the latest Android 16 with the latest security patch. The user interface is called Nothing OS 4.1 and is based on pure Android in terms of user interface, but it improves some shortcomings that made Google’s operation unnecessarily complicated. For example, the quick settings are far more user-friendly in Nothing.
The design has a clean, modern look and offers many options for personalization. For instance, the range of Nothing widgets you can use gives your home screen a uniform look. You can also choose during setup whether you prefer the classic, colorful look of Android or want to switch to a monochrome look.
In Nothing’s experience, new Android versions are promptly released, and the promised update guarantees have always been kept. The Nothing Phone 4a receives up to 3 years of Android upgrades and 6 years of quarterly security patches.
Essential Space
A year ago, Nothing introduced Essential Space. This is an app that serves as a central collection point for your notes. You can store screenshots, sketches, audio messages, and more there. Using a separate button, the Essential Key, you can save a screenshot by briefly pressing it or record a voice message by holding it down.
In everyday life, the Essential Space is definitely a practical addition of value. However, I would like the app to be available for other smartphones, tablets, and computers, letting me access the data stored there from anywhere. Nothing has taken one criticism from Phone 3 and Phone 3a to heart and changed the button’s position. Instead of being directly under the power button, the Essential Key is now on the left-hand side, which avoids any confusion. For more flexibility, however, it would be nice to be able to assign other functions to this button.
Camera Reviewed
The camera features of the Nothing Phone 4a are unusual: for £349, the smartphone offers a fully-fledged telephoto camera with 3.5x optical zoom. This is usually only found on more expensive smartphones! A total of three sensors are available: a 50-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel telephoto camera, and an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera.
The results of the main and telephoto cameras are impressive. Of course, a smartphone for £349 cannot compete with flagships costing over £1,000, but the smartphone takes really good photos for the price. You can get an idea of the photo quality with my sample photos.
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Nothing Phone 4a: My Conclusion
The Nothing Phone 4a already stands out visually from the crowd of mid-range smartphones. However, it not only impressed with its stylish exterior in this review, but also with the rest of its features. The powerful Snapdragon chip ensures sufficient performance in everyday use, the battery lasts a long time, and the camera takes excellent photos for the price range. With the 3.5x optical zoom, it also has another highlight to offer, which is not the norm in this price range.
At £349 a pop, the price is fair, and the £40 surcharge for doubling the memory is also absolutely fair. If you are looking for an inexpensive smartphone, the Nothing Phone 4a offers a convincing overall package.
Pros
- Fair price
- Exceptional design
- Bright display
- Good performance
- Minimalist software
- Solid battery life
- Good camera
- 3.5x optical zoom
Cons
- Only IP64 waterproof
- No eSIM support
