The Nothing Phone 3a Pro isn’t a flagship device, but it’ll have more cameras than the Nothing Phone 3a that will release at the same time. The new design video shows off the phone’s three rear-facing sensors: a 50MP primary, an 8MP ultrawide, and a 50MP periscope telephoto (focal length unknown). The Nothing Phone 3a Pro has three of those glowing Glyphs on the back, framing the enormous camera module. The phone’s PCB also needed some tweaks to make room for the folded periscope assembly, which is much thicker than the other sensors.
Nothing explains why the Phone 3a looks like that.
In the video, the designers talk about the tight timeline for finalizing industrial design, which was only about three months in the case of the Nothing Phone 3a Pro. They went through numerous design iterations in that time, exploring ways to adorn the camera module with lenses and lights. Some of the prototypes they show actually do a better job of minimizing the camera, but the disk-shape won out because it looked more consistent with the phone’s overall design language—they want it to grab your attention.
Even though Nothing has gone to great lengths to cultivate a distinctive brand identity, it’s not the only company to use a big, round camera module. OnePlus, Xiaomi, and Huawei have all used similar designs. While the shape of the aluminum camera bump on the latest Nothing phone makes it stand out, it may not be in the right way.
The designers note that Nothing’s designs don’t usually find universal approval. Some people won’t like the brand’s aesthetic, and others think the Glyphs and transparent panels are refreshing. “Some people will love it and some people will hate it,” a designer says in the video.
Nothing won’t talk pricing until next month, but the company’s A-series phones are priced below flagship level. The Nothing Phone 2a was priced at $350, and the Phone 2 was $600. The Phone 3a Pro, which runs a Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 processor with 12GB of RAM, will probably be someplace in the middle. That will put it up against phones like the Pixel 8a.