Samsung and Google have a problem – and it’s this ambitious $500 Android phone

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• Execs: Daring design in a moderately stale market, NothingOS is clean and responsive, bigger battery with quick charging
• Cons: Glyth Interface is much less intuitive now, no US provider availability, no wi-fi charging

Comply with ZDNET: Add us as a most well-liked supply on Google.

I will not bury the lede: Nothing Telephone 4a Professional is the corporate’s most premium-looking telephone thus far. The machine has a powerful character and distinct persona that you just will not discover on another sub-$500 telephone. If Nothing’s outdated Glyph lights, a customizable LED strip interface on the again of the machine, had been an excessive amount of for you, the Telephone 4a Professional consolidates them in a Matrix contained in the digicam module with out shedding the enjoyable vibe.

Additionally: Neglect iPhone 17e: Nothing’s Telephone 4a Professional prices much less and appears a complete lot higher

At $499, Nothing’s new Telephone 4a Professional competes immediately with extra well-established gamers, such because the Google Pixel 10a and Samsung Galaxy A56 5G. The telephone affords a strong bundle, however can it tackle the trade heavyweights to seize a spot in your pocket? I used it for a couple of days to seek out out.

A design I rapidly fell in love with

The Nothing Telephone 4a Professional is a departure from final yr’s maximalist method, and for good motive. You now get a steel construct that feels extra premium within the hand. Compared, the Galaxy A56 appears to be like primary, whereas the Pixel 10a pops in pink and has an “reasonably priced telephone” really feel.

I like the brand new refined pink shade on the Telephone 4a Professional. It’s maybe my favourite telephone shade this yr. I like that manufacturers are selecting to supply extra shades than boring blacks and whites, and Nothing’s execution is ideal. You too can purchase the machine in silver or black.

Additionally: Learn how to flip your outdated Android telephone or iPhone right into a safety digicam – in 4 simple steps

Nothing borrowed its Glyph Matrix from the dearer Telephone 3 and put the characteristic inside a translucent digicam module on the Telephone 4a Professional. The Matrix is positioned adjoining to the cameras and works as earlier than, notifying you in regards to the apps of your selection or displaying you the time and battery stage. The characteristic is open to builders for creating new instruments.

Nevertheless, Telephone 4a Professional’s Matrix show is not touch-sensitive and lacks a devoted Glyph Button. The characteristic has a extra subdued, much less useful method to Telephone 3’s extra sensible interface. You may’t swipe or press a button to change between completely different capabilities, which makes the Matrix redundant. 

I have not used the characteristic a lot as a result of I do not need to be bothered by notifications when my display screen is off. Additionally, I can see the time on my watch. Perhaps the characteristic will enhance because it features extra performance.

Each Nothing Telephone 4a and 4a Professional are IP65-rated for mud and splash-resistance. This functionality means they will not survive extended submersion in water, like IP68-rated telephones. Compared, the Pixel 10a and Galaxy A56 5G are higher — they’ve IP68 and IP67 scores, respectively.

Certainly one of my favourite Android skins

On the entrance, you get a brighter and barely bigger display screen than earlier than. The Telephone 4a Professional has a 6.83-inch AMOLED show that helps a 144Hz refresh charge (right down to 30Hz) and 5,000 nits of peak brightness for HDR content material, which is about 66% brighter than its predecessor. 

The display screen is comfortably legible open air for the worth. Like different $500 telephones, the machine’s display screen can wrestle in harsh daylight as a result of excessive reflectivity. However, aside from that, there’s not a lot to fault. The display screen is a vibrant panel that gives an gratifying content-consumption expertise.

The Nothing Telephone 4a Professional is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 chipset, paired with 8GB or 12GB of RAM, relying on the storage variant. In my five-day interval, the telephone was quick, responsive, and straightforward to make use of. The apps loaded rapidly, leaping between social media was swift, and including ideas to my Important House was intuitive.

Additionally: I used to be a telephone addict: These 7 methods stopped me scrolling and curbed my display screen time – quick

Important House is Nothing’s AI productiveness app that launched final yr. The characteristic serves as a standard area for storing screenshots and voice notes, aiming to make sense of your random ideas. I discover Important House helpful as a result of I am all the time in search of pitch concepts, and so they arrive on the most random moments in my testing durations. The characteristic lets me rapidly seize my ideas with the press of a button. I prefer it.

You may entry the Important House with a bodily button on the facet of the telephone. Utilizing the characteristic is fairly easy: a press-and-hold takes a screenshot of no matter you are , and you’ll then add a voice notice to it.

Nothing is delivery its new telephone with Nothing OS 4.1 based mostly on Android 16. I just like the monochrome look of its customized pores and skin. Whereas the pores and skin could be complicated at instances if you happen to wrestle to acknowledge app icons, I particularly love this UI for its widgets.

I like having fast shortcuts within the type of widgets on my homescreen, and (disappointingly) not many Android skins implement them in addition to Nothing or Samsung. Nothing OS permits you to set up these widgets on each the homescreen and the lockscreen for a extra personalised expertise. You additionally get a Personal House, which hides delicate apps and photographs behind a password.

Additionally: I noticed the Nothing Telephone 4a in a number of colours at MWC – and these two bought essentially the most love

The Telephone 4a Professional is promised to get three years of Android updates and 6 years of safety updates. The replace coverage is not nearly as good because the Pixel 10a’s 7-year replace cycle. Nevertheless, the long-term safety replace help is a superb addition, since that safety immediately pertains to a telephone’s lifespan. You may count on to maintain utilizing this telephone for an additional 5 years.

The machine packs a 5,080mAh battery and helps 50W quick charging. The cost in my evaluate pattern has comfortably lasted a complete day with average utilization. You may count on the telephone to get you thru the day with ease.

Versatile cameras for a $499 telephone

On the again of the machine are three cameras. There is a 50MP most important digicam, an 8MP ultrawide digicam, and the identical 50MP telephoto sensor (with 3.5x optical zoom) because the flagship Telephone 3. I have not put the telephone head-to-head in opposition to the Pixel 10a, however the brand new 12-bit Picture Sign Processor (ISP) is promising. Nevertheless, the digicam UI was sluggish at instances.

The Telephone 4a Professional captures respectable colours with good element. The telephone really shines within the solar when there’s loads of gentle. I just like the distinction and sure facets of Digital camera Presets. City provides a pleasant vignette impact and hotter tone, whereas Delicate Focus provides your portraits a dreamy look.

These Presets could be accessed by swiping up within the viewfinder, with each displaying a pattern shot set for example. It might be good if Nothing might present the colour tuning within the viewfinder itself with an information icon for extra data. As a rule, I need to see a preview of how the scene would possibly look, moderately than choosing a filter, ready for the shot to course of, and checking it out in my preliminary few photographs.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

The Nothing Telephone 4a Professional is an effective Android possibility at an excellent worth. It is essentially the most premium-feeling telephone I’ve examined in its worth bracket. Nothing is not afraid to be daring, and I am glad it retained the Glyph lights, regardless of choosing a steel construct. 

Positive, this perform is not as useful as I would like, however I like the telephone’s non-generic, distinct design language — one thing a lot wanted in a panorama the place bigger producers are branding outdated elements as new.