What you need to know
- Nothing has launched the Phone 4a and Phone 4a Pro with a refreshed design, new Glyph Bar, and improved mid-range specs.
- The Phone 4a Pro adds a 50MP periscope telephoto camera with 3.5x optical zoom, a first for Nothing’s mid-range lineup.
- Both phones feature AMOLED displays with 1.5K resolution, while the Pro model bumps refresh rate up to 144Hz.
- Nothing Phone 4a starts at £349 while the Phone 4a Pro starts at £499, with global sales beginning in mid-March.
After weeks of speculation and buildup, Nothing has finally taken the wraps off the Nothing Phone 4a and, for the first time, the Phone 4a Pro at its launch event in London.
Nothing CEO Carl Pei had confirmed earlier this year that the company would not launch a flagship phone in 2026. That does not mean the brand is sitting out of the market, though. Nothing has now introduced its latest mid-range phones.
The company already teased the design of the Phone 4a at MWC 2026 in Barcelona, but it has now fully launched both the Phone 4a and its pricier sibling, the Phone 4a Pro.
Last year’s Nothing Phone 3a Pro took a very different design approach, with cameras arranged asymmetrically and Glyph LEDs around the circular camera module. This time, Nothing appears to have refined the look significantly. The company has brought the Glyph Matrix from its previous flagship, the Nothing Phone 3, to the mid-range lineup with the Phone 4a Pro.
Android Central’s take
I’m not entirely sure about the design language Nothing is going with for the Phone 4a Pro. The company had a very distinctive industrial design style before, but the Phone 4a Pro’s camera plateau, in particular, feels a bit too familiar. It reminds me of design we have seen from a particular brand… I wonder which one?
It’s also the company’s first phone to adopt a metal unibody design similar to many flagship Android phones, while still maintaining the signature industrial design that Nothing devices are known for. The phone features a clean rear panel with a raised camera plateau at the top that houses the camera system along with the Glyph Matrix.
Nothing Phone 4a Pro design feels familiar, but not boring
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Durability has also been improved this time, with the Phone 4a Pro moving up from an IP64 rating to IP65. The phone is fairly slim as well, measuring just 7.95mm thick.
The standard Nothing Phone 4a, which we already saw earlier, drops the Glyph LEDs around the camera module that were present on the previous generation. Instead, Nothing has introduced a new Glyph Bar to the right side of the camera module. This Glyph Bar is a new addition with the Phone 4a and features seven LED zones that can light up to provide different types of information.
For example, the Glyph Bar can light up while the phone is charging to show the battery percentage. Nothing also says there are progress based indicators for calls, messages, charging, timers, and more. The company even claims the Glyph Bar can help illuminate scenes when taking photos or recording videos.
Android Central’s take
I’ve never fully understood Nothing’s obsession with Glyph LEDs, but the new Glyph Bar actually seems more practical, at least to me. It feels like a more useful implementation than the previous lighting system.
Nothing says the Glyph Bar includes 63 mini LED zones that are up to 40 percent brighter than before, reaching up to 3,500 nits. The company also claims there is no light leakage, no yellow edges, and smoother light diffusion. The Phone 4a retains the same IP64 rating as the previous Phone 3a.
Looking at the rest of the specs, the Nothing Phone 4a Pro features a 6.83-inch AMOLED display with 1.5K resolution and a 144Hz refresh rate. The standard Phone 4a has a slightly smaller 6.78-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate but keeps the same 1.5K resolution. Both phones use Corning Gorilla Glass 7i for display protection.
On the back, both devices feature a triple-camera setup. The big upgrade this time is that the Phone 4a Pro includes a 50MP telephoto periscope lens with support for 3.5x optical zoom.
The Phone 4a also includes a 50MP 3.5x optical zoom camera, paired with a 50MP main sensor with OIS and an ultra-wide camera. Nothing has yet provided full details about the ultra-wide sensor.
Snapdragon 7 series chips power both Phone 4a models
Under the hood, the Phone 4a Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 processor, while the standard Phone 4a runs on the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4. Performance gains for the base model are modest, with Nothing claiming around 7% faster CPU performance and about 10% better efficiency compared to the previous generation.
Android Central’s take
I love how Nothing is calling the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 a “flagship-inspired chipset.” Just call it a mid-range chip, Nothing. We all know it is not anywhere close to something like the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.
The Phone 4a Pro, however, gets a more noticeable boost with a 27% faster CPU, 30% better graphics performance, and improved AI capabilities.
Speaking of AI features, both phones run Nothing OS 4.1 based on Android 16 out of the box. The latest version brings several improvements, including resizable Quick Settings, a customizable lock screen, upgraded Live Notifications, and faster app launches.
Nothing says both the Phone 4a and Phone 4a Pro will receive three major Android updates, along with up to six years of security updates.
For battery, both devices pack a 5080mAh cell with support for 50W fast charging. Nothing also claims its new battery management system helps maintain up to 90% battery capacity even after 1,200 charge cycles, while most brands typically claim around 80% retention over the same period.
The Nothing Phone 4a will be available in black, white, blue, and pink, with the base 8GB/128GB variant starting at £349 / ₹31,999 / €349. The Phone 4a Pro starts at £499 / ₹39,999 / $499 / €479 for the base 8GB/128GB model and will be available in black, silver, and pink.
Both phones are available for pre-order starting today. The Phone 4a will be available first from March 13, while the Phone 4a Pro will go on sale globally starting March 27.
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