I've used Nothing Phone (4a), and now the brand's mid-range finally makes sense

Here it is, the Nothing Phone (4a). I’ve lived with every Nothing phone since the first one blinked into existence, and its transparent, retro-industrial design drew me into a new kind of smartphone that feels tangentially opposite to Apple and Samsung.

Early on, with Nothing Phone 2(a) and Nothing Phone 2, the design did the heavy lifting, as behind the look, the specs were fine, sometimes better than fine, but the story was always the same: look at me. With each release, Nothing tightened the screws on that identity, and Nothing Phone (4a) doesn't really buck the trend, and why should it?

Now in my hand, the new Nothing Phone (4a) feels like the moment the brand's mid-range grows into that confidence. At $475, it sits right in the middle of one of the most important markets. As budgets tighten, we're all looking for good tech at a good price, and if it can come with a little unusual design swagger, so be it. In many ways, Nothing Phone (4a) feels more assured than past '(a)' releases, as Nothing finally knows what its “(a)” series is for.

Nothing nails its design ident

Flipping it over, and the Nothing Phone 4(a) is everything the brand has become recognised for: the clear back, exposed geometry, deliberate screws and panels. Nothing says this one is inspired by a Snowy Owl. I side-eyed that at first, but after spending time with it, I can see it – the upward taper, the camera housing forming a kind of head and eyes. Not quite as charming as the first Phone 2(a) with its little Pixar-like face, but Phone 4(a has presence and personality, the kind of thing tech often fails at.

The pill-shaped aluminium camera housing now sits higher, giving the rear a cleaner, less fussy vertical flow. It feels more composed than the Phone 2(a) or Phone 3(a) but still playful. I’ve been using the white-and-grey model for this review, and it looks sharp and restrained, giving a proper premium sense of style. I’m quietly jealous of anyone who grabbed the metallic blue shown at MWC, though that one has real swagger in its colourway. Interesting, with soft metallic pink and gloss-black editions on the menu too. Nothing is finally getting in the way of our love of collecting unique tech colours.

In the hand, the Nothing 4(a) is slimmer and lighter than the flagship Nothing Phone 3 I use daily, and after a year with the heavier top-tier device, that difference matters more than I expected. It’s nowhere near the wafer-thin theatrics of the new Apple iPhone Air, but at 204.5g and 8.55mm thick, it hits a comfortable middle ground.

Phone 4(a) makes Glyph useful again

The new Glyph light bar is where personality kicks back in, and I find myself enjoying using this mid-range more than expected. This time, it’s 63 mini-LEDs arranged into six zones to deliver a bright mix of patterns. It sounds iterative, but in use it feels grown-up and closer to the idea Nothing originally had with the Glyph lights, and crucially it's more practical than the previous Phone 2(a)'s reduced light bar.

For example, the countdown feature is genuinely useful when connected to Google Calendar, as meetings come closer, the light bar ticks down on my desk. When an Uber’s close, I see it arriving without flipping the phone. It’s still fun, too. With new ringtones, generative sounds, Glyph Torch, and volume indicators, it’s no longer a party trick but an ambient piece of information. Of course, you can turn it into a party trick when connected to Spotify or other music players.

Up front, the 6.78-inch flexible AMOLED steps up to 1.5K (1224 x 2720), with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and up to 4,500 nits peak HDR brightness. In practice, it’s punchy, crisp, and unfazed by harsh daylight. In practice, this means scrolling stays smooth, thanks to frame interpolation tweaks in Nothing OS 4.1. The 2,160Hz PWM dimming keeps things comfortable at low brightness, and gradients have pleasing depth.

Where the Phone 4(a) steps up and tries to be more than an iterative release is with its new cameras; Nothing has paired a 50MP Samsung GN9 main sensor with a 50MP Samsung JN5 periscope offering 3.5x optical zoom. The telephoto is the quiet shift in quality and ambition compared to the Phone 3(a), offering greater sharpness at range and being a usable day-to-day camera.

There’s also an 8MP ultra-wide and a 32MP front camera, with video topping out at 4K 30fps. Nothing’s TrueLens Engine 4 handles tone mapping and multi-frame processing, including Ultra XDR capture that merges 13 RAW frames for stronger dynamic range. What all that tech jargon means in everyday use, as I discovered, is this phone has cameras that can effortlessly capture wide shots, high-res selfies, and crisp 4K video, and use smart software to make your photos look more natural and detailed.

Add in the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4, paired with 12GB + 256GB, and the Phone 4(a) feels reliably brisk, a touch faster and smoother than previous (a) entries, and generally solid in day-to-day use, whether snapping photos, browsing the web, or writing notes. The slightly larger 5,080mAh battery is a nice addition, and in use, charging was reliably fast, matching Nothing's messaging of going from near-empty to 50% in around 20-25 minutes.

Phone 4(a)'s new Essential feature

Nothing OS 4.1, based on Android 16, remains one of the cleanest Android skins I've used – though I use Nothing every day, so it's something I'm used to and enjoy. Monochrome iconography, generous spacing, and restrained animation make it a pleasure to use. I particularly like the treatment of Google Discover, bold black bars, and oversized cards that feel deliberate and easy to read.

Essential Space, Nothing’s AI hub for notes, screenshots, voice memos, and reminders, continues to be pushed, but I'll be honest, it remains a peripheral platform for me. While I can see the advantages – it analyses and groups content into context-aware collections, and offers AI-enabled notes and summaries – to date, I’ve dipped in rather than fully committed, but it’s getting harder to ignore.

For example, Essential Key captures screenshots, recordings, or voice notes straight into the system. Essential Search has quietly become a go-to, swiping up to find contacts, messages, photos, or apps beats hunting manually. There’s AI around missed calls, smarter summaries, and on-device voice tools rolling out via OTA that clean up transcripts and strip filler words.

Embrace it or not, it's with Essential Space that Nothing is doing some interesting stuff. While my eyes are always drawn to the new design, the colours, the Glyth lights, and the industrial rear 'sketches', it's in this novel AI-enabled ecosystem of apps and tools that the brand can find a voice as unique as its product design.

In this sense, Nothing Phone (4a) doesn't reinvent the brand but rather offers another small step towards a unique future, and if it has fun with cute owl designs and flashy LEDs along the way, tinkering with design and nudging performance upwards, all the better. Some may say Nothing Phone (4a) is the brand staying in its lane, comfortable but confident, I'd say look closer as there's something more Essential at play.