At Only $379, This Phone is Too Good

Nothing has a few new telephones this month and after having performed with certainly one of them for the previous week, I really feel moved to speak about how good it’s. Priced at solely $379, Nothing Cellphone 3a is ridiculously spectacular for such a cheap telephone. It jogs my memory very a lot of when OnePlus was a brand new firm, releasing telephones with premium specs and efficiency at an inexpensive worth. Nowadays, with sky-high costs from all OEMs, that looks like such a novelty idea.

For specs, Nothing Cellphone 3a includes a 6.77″ FHD+ AMOLED show (120Hz refresh price), Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset with as much as 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, triple rear cameras (twin 50MP shooters from Samsung + 8MP ultra-wide from Sony), 5,000mAh battery with 50W charging speeds, IP64 score, and Android 15 (Nothing OS 3.1) out of the field with 3 years of Android OS upgrades and 6 years of safety updates.

I feel anybody can throw some fancy specs right into a telephone and say that’s wonderful, however after having really used the telephone, Nothing actually dialed it in on this $379 machine. It performs very easily, which I didn’t fairly count on. I anticipated just a little little bit of jank, to be fully trustworthy, however no, it’s butter and handles my utilization splendidly.

Nothing OS has got here a great distance, too. When first launched, that they had just a few skinned apps and that dot UI they use was cute sufficient, however now issues have turn into very matured. Android 15 possible helps, because it’s a terrific construct of Android, however Nothing has a bunch of customized apps and widgets on the telephone that assist construct out that Nothing OS expertise. I’ll at all times use Google Images, however the Gallery app on this telephone is definitely fairly candy. The power to use completely different themes and icon packs is an efficient addition, plus Nothing’s wallpaper pack is stable. For software program at $379, I doubt many would complain.

One new piece on these telephones is a devoted button for Important House, which is an AI-powered dumping floor to your life. You possibly can take notes, make lists and issues like that, all organized by AI. I haven’t discovered it to be overly useful but, however I feel with some tweaks it could possibly be very helpful. Right here’s what Kellen wrote about it earlier this week.

You add to it by clicking this new devoted button on the fitting facet of the telephone that sits slightly below the facility button. You possibly can click on it everytime you need to take a screenshot of no matter you’re looking at, which you’ll then add notes to both by voice or typing. You can too hold-in this new button to document audio at any second, with reminders or notes about life. You possibly can even open the digicam, level it at one thing, after which maintain that button in to maintain monitor of stuff via your lens. This all will get added to the Important House, which tries to prepare the whole lot you’ve saved. You possibly can create tasks to maintain monitor of, watch for the House to show your audio notes into actionable issues like reminders, and so on.

We’re nonetheless testing it and taking part in with it, so we’ll get again to you with a real verdict down the highway. To date, it’s not groundbreaking.

We even have to present essential props to Nothing’s design group. They make thrilling telephones to have a look at and maintain. I’m undecided why different corporations don’t need to experiment with issues like this, however I actually recognize Nothing for it. This telephone options that standard see-thru bottom, together with the Glyph lights that Nothing is well-known for. Certain, I don’t use them as a lot as I may, however they’re a cool occasion trick.

Due to the 5,000mAh battery, this factor has had some spectacular battery life for me, too. I’m nonetheless getting my typical each day utilization, however I discover myself having extra battery leftover than what I’m used to. My Android telephone utilization in complete has gone down over the yr, however I can inform this telephone would maintain up very properly if it was my absolute solely each day driver.

US Availability

US performance is finicky, which sucks. The telephone ought to work wonderful for those who’re on AT&T and T-Cell networks, however Verizon service is perhaps a problem. We have now detailed information on what you need to know, however as of proper now, the telephone is on the market within the US, which implies Nothing does count on some US-based patrons to get it. At $379, it’s one thing it is best to think about.

Once more, these are just a few impressions I’ve gotten after every week of restricted utilization. I don’t count on to do a real full assessment on the machine, however I’m hoping Kellen will give us one for the Nothing 3a Professional. Actually, it’s simply good to have another choice earlier than Samsung and Google proper now.

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