Nothing's pitch for the Phone 3a and 3a Pro is revealed in leaked promos
by Will Sattelberg · Android PoliceYou can tell Mobile World Congress is just a matter of days away, because the Nothing leaks just won't stop. Following an official (and controversial) tease on the company's YouTube channel and an overnight leak with renders of both phones, promo videos for both the Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro have popped up on social media. If you don't want to be spoiled on what could be your next Android phone, don't read ahead. For everyone else, let's look at just what makes these Nothing phones tick.
Both videos come from noted leaker Arsène Lupin on Twitter. Each run about 90 seconds in total, and outside of their camera specs, showcase two very similar smartphones from Nothing. Let's start with what the 3a and 3a Pro will have in common, then we'll dive into what differentiates each phone, as the company looks to deliver a higher-end budget-friendly smartphone before the eventual release of its promised flagship later this year.
The Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro look like solid upgrades
But I'm not sure that 3a Pro design is it
These promos confirm a few things we'd heard through previous leaks, including a new 6.77-inch AMOLED panel on both devices. These 120Hz screens seem identical in size and spec, capable of reaching 3,000 nits of peak brightness. Not too shabby. We also get another look at the new side button, which triggers a built-in voice assistant when held and launches "Essential Space" when tapped.
Essential Space looks pretty intriguing; Nothing might've actually built a more customizable, usable version of Samsung's Now Brief. The promo describes it as a space to automatically "organize content and generate action points," which sounds a little like an AI-powered reminders app. We'll have to try it ourselves, obviously, but combined with that new hardware key, it actually looks like a pretty promising use of AI.
Nothing Phone 3a leaks.
After confirmation that these devices are launching with Nothing OS 3, we get a couple of key specs, including the inclusion of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 in both phones. Nothing highlights "up to 20GB RAM Booster" for both handsets, but as for the actual amount of memory in these phones, previous rumors hinted at 8GB for the regular 3a, 12GB for the 3a Pro.
Following this, both teasers deliver a glimpse at their respective final designs and colors, highlighting black, white, and lovely blue colorways for the 3a, and black and silver for the 3a Pro. I'm not particularly a fan of the camera arrangement on the 3a Pro; the chucky camera module is extremely OnePlus-coded, and the decision to wrap various lenses around the new periscope lens just isn't my cup of tea. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder — you might like it more than I do.
Okay, let's talk about those cameras, because they seem to be the big differentiator between these two phones. The Nothing Phone 3a comes with three camera sensors, including a 50MP main sensor with OIS, a 50MP telephoto lens, and an 8MP ultra-wide non-descript "Sony" lens. That telephoto lens seems to be a 2x optical shooter by default, with a 4x "lossless" zoom that sounds a lot like Nothing describing a very similar thing to what they just tried to diss Apple for on social media a couple of days ago — but I digress. On the front, you'll find a 32MP camera, just like the Phone 2a before it.
Nothing Phone 3a Pro leaks.
The Nothing Phone 3a Pro, meanwhile, keeps the 50MP main shooter and 8MP ultra-wide, but upgrades the telephoto lens to a new 50MP "Sony" periscope lens. I wouldn't be surprised to discover this is the Sony LYT-600 previously seen in the OnePlus 13, though we'll need to wait for actual verification from Nothing in its upcoming launch event. At 3x optical zoom, 6x "lossless," and 60x ultra zoom, this sounds like a pretty big change over the standard 3a.
Nothing's planning a launch event for March 4th for both phones, perfectly timed to MWC in Barcelona. Android Police will be on the scene to discover whatever else the company might have up its sleeves. Considering the speed and pace of these leaks, though, there might not be much else to learn by next month.
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