Finally, some personality!

I’ve tested many smartphones in my nine years as a technology journalist. Getting new ones to review isn’t always exciting because these devices are all very similar in 2025, not to mention increasingly expensive. The latest iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S devices can command upwards of £1,000, but that doesn’t make them the best choice, even if they are often technically the best phones on paper.

That’s why I’m smitten with the design-first Nothing Phone 3a and, to a lesser extent, the pricier Nothing Phone 3a Pro. The cheaper 3a is, hands down, the best budget smartphone you can buy right now, and one of the best phones I’ve ever tested, regardless of price. For just £329, UK-based tech start up Nothing has produced an incredibly well-made phone that looks and feels as though it costs at least twice as much, packing in great specs and performance, a quality display, excellent battery life and thoughtful software.

Using it has made me seriously question the wisdom in spending any more than this amount on a phone. I get to test the latest, most expensive phones, but if I had £1,500 to spend of my own money on a new device, I would probably buy this one – the blue one, specifically.

View the Nothing Phone 3a and Nothing Phone 3a Pro on Nothing’s UK online store.

Nothing is entering its fifth year of existence and is truly hitting its stride as an electronics manufacturer. As long as you dig the look of its transparent hardware and minimalist software, the Phone 3a is a better choice than the £499 Google Pixel 8a, £599 iPhone 16e or £499 Samsung Galaxy A56. The phone is a real refinement of the brand’s ethos, which is to make good-looking tech at fair prices.

The 3a isn’t perfect by any means, but I can live with the compromises that have to exist to reach the £329 asking price. Those are the lack of wireless charging, an IP64 dust and water resistance rating that means it might not survive a dunk in the pool, and a slightly ropey vibration motor. These are all things I can let go, but I would prefer the phone to be a little smaller. These phones are enormous. I’d get right behind a Phone 3a Mini.

But that really is it. I love the cameras on the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, the best phone camera I’ve ever tested, but that phone costs £1,299. The Nothing Phone 3a’s triple cameras are excellent for the price, and if you want a slightly better set up, the £449 Nothing Phone 3a Pro could cover you. That phone has a periscope 3x optical telephoto lens, but I don’t like the trade off of a large protruding circular camera bump that makes it feel like a prototype.

The Phone 3a still packs in a 2x optical zoom alongside a 50MP main sensor that produces practically the same results as the Pro’s slightly beefed-up 50MP lens. Both phones have an underwhelming 8MP ultrawide snapper, one of the main downsides.

The 3x on the Pro is nice to have, but the 6x zoom has a bit of grain to it. Otherwise, the specs of the phones are identical, and the Pro doesn’t justify its £120 premium. Here are some images from the 3a’s main lens:

On both phones you get a 6.77-inch OLED screen with 120Hz refresh rate. That trounces the 60Hz panel on the iPhone 16e, a phone that costs almost twice as much that only has one camera lens.

Both phones are powered by the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, a chip with more than enough oomph for my personal use as I’m not a mobile gamer. If you are, you probably need a more powerful phone, but the 3a held up fine for everything I threw at it bar the very occasional stutter. I tested the 3a with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage that costs £379, so I can’t speak to the performance of the £329 version with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage.

The cheaper version is available in black and white, with the blue model I reviewed only selling in the higher-end variant. I think it’s worth the extra spend for the spec bump and beautiful, unique hue. The Phone 3a Pro comes in grey or black with 12GB/256GB.

Compared to last year’s Phone 2a, the Phone 3a and 3a Pro have glass backs rather than plastic, making them feel nicer to hold and more high-end, though the flat sides are plastic. From the front they are quite non-descript with a single selfie camera cut out in the displays, as all the action is round the back.

Just like its previous phones, the glass back is transparent and shows three ‘Glyph’ lights as well as some internal components, though most of the actual guts of the phones are hidden – the design is just for show. But I like the show. This is so much more interesting than the plain backs of more expensive mobiles, even if the glossy glass here shows fingerprint smears.

The best feature of the lights is flipping the phone face down on a surface to mute the notifications. You can then program the lights to flash for certain apps or contacts, letting you know if something important is happening, discouraging you from wanting to pick up your phone all the time. You can also have one light run down gradually for timers and even Uber pickups.

Nothing packs a lot into these phones but also encourages you to use them less, which is to be commended.

Nothing draws you in with its hardware design but then hooks you with its great Android software. Based on Android 15, Nothing OS 3.1 is a minimalist’s dream, but crucially only if you want it to be. You have the option to run Android with normal icons and a ‘stock’ look if you want.

But choose Nothing’s version and you’ll be rewarded with a sleek monochrome aesthetic that looks much better if you leave the phone in dark mode. Icons for all apps turn black and white, which makes everything look uniform and also takes away some of the allure of tapping mindlessly on social media apps for no reason.

The software is very customisable, and there are tons of interactive widgets for music, weather and even a pedometer. I also love that there’s an always-on display option on this budget phone, along with the ability to add quick toggles for things such as Do Not Disturb and hotspot that I can access without unlocking the phone.

The 3a and 3a Pro both have a new button on the right edge below the power button that connects to a new app called Essential Space. This is basically a screenshots and notes app, similar to Pixel Screenshots on the latest Pixel phones. Pressing the button will take a screenshot that quickly saves to the app, pressing and holding takes a screenshot and lets you record audio, a double press opens the app. You can categorise your notes, and a sprinkle of AI will summarise the content, if you want.

It’s a cool app but the button feels like overkill. I kept pressing it accidentally and taking screenshots. I wish you could change it to be a camera shutter, but you can’t.

Yet I have found myself forgiving the little annoyances of the Phone 3a and 3a Pro because they are such good value. Pesky AI button? £329. Slightly buzzy vibration motor? £329. No wireless charging? £329, huge 5,000mAh battery that lasts well into a second day and support for 50W fast charging, which is faster than the £1,249 Galaxy S25 Ultra. You get the idea. Even the stereo speakers punch above their weight with clean, loud sound.

Nothing is offering six years of security updates, which is great, but only three years of Android updates. That’s a little disappointing, but if you don’t mind getting stuck on Android 18, the phone will be safe to use well into 2031.

When friends have previously asked me which phone to buy on a budget, for several years I’ve recommended whatever the latest Pixel A-Series phone is. Not anymore. The Nothing Phone 3a is the best-value smartphone available in the UK.

View the Nothing Phone 3a and Nothing Phone 3a Pro on Nothing’s UK online store.