Technologies

Want Nothing’s Transparent Design on a Budget? The 3A Lite Is Its Most Affordable Phone Yet

It’s just a shame it won’t be available in the US.

British tech company Nothing unveiled the latest phone in its 3 series on Wednesday, bringing its signature flashy and semi-transparent design to a new audience at a more affordable price than it’s usually known for. The Nothing Phone 3A Lite is a budget device designed to tempt people who love the company’s style, but not the price of its other products.

Available in black and white, the phone is encased in glass, with visible screws that define Nothing’s signature look. Fans of the brand will be aware of Nothing’s flashy Glyph Interface that makes the rear of its phones glow to indicate notifications. The Nothing Phone 3A Lite comes with an «evolution» of this, which the company is calling the Glyph Light. It will offer customizable light sequences and other glowing features.

From what we’ve seen of the device so far, it’s probably one of the coolest and quirkiest looking entry-level phones to hit the market this year. Usually phone-makers reserve design flourishes for their higher-end models, but for Nothing it’s at the core of the company’s DNA.

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In terms of other specs, you can expect a triple-camera system with a 50-megapixel main sensor, a 6.77-inch AMOLED display and 5,000-mAh battery. Unlike the other phones in Nothing’s 3 Series, the 3A Lite isn’t powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, but instead runs on a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro chip. It arrives running Android 15 and Nothing OS 3.5, with an update to Nothing OS 4.0 scheduled for early 2026.

One initial disappointment in the phone is to see that Nothing is only committing to three years of major Android updates (albeit it’s offering six years of security patches). It would have been great to see this phone able to offer owners true longevity, as well as a cool design at an affordable price.

An affordable phone — but not for everyone

The Nothing Phone 3A Lite will cost £249 ($329) with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, or £279 ($369) for 256GB of storage. That’s around £70 cheaper that the Nothing Phone 3A — not a massive saving, but a saving nonetheless. That’s great news for people in the UK and Europe who are keen to get their hands on this new model. But it’s less good news if you’re based in the US.

«Phone 3A Lite will not be available in North America,» a spokesperson for the company told me. «Given the investment required to localise and scale this specific model, our focus is on markets where entry-level devices are a more natural fit and can serve as an introduction to the Nothing ecosystem.»

This isn’t the case for the other phones Nothing has unveiled this year, which include the 3A Pro and flagship Phone 3 — both of which are available in the US.

In all, 2025 has been Nothing’s most prolific year yet. Not only has it released a range of new phones across its main brand and CMF sub-brand, it’s also launched its first over-ear headphones, Headphone 1, with partner audio brand KEF.

«It’s impressive that Nothing has now managed to launch five phones in one year,» says Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight. «It underlines its growing scale and determination to have devices across multiple tiers and segments»

Technologies

China Cracks Down: Fake Experts Banned From Social Media

China is going all-in with strict social media policies surrounding educational topics.

Misinformation is tough to decipher in this day and age of social media. Over in China, the internet regulator has announced that it is further enforcing laws prohibiting social-media influencers from sharing advice on finance, medicine, law and education on social media unless they have the professional credentials to back up their content.

China’s social media platforms, such as Bilibili, Doyin (China’s TikTok) and Weibo, must follow the new regulations set down by the Cyberspace Administration of China on Saturday.

Creators will have to share studies to support their information and reveal whether they used AI to generate any of their content.

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CAC is also banning advertising for supplements and medical services, and similar posts that pose as educational content to sell a product. Prior to this regulation, China declared a two-month campaign to eliminate pessimistic, hostile or violent content.

China has been criticized for its attempt to control online content and public opinion. But it wouldn’t be the first country to enforce laws surrounding social media policies.

Spain implemented its own influencer law in 2024, which required influencers on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok earning over 300,000 euro to be transparent about partnerships with brands and sponsorships. Influencers must also adhere to copyright laws and restrictions on targeting of minors with content related to tobacco, alcohol and medications.

A study conducted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization found that only 36.9% of influencers verify that the content that they share is true before posting.

That’s especially troubling since a 2025 Pew Research Center report found that one in five young American adults receives their news through TikTok.

A representative for UNESCO didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Oct. 30, #402

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Oct. 30, No. 402.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. I guess I don’t know my pitches very well. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Join our group.

