CEO Carl Pei was pretty firm on X about Nothing’s focus being on the Phone 3a this year instead of the Phone 3. His frustrations are understandable with people already demanding the next big thing following rumors of the phone being the first flagship. It’s been a year since the Phone 2a model launched.
If he’s not in a rush to release the successor, maybe it means they’re working hard to refine it. While Nothing is taking its time, we should appreciate the Phone 3a for what it is: a truly remarkable midrange device.
Meanwhile, OnePlus, the company Carl Pei co-founded, seems to be on a different path. The OnePlus Nord CE 4 is not trying to shake up the industry; it brings some features that mid-range users will appreciate. Both phones present compromises in different areas and remind us that not every device needs to be groundbreaking. Sometimes, getting the basics right matters most. Let’s see how the Nord CE 4 Lite and Phone 3a do just that.
Related: Don’t Expect The Nothing Phone 3 To Launch This Year
Specs overview: OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite Vs Nothing Phone 3a
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| Components | Nothing Phone (3a) | OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite |
| Display | 6.77-inch AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1080 x 2392 pixels, 3000 nits peak, Panda Glass | 6.67-inch AMOLED, 120Hz, 1080 x 2400 pixels, 2100 nits peak |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 (4 nm) | Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G (6 nm) |
| RAM & Storage | 8GB/128GB, 8GB/256GB | 8GB/256GB |
| Main Camera | 50MP (wide, f/1.9, OIS), 50MP (telephoto, f/2.0), 8MP (ultrawide, f/2.2) |
50MP (wide, f/1.8), 2MP (depth, f/2.4) |
| Front Camera | 32MP (wide, f/2.2) | 16MP (wide, f/2.4) |
| Battery | 5,000mAh, 50W wired 5W reverse wired |
5,500mAh, 80W wired |
| OS | Android 15, Nothing OS 3.1 | Android 14, OxygenOS 14 |
| Build & Protection | Glass front, plastic frame, glass back, IP64 | Glass front, plastic frame, plastic back, IP54 |
| Connectivity | 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, USB-C, NFC | 5G, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1, USB-C 2.0, NFC |
| Extra Features | Glyph Interface with 26 addressable zones, Essential Space | None |
| Colors | Blue, Black, White | Super Silver, Mega Blue |
| Price | Starting from $399 | €249 (≈247) |
Design
The OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite has minimalist design that leans into practicality. From the front, you’ll see a flat glass display with slim bezels and a centered punch-hole camera. Around the edges and the back is a plastic frame that has a matte coating and comes in Super Silver or Mega Blue. The former looks more subdued while the latter variant is the most striking.
Flip the phone over and you’ll see how it catches light in the right way to give off a glossy appearance. It also has a nice gradient effect where one part is a darker tone than the other. It’s an important detail considering you’re dealing with plastic and such phones have a reputation of cheap and uninspired designs. The camera module sits vertically at the top left corner and the two round lenses are slightly raised. Underneath them are two LED flashes.
CE 4 Lite also measures 165.5 x 76 x 8.1 mm and weighs 191g. It’s a noticeable mass, and understandably so, given the battery size. The phone has IP54 protection. It’ll take minor splashes and dust without a problem. But anything from dipping to prolonged submersion and beyond that is just begging for a quick replacement.
On the other hand, the Phone 3a immediately stands out with its signature transparent back. This time around, they have upgraded from plastic to glass and it comes in its own unique shade of blue, white, and black.
Nothing proudly shows off its internal design, particularly the three LED light strips that act as notification indicators, a camera fill light, and customizable visual effects with 26 addressable zones. These are individual sections of the strips that you can customise independently for notifications and other effects.
The phone is definitely on the heavier side at 201g, and you can blame it on the layered build. Then there’s the added wiring and components for the light system, as well as the battery.
Nothing 3a is also wider and thicker at 163.5 x 77.5 x 8.4 mm. It has a better IP64 rating. Submersion is still not possible without damage. But at least, it’s more resistant to dust than the CE 4 Lite.
Related: Here’s What We Want to See from Nothing’s First Flagship Phone
Display
The Phone 3a and CE 4 Lite both have AMOLED screens with 120Hz refresh rates. If we start with brightness, Phone 3a hits a peak of 3000 nits, while the Nord CE 4 Lite peaks at 2100 nits. That means it’ll stay more visible in harsh sunlight. It also has better contrast and richer colors with HDR10+ support. OnePlus’ phone doesn’t have that feature.
The screen is a 6.77-inch display versus the Nord CE 4 Lite’s 6.67-inch and the bezels are slimmer with an 88.0% screen-to-body ratio. The Nord’s ratio is 87.2%, which isn’t a big deal really.
Nothing used Panda Glass, which is a budget-friendly alternative to Gorilla Glass, but still provides decent scratch resistance. OnePlus hasn’t specified its glass protection, so it’s harder to judge its durability.
Performance
Nord CE 4 Lite runs on the Snapdragon 695 5G, a chip that’s been holding down budget-friendly devices for a while. It’s the same processor on Nord CE 3 Lite and numerous other phones, including Samsung’s Galaxy A23 5G and the Poco X5. The chip is built on a 6nm process with eight cores. Two 2.2 GHz Kryo 660 Gold setup do the necessary heavy lifting, while six 1.7 GHz Kryo 660 Silver cores handle background tasks.
