Technologies

Nothing Phone 3A Pro Review: Flashy Design Is the Cherry on Top

With solid overall performance and an affordable price, Nothing’s Phone 3A and 3A Pro may be the midrangers to beat.

The Nothing Phone 3A Pro is cut from the same cloth as the rest of London-based Nothing’s handsets. This midrange Android phone packs solid specs and a suite of flashing LED lights and tops it off with an affordable price tag. It has a lot to offer, but competition in the midrange market has never been more fierce, with Google’s recent Pixel 9A promising similar all-round performance for a closely matched $499 price.

Nothing actually offers two phones in its 3A range; the base Phone 3A and the slightly more premium 3A Pro, which I tested for four weeks for this review. The phones are nearly identical, with the processor, display and batteries shared between them both. The 3A Pro adds in a more capable camera setup, which includes a telephoto lens.

At a time when Google, Samsung, Motorola and Apple are all releasing affordable phone options for their customers, Nothing’s 3A and 3A Pro stand out for their attractive design, excellent value and solid cameras, especially as the US puts tariffs on imported goods.

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The Nothing Phone 3A starts at $379 with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. In the UK, you can pick up a pared-back model with 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage for only £329, or get the 12GB/256GB model for £379. The Phone 3A Pro costs $459 (£449) for the 12GB/256GB model.

Both phones pack a lot of value for their cost, and have plenty of power for everyday tasks, vibrant displays that are great for gaming and cameras that are good enough for casual snaps on your days out in the summer sun. How they stack up against the new Samsung Galaxy A series and Pixel 9A remains to be seen when we’re able to finally test Google and Samsung’s newest budget phones.

Nothing Phone 3A’s flashy design

The design is the first thing that stands out about these phones. The glass back reveals screws and data ribbons, giving it an industrial look that I quite like. It might not be the style I’d choose in a phone, but it’s certainly nice to see designs that go beyond the plain gray looks of most phones. The LED lights — which Nothing calls the Glyph — are strewn around the camera units on both phones and light up to alert you to incoming notifications. They’re a fun addition to Nothing’s phones that you won’t find anywhere else.

Both phones have 6.7-inch displays that looked bright and vibrant during my testing time. They did a decent job of countering the overhead Barcelona sunshine, as well as the cloudy skies of my Edinburgh home. If you’re using these phones under the bright midday California sun, you may find them more difficult to view, but I’ve certainly seen worse for this price. With an IP68 water-resistance rating, taking calls in the pouring rain (again: not you, California) won’t be a problem.

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Nothing Phone 3A and 3A Pro performance

Powering the 3A series is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7S Gen 3 processor, which provided fairly low scores on our benchmark tests for both processor and graphics performance. It fell behind both the more expensive iPhone 16E and last year’s Pixel 8A with its graphics score being particularly underwhelming. But benchmark tests only tell some of the story.

In real-world use I found both phones to run smoothly with plenty of power for everyday essentials like emailing and web browsing. Even demanding games like PUBG played perfectly well with high resolution settings (I even managed to get a «winner, winner, chicken dinner!») so don’t think that opting for a midrange phone means sacrificing performance. While it might not be a benchmark winner, the Nothing Phone 3A has enough power to tackle most things you’d want to use it for.

Nothing Phone 3A performance compared

Nothing Phone 3A Pro 1,185 3,265 1,059Pixel 8A 1,675 4,076 2,435iPhone 16E 3,323 8,111 3,014

Geekbench 6 (Single core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-core)
3DMark Wild Life Extreme

Note: Longer bars equals better performance

The Phone 3A Pro’s 5,000-mAh battery didn’t impress on our battery drain tests, but it’s far from the worst I’ve seen. Its battery prowess is more in line with Samsung’s affordable Galaxy A25 5G from last year, but falling short of more premium phones like the iPhone 16 or Galaxy S25. Getting a full day of use shouldn’t be a problem here, as long as you avoid playing games or streaming video for hours on end but like most phones, you’ll almost certainly want to give it a full charge each night.

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Nothing Phone 3A and AI

Both phones run Android 15 at their core, but Nothing has heavily customized the interface with a stark, monochrome aesthetic. It looks sleek, but I sometimes struggle to distinguish app icons when they’re reduced to minimalist black-and-white buttons. Still, you might be into the mono look, and if not, you can customize the layout to your liking. Nothing promises a total of six years of software and security support, which is good, especially considering the price.

Gemini Advanced, Gemini Live and Circle to Search are all available to use on the phones, and while Nothing hasn’t thrown in much of its own AI stuff (for which I’m grateful), it has launched one tool that I quite like. Called the Essential Space, it’s designed as a central hub for storing your thoughts, notes, screenshots and ideas throughout the day.

