I tested Google’s biggest rival Pixel 10A and it’s a good deal

I gave the one from last year Nothing Phone 3A Pro a coveted CNET Editors’ Choice Award, so the Nothing Phone 4A Pro had some pretty big shoes to fill. It makes some dramatic design changes, but the new phone packs plenty of things to maintain the reputation of its predecessor. From its solid performance to its comprehensive camera setup, it ticks all the boxes you’d expect from an everyday Android phone – and sprinkles in some fun extras like its original Glyph Matrix display on the back.

But the Nothing Phone 4A Pro has a bigger trick up its sleeve: price.

8.0

Nothing phone 4A Pro

As

• Affordable price
• Attractive design
• Excellent camera performance

I don’t like

• Fewer years of software support than competitors
• Battery life could be better

HAS $499 in the United States And £499 in the UKthe Phone 4A Pro is undoubtedly affordable, at the same price as its main competitor, the GooglePixel 10A. While the Pixel has some points in its favor, I mostly preferred the Nothing’s camera performance and think it’s a much more interesting phone to look at, especially with that rear screen. While the Pixel 10A is a safe mid-ranger, Nothing’s phone feels a bit more like a wild card. It definitely has more personality, and if you like the idea of ​​having something that stands out from the crowd, this is definitely the one for you.

Here’s what you need to know about this affordable Android phone.

Nothing Phone 4A Pro: pink design with Glyph Matrix

I’ll be honest: one of my favorite things about the phone is its pink color. Yes, this makes me extremely superficial, but honestly, I’m fine with it. I love pink gadgets. I managed to turn my iPhone 17 Pro cosmic orange pink with chemicalsand I had a custom pink wrap put on my beloved Leica Q3 43. It’s a subtle pink, rather than hot pink like the old Motorola Razr V3, but it’s a fun color that doesn’t take itself too seriously – and it’s refreshing. Would I like to see the next model become an eye-melting magenta? Absolutely.

Many of today’s phones come in dreary shades of black, silver, or gray, so I really appreciate it when a brand injects a little more personality into the mix. That said, Nothing has made some significant design changes here compared to its predecessor. The company is known for its transparent plastic-backed phones that show some of the components underneath, as well as its “Glyph” LED light patterns. I loved this look on the 3A Pro and the Nothing Phone 1 and 2 before.

There’s still an element of that here, but it’s been corralled and squashed into the camera bar, with around 70% of the phone now being a simple expanse of aluminum. The aluminum feels premium to hold, especially considering the price, but cover the camera bar and you could look at virtually any other phone. The bar itself looks interesting, with visible screw heads helping to maintain that industrial feel. This is also where you’ll find the three camera lenses and the Glyph Matrix introduced on last year’s higher $799 price tag. Nothing phone 3.

The Matrix is ​​essentially a circular dot-matrix display that can show information such as the time, battery level, or incoming notifications. But Nothing opened up Glyph to allow developers or users to create their own tools, like a countdown to the arrival of an Uber car. The Phone 3’s Glyph Matrix was touch sensitive, allowing it to use what Nothing called “Glyph toys”, like spinning the bottle, while the 4A Pro’s is just a screen.

I found these features to be somewhat gimmicky, and the new Glyph Matrix – used as a display rather than an interactive toy – loses little in terms of functionality while providing a better overall experience. I don’t think it’s a killer feature, but being able to quickly glance at the clock or a timer was very handy throughout my testing of the device. And if nothing else, it really sets the phone apart from the rest, especially the Pixel 10A’s simple camera cutout, which I think looks exceptionally dull in comparison.

The phone is IP65 rated, which protects it from spills or calls in the rain. This probably makes it as dust-resistant as most other phones, although it may not survive prolonged submersion in water like devices with an IP68 rating. There’s no mention that the company uses recycled plastics, steel, aluminum, and tin in the device’s construction, giving it the lowest carbon footprint of all its phones.

Nothing Phone 4A Pro: Processor and software

The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 chip with 8GB or 12GB of RAM. I reviewed the 12GB model and found it to be fast enough for everyday use. Navigating the Android interface was smooth, apps opened quickly, and the graphically demanding game Genshin Impact was smooth enough for casual gamers even at high quality settings.

Benchmark tests place it slightly below the Pixel 10A, but only by much. It’s not the most powerful phone on the market, but it’s more than enough for all your daily needs.

It runs Android 16 with Nothing’s custom skin on top, which turns much of the interface into a stark, monochrome experience. I don’t like it, largely because the lack of color cues makes it harder to distinguish between app icons – a problem I also encountered with Leica’s UI on the Xiaomi Leitzphone.

Still, you can change the theme for a more typical interface if you also need more colors, and I like the different Nothing widgets you can install and the private space that lets you hide sensitive apps and photos behind a password.

