THIS is Midrange?! 😲 Nothing Phone 4a Pro Review (30 Days Later...)
To be honest, if it weren’t for that blue colour option which is such a unique and interesting look, I would totally never consider the Phone 4(a), because the 4(a) Pro is better in almost every way. Apart from the aluminum Unibody, it’s got a better screen, better gaming performance, and better camera than the 4(a), The following is why I recommend just spending a bit more to get the 4(a) Pro.
Better Screen and Graphics Processing
So I said the 4(a) Pro’s screen is better, and that’s because it supports up to 144hz refresh instead of 120. This should mean smoother framerates for gaming. Honestly, I’m not really able to tell the difference visually but the way this works for gamers is there’s slightly reduced lag for faster reaction times. And even in terms of sheer processing power for games, there’s a huge gap.
Using 3DMark’s Wildlife Extreme, the benchmark for graphics and ray tracing, the 4(a) Pro scored twice as well as the 4(a) and was much smoother, averaging around 30 frames per second instead of under 10 frames, which in a real game is totally unplayable. That is the difference between a device running the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 instead of 7s Gen 4.
Of course, both aren’t going to be as powerful as the Phone (3) with its Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor, also a midrange processor, but just demolishing the (a) models with a smooth 60fps on average on Wildlife Extreme. What is worth mentioning is that the thermals of the new (a) models are much better than the Phone (3), which got very hot after just 1 minute running Wild Life Extreme.
Better Cameras
A distant object at 140x Digital Zoom (Nothing Phone 4a Pro)
As for cameras, the 4(a) Pro has up to 140x digital zoom, allowing you to reach in twice as far as the 70x max digital crop of the 4(a) - but of course, it’s going to rely on AI to clean up the image which I’ve never been a fan of, because it looks very artificial, and much of it is relying on guess work which means it gets stuff wrong and looking weird. No different from blowing up a picture on your computer, then cleaning it up with AI.
But if it’s just about the actual camera performance, in general, pictures shot on the 4(a) Pro are going to look a bit more vibrant, more contrasty, and a bit more detailed than the regular 4(a).
This also carries over into digital crop territory because the 4(a) Pro uses AI powered processing which the 4(a) doesn’t. So even at the same 70x zoom, the 4(a) Pro has a bit more detail retention than the 4(a).
The same also applies when shooting in 50MP mode which is locked to 1x and 3.5x. The 4(a) Pro’s pictures look like they have a bit of depth, even the sheen of Headphone (a)’s metallic finish looks more realistic. I’m also noticing a cooler tonality but that’s something that can be adjusted in post.
For videos, videos shot on the 4(a) look fine, but they look just a bit noisier than the 4(a) Pro, especially noticeable in low light conditions. What’s interesting is that the front selfie cameras of both the Pro and regular 4(a) don’t support 4K video, only up to 1080p 60fps. The only difference between them using the front camera is that the 4(a) Pro looks more contrasty than the 4(a)
👉 View the video quality here (Main Camera)
👉 View the video quality here (Front Camera)
Easy Choice
So if the choice were between the 4(a) Pro and 4(a), I’d rather pay a bit more and get better all round performance, and other extras. That includes the Glyph interface which is quite improved over the first version.
It’s now bigger and brighter with bigger pixels, and I do like it for the Glyph mirror feature which lets you take selfies with the main cam. What’s not an upgrade is that it doesn’t have that button at the back to control it, so you can’t easily switch between the Glyph tools, and the glyph’s tools and games only respond to shakes. So no spin the bottle or rock paper scissors like the original Glyph interface of the Phone (3)
Choose Nothing Phone 4a Pro or Phone (3)?
At this point you must be wondering, do I actually prefer the 4(a) Pro to the Phone (3)? It’s not cut and dry, because there are reasons to get either one of them. Specs-wise, the Phone (3) is a more capable device because it has the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 instead of 7 Gen 4 so it’s better than the 4(a) Pro at graphics processing and frame rates, as we’re seeing here with 3DMark’s Wildlife Extreme Test.
Both the Phone (3)’s main and front selfie cameras also shoot in 4K 60fps which the Phone 4(a) Pro cannot do, so get the Phone (3) for better performance and cameras.
But in some ways, aside from the cost advantage, the 4(a) Pro is also improved over the flagship Phone (3). For example, the screen supports up to 144hz refresh instead of 120hz. Thermals are also much better because when I was running Wildlife Extreme, the Phone (3) did heat up a lot at the back and along the edges after just 1 minute, whereas the 4(a) Pro stayed pretty chill.
The design of the Phone 4a Pro also looks and feels nicer. If there is a Nothing Phone (4), there’s a high chance that it’ll use a similar unibody design. If you’re interested in either the Phone 4(a) Pro or the Phone (3), check their latest prices in the links below.
Check latest price:
Nothing Phone 4(a) Pro - https://amzn.to/4ufY5Jo
Nothing Phone (3) - https://amzn.to/41WeF4M
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