London-based expertise model Nothing has introduced its newest smartphones, unveiling a duo that delivers on design, performance and options with out breaking the financial institution. The brand new Cellphone (3a) Collection marks a refresh of Nothing’s “mid-range” providing and builds on final yr’s Cellphone (2a) – nevertheless, it will be secure to say that the brand new pair of smartphones are “mid-range” in title solely, with each Cellphone (3a) and Cellphone (3a) Professional packing a number of upgrades between them in addition to a very new AI platform designed for and launching with the brand new sequence, making them a strong selection for Android customers no matter funds.
Cellphone (3a) and Cellphone (3a) Professional share a big 6.77-inch AMOLED Full HD+ show that delivers an adaptive 120Hz refresh fee. The telephones construct on their predecessors with a 480Hz contact sampling fee in regular utilization, a 100% enhance, and might attain 1,000Hz when utilized in Gaming Mode. Put merely: this elevated sampling fee equates to smoother and extra responsive scrolling. Visibility in vivid gentle has additionally been improved on the brand new telephones and each fashions obtain 1,300 nits of most, constant brightness open air, and – when enjoying HDR content material – can attain 3,000 nits with highlights boosting.
Each telephones are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 Cellular Platform chipset, a succesful processor that launched in 2024 that excels at extending battery life. In truth, Nothing says it labored immediately with Snapdragon to optimize the chipset for the brand new Cellphone (3a) sequence and claims it makes use of “8% much less energy” that interprets to “30 minute extra [battery] energy” than the identical chipset present in different telephones. The model additionally states that the brand new telephones characteristic a “33% sooner” CPU in comparison with the Cellphone (2a), with an Adreno 800 Collection GPU that brings an 11% enchancment to graphics on the machine.
Smartphones haven’t modified a lot in recent times by way of their kind issue and total look, however pushing the expectations of its personal product’s design has been key Nothing’s model since its launched in 202o. The brand new Cellphone (3a) and Cellphone (3a) Professional have been redesigned from the bottom up, with upgraded glass panels on the again changing the earlier sequence’ polycarbonate (plastic) physique. This has resulted in a extra premium feeling machine, however the change additionally performs a extra sensible function and Nothing says the transfer from plastic to glass has allowed it to improve the gadgets’ IP ranking to IP64, making them extra water-resistant and fully shielded from mud. The digital camera design on each telephones has additionally been up to date to “have a good time every new digital camera system” – Cellphone (3a) Professional, specifically, stands out, that includes a big round digital camera bump that’s simply the very first thing you discover when holding it. It’s a daring design selection that goes in opposition to the standard smartphone design grain: whereas most manufacturers have tried to scale back the footprint cameras take up on their gadgets, Nothing has gone all out with a digital camera bump that’s sufficiently big to be a dialog starter.
Opinion is bound to be break up on Cellphone (3a) Professional’s digital camera, however the comparatively massive housing isn’t with out motive: it’s house to a periscope zoom lens with a 70mm equal focal size that Nothing calls “flagship-grade”. Periscope lenses use a prism or lens to control gentle in a manner that enables for a a lot higher zooming means with out including too excessively to a telephone’s total bulk. The periscope lens on the Cellphone (3a) Professional is mixed by a 1/1.95-inch Sony LYTI 600 sensor and a comparatively massive f/2.55 aperture which, collectively, ship respectable zoom pictures. Alternatively, Cellphone (3a) opts for a 50MP telephoto lens with a f/2.0 aperture and a 50mm equal focal size. It options 2x optical zoom and has the flexibility to realize a 30x extremely zoom with the assistance of “AI clarity-enhancing algorithms”. Each fashions share the identical 50MP important digital camera, however the Cellphone (3a) Professional advantages from a bigger sensor that enables it to realize higher low gentle imagery and 43% sooner auto-focus. The selfie digital camera on each telephones has additionally been upgraded and might now report in 4K, with Cellphone (3a)’s boasting 32MP and Cellphone (3a) Professional’s 50MP.
The Cellphone (3a) Collection options the most effective battery life the model has ever provided, with each fashions together with a big 5,000mAh battery for “as much as two days of use on a full cost”. Moreover, each telephones will be super-fast charged and might obtain 50% of energy “in below 20 minutes”. Nothing is delivering the brand new telephones with Nothing OS 3.1 built-in – a custom-made model of Android 15 that features the Nothing Gallery photograph app and up to date variations of the Digicam and Climate apps.
Lastly, Nothing is launching a brand new AI platform with the Cellphone (3a) Collection. Important House, arriving in early entry, is described by the model as an “AI-powered hub for notes, concepts, and inspirations” that may “seize, course of and bear in mind” issues in a sensible and user-friendly manner. Nothing says that it has designed its new AI platform with customers in thoughts at first, claiming that it’s going to operate “identical to a second reminiscence”. Whereas Important House remains to be being developed, one among its early options lets customers to avoid wasting on-screen content material (like screenshots) with added voice notes, permitting you to recall the content material at a later date with context that may be lacking in any other case.
Nothing Cellphone (3a) is obtainable to pre-order right now through Nothing’s web site, with pricing beginning at £329 GBP / $379 USD. Cellphone (3a) Professional can be accessible to pre-order from March 11, with pricing beginning at £449 GBP / $459 USD.