See some shoes you like? Open the camera and use the dedicated Essential Space button on the side of the phone to save a shot — along with your voice note about them — to your Space. Need to buy brie, vodka, party hats and snake food on the way home? A long button press will let you dictate your fascinating shopping list to add it to your Space to check later.

It’s a nice idea in theory, and while it’s had a couple of minor updates since its launch in March, it still seems limited in its functionality. Essential Space is essentially a hub for screenshots and voice notes, but I see its potential usefulness in providing a dumping ground for all your thoughts throughout the day. It’s refreshing to find a feature that’s both unique and useful and the fact that it makes use of a dedicated hardware button on the phone means it’s easy to use rather than being tucked away out of sight. Nothing emphasizes that Essential Space is still in beta, with more features on the way — so keep an eye on this space.

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Nothing Phone 3A Pro camera

Both phones have 50-megapixel main cameras and I’m pleased with some of the shots I’ve been able to get from the Pro model. Images are sharp with accurate, natural colors.

While it’s no competition to today’s top camera phones, it offers a solid experience if you want to take simple snaps of your friends at the beach, rather than looking to take the photography world by storm. The bigger question will be how the phone’s camera stacks up against the Pixel 9A and new Galaxy A series, but we’ll need to wait to get all three phones side-by-side to answer that.

While the base 3A packs a 50 megapixel telephoto camera capable of 2x optical zoom, the 3A Pro’s 50-megapixel periscope camera offers 3x optical zoom, with 6x «in-sensor» zoom, which effectively crops the sensor out to achieve a longer zoom.

The base Phone 3A has a 32-megapixel front-facing camera and the 3A Pro has a 50-megapixel sensor that’s larger to help take sharper shots.

Nothing Phone 3A Pro: Should you buy it?

Nothing has done a good job creating a phone that offers all of the essentials for an affordable price. Its processor can tackle all of your everyday essentials, its cameras take good-enough snaps and the six years of software support is a nice touch. The flashy design is the cherry on top.

I’m surprised by how little difference there is between the two models. With the same processor, display and 5,000-mAh battery (with 50W fast charging), the main distinctions are the added periscope zoom and the higher-resolution front-facing camera. Is photography important to you? If so, maybe spring for the Pro. Otherwise, save yourself a few bucks and go for the base model.

If you’re desperate for a new sub-$500 phone right now, either option is certainly worth considering. However, if you can stand to wait a few weeks, it’s worth seeing just how well Google and Samsung’s new affordable models stack up.

How we test phones

Every phone tested by CNET’s reviews team is used in the real world. We test a phone’s features, play games and take photos. We examine the display to see if it’s bright, sharp and vibrant. We analyze the design and build to see how it is to hold and whether it has an IP-rating for water-resistance. We push the processor’s performance to the extremes, using standardized benchmark tools like GeekBench and 3DMark as well as our own anecdotal observations navigating the interface, recording high-resolution videos and playing graphically intense games at high refresh rates.

All the cameras are tested in a variety of conditions, from bright sunlight to dark indoor scenes. We try out special features like night mode and portrait mode and compare our findings against similarly priced competing phones. We also check out the battery life by using the phone daily as well as running a series of battery drain tests.

Technologies

Google races to put Gemini at the center of Android before Apple’s AI reboot

Google is using its latest Android rollout to position Gemini as the AI layer across phones, Chrome, laptops and cars.

