Nothing 4a Pro review: is this the most compelling mid-range smartphone on the market in 2026?
Carl Pei’s design-led Nothing brand has delivered some of the most exciting budget-priced smartphones and earphones of recent years, giving consumers plenty of bang for their buck in products that always stand out from the crowd.Nothing phones have all carried a similar design language (such as the transparent elements of the rear panels of and the Glyph lights) yet no two handsets look exactly the same.READ MORE: I tested Nothing Phone 4a: one of the best budget smartphones you can buy in 2026READ MORE: We tested Nothing Headphone A: most unique looking over-ears now more affordable & more colourfulNothing Phone 4a Pro in everyday useNothing Phone 4a Pro goes on open sale in the coming days - you can pre-order now - and it’s actually my favourite design from the firm so far, even though it sees the toning down of its signature styling by employing a new aluminium unibody design. But while the rear is mostly solid metal, there are still some exposed internals on the new camera island which essentially takes what the latest iPhones and Pixels have done to the next level.This includes housing the Glyph matrix within the island. This circular module features 137 mini-LEDS that can display practical information such as timers, a battery indicator, a digital clock and custom contact notifications. Next to the Glyph Matrix is a tiny red recording indicator, which is invaluable if you are filming yourself and cannot easily see the front screen.On the left side of the handset, you’ll find the Essential Key which you can press to instantly capture a screenshot, record what’s on your screen or create a voice note. These saved items go straight to Essential Space, where you can save mobile content, websites, photos, call recordings and meeting discussions. These items will then be analysed and summarised.On the front of the 4a Pro is a pleasing 6.83in AMOLED display with 1260 x 2800 resolution, a blazing fast 144Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 5,000 nits. Eye care is aided by 2,160Hz PWM dimming. The vibrant screen looks sharp, colourful and plenty bright.Nothing Phone 4a Pro camerasOne key difference on the 4a Pro compared to the 4a is the superior Sony LYT-700C main camera. It has the same 50MP resolution, 1/1.56in sensor size and f/1.88 aperture, but it is more capable, especially in lower light conditions. You also get an 8MP ultrawide with an f/2.2 aperture and an improved 50MP periscope zoom with an f/2.88 aperture. The latter offers 3.5x optical zoom, a 7x crop zoom and up to a 140x digital Ultra zoom. It’s a great point and shoot camera system that is fun to use and quickly captures sharp and well-exposed and natural-looking images. The 140x ultra zoom images are not really usable but the digital zoom up to about 30x is impressive given the price point. Around the front is a capable 32MP selfie camera with an f/2.2 aperture. You can capture 4K on the main camera at up to 30 frames per second.Nothing Phone 4a Pro performanceAnother upgrade on Nothing 4a Pro over the 4a is the superior Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 chip under the hood. In day-to-day use, the phone feels zippy and responsive. The 12GB of superfast LPDDR5X RAM helps it along, as does the fast UFS 3.1 storage.The software is once again the star of the show. Nothing OS 4.1, based on Android 16, delivers a cleaner, more intuitive interface with redesigned icons, depth-effect lock screens and a deeper dark mode. Multitasking is easier with floating apps and resizable Quick Settings, while widgets are more flexible than ever. There is a more vibrant, customisable lock screen, two relaxation-focused widgets and upgraded Live Notifications. Polished animations and faster app launches add to your fluid experience as does the excellent haptic engine. You also get seamless integration with Nothing’s audio products along with custom widgets for headphone battery levels. And with NOS 4.1, Essential Space now has cloud access so you can sync it across Nothing devices.The 5,080mAh battery lasted all day for me, even during days of testing. Recharging it fully takes about an hour using a 50W wired charger. One downside is the lack of wireless charging.Phone 4a Pro other featuresNothing Phone 4a Pro is IP65 rated for dust and water resistance. The firm also said it has been additionally tested to withstand full submersion in up to 25cm of water for up to 20 minutes.You get NFC for contactless payments, WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity. The USB-C port is Gen 2.0. The firm promises three years of Android OS upgrades and six years of security updates.Nothing Phone 4a Pro verdictI think Carl Pei and his team have struck gold yet again with Nothing 4a Pro and delivered one of the best looking phones you can currently buy. I would recommend choosing the €599 model with 256GB of storage for peace of mind. The stylish handset is a winning combination of outstanding design, slick software and decent battery life. The fact that it costs less than €600 is incredible.For comparison, Google Pixel 10a (which has a superior camera system and similarly slick software but a less unique design) costs €559 for 128GB storage and €659 for 256GB storage. Both of those models have only 8GB of RAM. While Samsung’s newly released mid-ranger A57 costs €619 for 256GB of storage but only has 8GB of RAM. It does offer slick software too but lacks the design style of Phone 4a Pro. Its cameras and battery experience are arguably bettered by the Nothing model.It’s also worth noting that Nothing Phone 4a offers many of the same software features and specs as Phone 4a Pro but for considerably less money (€349). And while it is a plastic build, the handset feels well made and sports a design that still leaves a lot of competitors in the shade.Pricing and availabilityNothing Phone 4a Pro costs €549 from 128GB storage and 8GB RAM or €599 for 256GB/12GB from nothing.tech. It is available in black, silver and pink. Phone 4a Pro is also available on Amazon which stocks the full range of Nothing products.Want to see more of the stories you love from the Irish Mirror? Making us your preferred source on Google means you’ll get more of our exclusives, top stories and must-read content straight away. To add Irish Mirror as a preferred source, simply click here.
