Nothing’s Phone 3a Lite enters an already crowded portfolio, what with the Phone 3a/3a Pro and the CMF Phone 2 Pro available at price points just above and below the 3a Lite. So, does the 3a Lite, a Nothing-styled, CMF-hardware-inspired product, work?
Retaining the now iconic transparent back panel and the Glyph lighting, the Phone 3a Lite instantly looks like a Nothing product. The lights are a single LED affair, but I’m glad the functionality has been included, and you still get light-only notifications and custom flashes for calls/messages. The phone shares the somewhat controversial camera module layout from the Phone 3, plus there’s the Essential key for AI-infused note taking. Elsewhere, there’s a snappy under-display fingerprint sensor and a microSD card slot if the 128/256GB of storage isn’t enough, but the IP54 water resistance is a little basic.
Around the front is a 6.77-inch full HD+ AMOLED display with 120Hz adaptive screen refresh rate and 3,000nits peak brightness – if that sounds similar to the CMF Phone 2 Pro, it is, and that’s not a bad thing at all. The flat Panda Glass-protected display is sharp, delivers rich colors and smooth motion, and touch responsiveness is as good as phones costing twice the price. The mono speaker sounds good but just isn’t as enjoyable as a stereo setup. As with the CMF phone, the 3a Lite uses the same MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro chipset paired with 8GB of RAM, and while this is absolutely a budget handset, Nothing has done a great job optimizing Nothing OS 3.5 (Android 15) to the point where using the phone is a smooth experience, no lags or stutters. Demanding apps and games at higher details are best avoided. The 5000mAh battery translates to a day of typical use, and there’s 33W charging (charger not included).
Cameras are a mixed bag, with the 50MP primary sensor shooting decent images in good light and just about usable images in low light, while the 8MP ultrawide does well to keep up, but details are clearly lacking. No telephoto on this phone, instead you get a limited utility 2MP macro lens.
In all, decent specs married to a distinctive design bring the Nothing lineup to new levels of affordability, but the savings are too slim to outright recommend it over its slightly pricier siblings. Why is Nothing competing with itself?
Rating: 7/10
Price: ₹21,999 (8/128GB), ₹23,999 (8/256GB)
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