The Phone (3a) Lite is finally official. It arrives as the most affordable entry in Nothing’s 2025 smartphone lineup though one with compromises that hint at its price tag.
Phone (3a) Lite borrows specs from a familiar source
Rather than mirror the main Phone (3a) or its Pro sibling, the Phone (3a) Lite pulls more directly from the CMF Phone 2 Pro. It uses the same MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro chip and keeps the 6.77-inch AMOLED display, pushing 120 Hz at 1080p.
That panel hits 1,300 nits under regular use or up to 3,000 nits in HDR mode. Still, there’s no adaptive refresh rate here, and Nothing doesn’t include an in-display fingerprint reader.
Decent cameras, but no OIS in sight
Nothing fits the Phone (3a) Lite with a trio of rear lenses:
- 50 MP main camera
- 50 MP 2x telephoto lens
- 8 MP sensor (likely ultra-wide)
A 16 MP front camera handles selfies, but none of the cameras feature optical image stabilization. For a phone that leans into photography, that’s a clear trade-off.
Big battery, minimal extras
The 5,000 mAh battery remains a highlight. It supports 33 W wired charging, but skips wireless entirely. Minimal Glyph lighting makes an appearance just enough to nod at the brand’s aesthetic without crowding the budget.
Unlike previous phones, there’s no expandable storage or headphone jack either.
Software support looks solid
The Phone (3a) Lite ships with Nothing OS 3.5 based on Android 15. Buyers get three major OS upgrades and six years of security patches, which is more than most phones in this bracket.
Phone (3a) Lite skips the US for now
Pre-orders have opened in Europe and the UK, with pricing starting at £249/€249 for the 128 GB model and £279/€279 for 256 GB.
Nothing has been said a word about US availability. So, unless that changes, fans in North America will be left watching from the sidelines.
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