Hey everyone, I’m Abhishek — a UX designer and tech enthusiast who’s spent the last two weeks with the Nothing Phone (3a) as my daily driver. This isn’t a deep-dive tech teardown, but a real-world experience from someone who lives and breathes design and functionality. Let’s just say — I was pleasantly surprised.
Thanks to the team at Nothing India for the opportunity to try out the 3a. Here’s my full impressions review — based on display, performance, camera, and everything in between. Let’s jump in.
⚠️ A Quick Heads-Up
This is my first ever product impressions review, so while I may have missed some nerdy details or specs, what you’ll get here is an honest look at the Phone (3a) from a usability and experience point of view — which is where Nothing usually shines.
📱 Display
The 6.7” AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate is buttery smooth. Flat, minimal, and super easy on the eyes. Outdoor visibility? Surprisingly good — I never had to squint even under direct sunlight.
In daily usage — whether I was reading, doomscrolling, or editing posts — this display felt far from “budget”. In fact, I’d say it’s one of the best panels I’ve seen under ₹30K.
🧊 Design
You know it’s a Nothing phone the second you see it — and the 3a continues that tradition. The transparent back, flat frame, and uniform bezels are so well put together, it almost feels like holding a concept phone made real.
Despite the plastic frame, the phone feels light, balanced, and very “designed”. Not showy, not trying too hard — just quiet confidence. A win for minimalists.
💡 The infamous Glyph Interface
Fewer lights, better intent. Glyphs highlight what’s essential— charging %, countdowns, and alerts. It has helped plenty of users, including me, to cut down on screen time and focus on what’s important.
⚙️ Performance
Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 = a practical upgrade over the 2a’s Dimensity chip. Apps launch quicker, UI flows better, thermals are cooler. No lag, even with heavy multitasking. Not a gaming champ, but you won’t notice in daily life. I’ve heard games like BGMI do well, too.
🔋 Battery
With a 5000mAh battery and efficient tuning, I was ending my days with 20–30% left on moderate-to-heavy use.
-No wireless charging (expected at this price)
-But 50W wired charging fills it up in about 1 hour — not bad at all
-Stays cool even while charging
-No complaints in this department — it’s dependable.
🚀 Essential Space + Key
This is hands down my favourite new feature. As someone who’s always juggling thoughts, notes, bookmarks, and random ideas — having a dedicated space for all of that (accessible via a customisable key) is genius.
It’s like a focused inbox for your brain. Super clean, super useful. Feels like an AI companion done right — quiet and helpful in the background.
🧠 Nothing OS 3.1
Lean. Fast. No bloat.
I love how Nothing has their own opinion about what Android should feel like. And it works:
-Monochrome app icons reduce visual clutter
-Lock screen widgets are actually useful and very customizable.
-Animations are slick and satisfying
-Customization without chaos
This is Android, elevated. Simple, intuitive, and distraction-free.
📷 Camera + Presets
50MP Primary + 50MP 2x Telephoto + 8MP Ultra-wide
-Much improved tuning over the previous phones
-Colors are vibrant, HDR is on point
-Shutter response is fast
-But here’s the real fun — Presets. Think of them like custom filters, but you can edit, save, and share them. They bring personality to your photos without needing third-party apps. As someone who loves visual storytelling, this is one of the most underrated features.
✅ Verdict
The Nothing Phone (3a) strips out the fluff and nails the experience. Clean design, useful features, great Camera, thoughtful OS— all under ₹30k . It doesn’t try to be everything. But, it somehow gets all the important things right.
Huge shoutout to the amazing team at Nothing ( @Carl @Akis @adbo and everyone involved in the ideation of this review program) for giving us this opportunity to experience and share our thoughts on the Phone (3a) series. Special thanks to the Program Manager, @Deepanshu_Saini_ for handling it like a boss.
Grateful to be a part of this journey of making tech fun again. 😁