Google is using its latest Android rollout to make Gemini less of a chatbot and more of an operating layer across the phone, browser, car and laptop, just weeks before Apple is expected to show its own Gemini-powered Apple Intelligence reboot at WWDC.
Ahead of its Google I/O developer conference next week, the company previewed a number of Android updates, including AI-powered app automation, a smarter version of Chrome on Android, new tools for creators, a redesigned Android Auto experience, and a sweeping set of new security features.
Alphabet is counting on Gemini to help Google compete directly with OpenAI and Anthropic in the market for artificial intelligence models and services, while also serving as the AI backbone across its expansive portfolio of products, including Android. Meanwhile, Gemini is powering part of Apple’s new AI strategy, giving Google a role in the iPhone maker’s reset even as it races to prove its own version of personal AI on the phone is further along.
Sameer Samat, who oversees Google’s Android ecosystem, told CNBC that Google is rebuilding parts of Android around Gemini Intelligence to help users complete everyday tasks more easily.
“We’re transitioning from an operating system to an intelligence system,” he said.
As part of Tuesday’s announcements. Google said Gemini Intelligence will be able to move across apps, understand what’s on the screen and complete tasks that would normally require a user to jump between multiple services. That means Android is moving beyond the traditional assistant model, where users ask a question and get an answer, and acting more like an agent.
For instance, Google says Gemini can pull relevant information from Gmail, build shopping carts and book reservations. Samat gave the example of asking Gemini to look at the guest list for a barbecue, build a menu, add ingredients to an Instacart list and return for approval before checkout.
A big concern surrounding agentic AI involves software taking action on a user’s behalf without permissions. Samat said Gemini will come back to the user before completing a transaction, adding, “the human is always in the loop.”
Four months after announcing its Gemini deal with Google, Apple is under pressure to show a more capable version of Apple Intelligence, which has been a relative laggard on the market. Apple has long framed privacy, hardware integration and control of the user experience as its advantages.
Google’s Android push is designed to show it can bring AI deeper into the device experience while still giving users control over what Gemini can see, where it can act and when it needs confirmation.
The app automation features will roll out in waves, starting with the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer, before expanding across more Android devices, including watches, cars, glasses and laptops later this year.
The company is also redesigning Android Auto around Gemini, turning the car into another major surface for its assistant. Android Auto is in more than 250 million cars, and Google says the new release includes its biggest maps update in a decade and Gemini-powered help with tasks like ordering dinner while driving.
Alphabet’s AI strategy has been embraced by Wall Street, which has pushed the company’s stock price up more than 140% in the past year, compared to Apple’s roughly 40% gain. Investors now want to see how Gemini can become more central to the products people use every day.
WATCH: Alphabet briefly tops Nvidia after report of $200 billion Anthropic cloud deal

Technologies

Waymo recalls 3,800 robotaxis after glitch allowed some vehicles to ‘drive into standing water’

Waymo issued a voluntary recall of about 3,800 of its robotaxis to fix software issues that could allow them to drive into flooded roadways.

Waymo is recalling about 3,800 robotaxis in the U.S. to fix software issues that could allow them to “drive onto a flooded roadway,” according to a letter on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website.
The voluntary recall is for Waymo vehicles that use the company’s fifth and sixth generation automated driving systems (or ADS), the U.S. auto safety regulator said in the letter posted Tuesday.
Waymo autonomous vehicles in Austin, Texas, were seen on camera driving onto a flooded street and stalling, requiring other drivers to navigate around them. It’s the latest example of a safety-related issue for the Alphabet-owned AV unit that’s rapidly bolstering its fleet of vehicles and entering new U.S. markets.
Waymo has drawn criticism for its vehicles failing to yield to school buses in Austin, and for the performance of its vehicles during widespread power outages in San Francisco in December, when robotaxis halted in traffic, causing gridlock.
The company said in a statement on Tuesday that it’s “identified an area of improvement regarding untraversable flooded lanes specific to higher-speed roadways,” and opted to file a “voluntary software recall” with the NHTSA.
“Waymo provides over half a million trips every week in some of the most challenging driving environments across the U.S., and safety is our primary priority,” the company said.
Waymo added that it’s working on “additional software safeguards” and has put “mitigations” in place, limiting where its robotaxis operate during extreme weather, so that they avoid “areas where flash flooding might occur” in periods of intense rain.
WATCH: Waymo launches new autonomous system in Chinese-made vehicle

Technologies

Qualcomm tumbles 13% as semiconductor stocks retreat from historic AI-fueled surge

Semiconductor equities reversed sharply after a broad AI-driven advance, with Qualcomm suffering its worst day since 2020 amid inflation concerns and rising oil prices.

Semiconductor stocks fell sharply on Tuesday, reversing course after an extensive rally that had expanded the artificial intelligence investment theme well past Nvidia and driven the industry to unprecedented levels.

Qualcomm plunged 13% and was on track for its steepest single-day decline since 2020. Intel shed 8%, while On Semiconductor and Skyworks Solutions each lost more than 6%. The iShares Semiconductor ETF, which benchmarks the overall sector, fell 5%.

The sell-off came after a key gauge of consumer prices came in above forecasts, and as conflict in Iran pushed crude oil higher—prompting investors to shift away from riskier assets.

The preceding advance had widened the AI opportunity set beyond longtime industry leader Nvidia, which for much of the past several years had largely carried the market to new peaks on its own.

Explosive appetite for central processing units, along with the graphics processing units that power large language models, has sent chipmakers to all-time highs.

Market participants are wagering that the shift from AI model training to autonomous agents will lift demand for additional AI hardware. Among the beneficiaries are memory chip producers, which are raising prices as supply remains tight.

Micron Technology slid 6%, and Sandisk cratered 8%. Sandisk’s stock has surged more than six times over since January.