Green group hint: Get away from me!

Blue group hint: Throw it over the plate.

Purple group hint: Like Nicholas.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Ways to add someone to a team.

Green group: Lose a would-be tackler.

Blue group: Softball pitches, with -ball.

Purple group: Nick ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is ways to add someone to a team. The four answers are draft, free agency, trade and waivers.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is lose a would-be tackler. The four answers are break, shake, shed and slip.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is softball pitches, with -ball. The four answers are curve, drop, fast and rise.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Nick ____. The four answers are Chubb, Mangold, Nurse and Sirianni.

Technologies

How to Redeem Every Pokemon Legends: Z-A Mystery Gift Code and Reward

Prepare for your city-spanning Pokemon adventure with some extra goodies. These free mystery gift codes and rewards are available for you to grab today.

After 12 years, it’s finally time for Pokemon players to head back to the Kalos region in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, the newest game in the popular monster-catching franchise. If you’ve missed the worldwide capital of Mega Pokemon, fairy-type Pokemon and a whole bunch of baked bread, now’s the time to jump back into the world of pocket monsters.

The Switch 2’s first Pokemon game seems a bit scarier this time around. Though the beautiful Lumiose City projects safety and security, recent unexplained rampages from wild Mega Pokemon threaten the peace.

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Between unearthing the cause of this phenomenon and taking down competitors in the Z-A Royale Pokemon battle ladder, there’s a lot of work to do in the Kalos region. You’ll need special partners to get the job done — and there are some special Mystery Gifts that have just the powerful pals you’re looking for.

Even though Pokemon Legends: Z-A is still a fairly new game, there are already three Mystery Gift codes you can redeem right now. These will unlock a rare Pokemon and tons of items that will help you prepare for competitive mode, which is especially important if you want to unlock limited-time Mega Stones that are walled behind ranked player-versus-player battling.

All active Mystery Gifts for Pokemon Legends: Z-A

While some Pokemon Legends: Z-A promo codes are uniquely tied to Nintendo purchases, we’ve gathered every free code and redemption requirement in one place for you here.

Below is a chart that contains every active Mystery Gift code for Pokemon Legends: Z-A, what it unlocks and its expiration date:

Active Pokemon Legends: Z-A Mystery Gifts

Reward	Code or alternative redemption requirements	Expiration date
Ralts holding Gardevoirite	No associated code. Select «Get via internet» in the Mystery Gift menu.	Feb. 28, 2026
100x Poke Balls	Every code is unique. You can unlock the code for this Mystery Gift by purchasing the digital version of Pokemon Legends: Z-A. The code will be sent to the email associated with your Nintendo account.	March 10, 2026
3x Fast Balls, 3x Lure Balls, 3x Heavy Balls, 3x Level Balls	Every code is unique. You can unlock the code for this Mystery Gift by purchasing the Mega Dimension DLC. The code will be sent to the email associated with your Nintendo account.	March 10, 2026

How to redeem Mystery Gifts in Pokemon Legends: Z-A

If you have Mystery Gift codes to redeem in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, you’re likely eager to grab those rewards as soon as possible. But you need to do a little bit of legwork before unlocking the code redemption menu.

To unlock Mystery Gift functionality, you need to progress through the main story until you reach the third main mission, called A New Life in Lumiose City.

During this mission, you’ll meet Mable, the acting director of the Pokemon Research Lab in Kalos. Once you unlock Mable’s research, a new «Link Play» tab becomes accessible in the pause menu.

Within the Link Play tab, you can redeem Mystery Gift codes — as long as you’re connected to the internet.

What are Mystery Gifts?

Mystery Gifts are a long-running way to reward Pokemon players with extra goodies. The official gift distributions have existed since Pokemon Gold and Silver was released in 1999.

Back then, players needed to have special hardware — like a Game Boy Advance Wireless Adaptor — in order to acquire Mystery Gifts. Newer games make the process much easier, since you need only connect to Wi-Fi in order to access gifts for the Pokemon games on the Nintendo Switch.

While some Mystery Gifts are accessible for free, others are unlocked by promo codes that you’ll have to hunt down through specific means. Mystery Gifts are good ways to gather precious items, add mythical Pokemon to the Pokedex and capture rare shiny Pokemon.