The Adreno 619 GPU is serviceable, but it’s not exactly a beast. You’ll manage some popular game titles including Call of Duty Mobile at medium settings. The Phone 3a is clearly a step up with its Snapdragon 7s Gen 3. It’s built on a 4nm process.
A general rule of thumb is that the smaller transistors generally mean better performance and efficiency because electrons don’t have to travel as far and it uses less power. The processor offers a modern core layout with one 2.5 GHz Cortex-A720 core, three 2.4 GHz Cortex-A720 cores, and four 1.8 GHz Cortex-A520 efficiency cores. The Adreno 710 GPU is clocked at 940 MHz, which is another win for the Nothing Phone (3a). It’ll push higher frame rates in demanding games and support better textures.
Memory and battery
You get a good amount of flexibility with the Nord CE 4 Lite thanks to its memory card slots. Normally, it offers 256GB of internal storage with 8GB of RAM and that’s the only option you get. If you need to expand for any reason, you can buy a microSDXC card.
In contrast, Phone 3a doesn’t provide a slot for memory expansion. You’re limited to the same internal storage of 256GB maximum. The good news is that you get 12GB RAM instead. There’s even a lower 128GB+8GB RAM configuration available if you don’t need that much space.
Battery is where the CE 4 Lite wins. It has a 5,500 mAh battery, paired with 80W wired. 5W reverse wired charging is also supported where you can use your phone as a power bank for your earbuds and other small accessories. On the other hand, Phone 3a has a 5,000 mAh battery with 50W wired charging. But it doesn’t support reverse wireless charging.
Here, the CE 4 Lite covers the essentials people care about. You have a powerful battery that lasts long and you can also upscale storage when consumption increases. The Phone 3a forces you to choose between both factors.
Cameras
Remember that the CE 4 Lite and the Phone 3a are midrange phones. So you’re not going to get a Galaxy S25 series camera or OnePlus 13 quality for the price and hardware. But it’s not hard to pick the better camera between both phones.
That said, the CE 4 Lite has a dual-camera setup with a 50MP main sensor supporting optical image stabilisation (OIS) and phase detection autofocus (PDAF), which means less shaky shots. Then there’s the 2MP depth sensor that’s honestly not much to brag about. But it does help with portraits as expected.
Basically, it creates a 3D map of what it’s seeing and tries to understand which part of the image is closer and which is further away to apply the blur effect. If we’re discussing video recording, expect 1080p at 30fps with gyro-EIS. The selfie camera is a respectable 16MP with video recording at the same resolution and frame rate.
Meanwhile, Nothing’s phone has a triple-camera setup that’s a lot more versatile. The main sensor has 50MP, and supports OIS with PDAF. There’s another 50MP telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom, and an 8MP ultrawide lens with a 120° field of view. Video recording makes it a straight winner as it can shoot 4K resolution at 30fps and offers multiple 1080p frame rates, even up to 120fps. The front camera is a 32MP wide camera.
If you’re just snapping the occasional photo for social media, the CE 4 Lite is not a bad choice. But if you consider yourself a mobile photographer and like to experiment with your camera, the Phone 3a is the obvious choice.
Software
The Nord CE 4 Lite comes with Android 14 out of the box, which is originally called OxygenOS 14. Even though OxygenOS has a bit of a reputation for offering tons of customization, it has quite a uniform appearance when you compare it to what you see on Xiaomi and Realme phones.
That’s no surprise since they’re all under the same BBK Electronics umbrella. OxygenOS 14 is surprisingly clean, even though it’s not exactly like stock Android. The design features sharper icons and many tweaks for themes.
The caveat here is that it has an upgrade path to Android 15 and 16. Two years of updates is not a lot when many competitors offer four years minimum, and even the OnePlus flagships.
Arguably, longevity also matters for budget and midrange phones because people buying them often intend to keep them for a while. Unlike flagship buyers who may chase the latest and greatest every year or two, budget phone users are usually more focused on getting the most value from their purchase.
Nothing OS 3.1 is the Phone 3a’s version of Android 15 and is guaranteed to get three major Android upgrades. That means you’ll be covered up to Android 18. The software is cleaner, although not as customizable as OxygenOS. Whether that’s a good or bad thing depends on how much you like to tinker with your phone’s settings.
Personally, I’m a fan of artificial intelligence when it matters, but I’m also big on it being opt-in rather than forced in my face like Google does. I think that’s one area where Nothing OS has won many hearts.
Related: Here Are The OnePlus Phones To Be Blessed With Android 15
The verdict
The Nothing Phone 3a is simply the better phone. The Nord CE 4 Lite has many advantages, including faster charging, a slightly larger battery, and expandable storage. But the Phone 3a is still levels above with its near-flagship qualities. Performance, one extra year of major updates, and a flexible camera system are its key differentiators. Also, the transparent back and Glyph Interface aren’t merely a gimmick. They’re actually useful. You can assign specific light patterns for different notifications or use it as a soft fill light for photos.