On board you’ll find Nothing’s Essential Space, a productivity app the company launched on its phones last year. It’s essentially a repository of screenshots and voice notes to help you make sense of your stream of consciousness throughout the day. It uses a dedicated hardware button on the side of the phone. Long-press it to take a screenshot of what you’re looking at, then record a voice note to remind you why it’s important, whether it’s saving important information or reminding you to buy something later.

I love Essential Space. This is really helpful, especially for people who think about random tasks throughout the day but forget about them by the time they are actually able to do something. Actually I set the Action button on my iPhone 16 Pro to record a voice note for these moments. But voice memos on my iPhone are simply stored in a generic list, whereas Nothing’s Essential Space actively tries to make sense of your recordings and screenshots by transcribing them and making them easily searchable. This is by no means a reason to choose a Nothing phone over another device, but it is a convenient one to play with.

There’s no promise of three years of Android updates and a total of six years of security updates for the Phone 4A Pro, meaning it should still be safe to use in 2032. I’d like to see more generous software updates (the Pixel 10A will receive both software and security updates for seven years), but security support is the main thing here, as that directly relates to the lifespan of the phone.

Nothing Phone 4A Pro: cameras

On the back is a trio of cameras, including a 50-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel telephoto camera with 3.5x optical zoom, and an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera. This is a pretty solid lineup of lenses for a budget-focused phone, and I was pleasantly surprised by their performance as well.

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Taken with the main camera, this photo is bright and vibrant. There are also a lot of details. It’s an impressive image, especially for a budget phone.

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There is a noticeable color change when switching to the ultra-wide lens. The blue sky is less vibrant and the green grass looks much more muted in the wider version. It’s a shame to see such significant differences between the two focal lengths, but this is common on cheaper phones.

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It’s the same here too: vibrant blues and rich greens when shot with the main camera.

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The subjects in the photo look a little more muted when the ultra-wide kicks in. It’s not a bad image by any means, and the differences are well within what I expected, but it’s worth keeping in mind if you absolutely crave hyper-vibrant ultra-wide photos when you’re traveling.

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I shot it in the same standing position as the images above, but switched to 3.5x optical zoom. It’s a great photo, with clear details and a well-balanced exposure.

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With a combined 7x optical and digital zoom, some of the finer details become a little blurrier, but it’s still a great shot to share with family and friends on WhatsApp or Instagram.

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I did some comparisons with the Pixel 10A and this shot really stood out to me. Nothing’s image is noticeably brighter and more vivid, especially when it comes to the bright red of the pizzeria’s awning. The Pixel’s shooting is arguably more natural and balanced, which might make it a better basis for further tweaking, but I’m not sure that’s particularly important on budget phones like these. I’m more interested in seeing impactful images ready to share straight from the camera – and Nothing takes the win here.

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It’s the same story here, with the Nothing Phone 4A Pro producing a much more vibrant photo than the Pixel.

I prefer the Pixel’s effort in this scene, however. The green ivy looks much more natural and emerald in her photo, while the warmer tones of the Nothing made the leaves more yellowish green. It really comes down to personal preference: if you want bright, punchy colors, go with Nothing. If you prefer natural tones with realistic saturation, the Pixel is for you.

Nothing Phone 4A Pro: Battery and charging

The phone packs a 5,080mAh battery, which the company claims will give you 17 hours of mixed usage. It will really depend on how demanding you are of your phone. In our streaming test, it dropped almost 10% after the first hour and was down to 73% after the third hour. That’s well below average – and below what the Pixel 10A achieved in the same test.

This is, however, a very intense test and not really representative of how you would use your phone during an average day. Keep things more reasonable and you shouldn’t struggle too much to enjoy it for a day. Lowering the screen brightness will help, and you’ll probably want to avoid streaming hours of YouTube videos unless you’re near a power outlet. It has 50 watts of wired charging to quickly restore power, but you’ll need to provide your own compatible fast charger.

Nothing Phone 4A Pro: should you buy it?

The Nothing Phone 4A is a rare example of a phone that comes at an affordable price and doesn’t require you to make too many sacrifices. Sure, it’s not the most powerful phone on the market, but it will cope admirably with almost all of your daily essentials, while its cameras put on a superb show, delivering vibrant and sharp images from all of its rear lenses.

I even like the quirky design – especially that pink color – and the seven years of security support are a welcome touch at this price. That doesn’t quite match the processing power and battery life of the Pixel 10A, but it’s not far off, and I think it surpasses Google’s phone in terms of camera quality and design. Neither phone has the best cameras on the market; you’ll have to turn to the Xiaomi Leitzphone for that, but it will literally cost you at least three times as much.

For its price, the Nothing Phone 4A Pro packs everything you’d want from an everyday phone and is worth considering if you want a new Android handset that won’t break the bank.