Nothing, the tech company founded by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, is gearing up to launch its next mid-range smartphones, the Nothing Phone (3a) and (3a) Pro, in early March. While official details remain scarce, recent leaks offer a glimpse into the potential specifications, including a move to Qualcomm Snapdragon, a revamped camera system, and design refinements.
Carl Pei previously hinted at a shift to Qualcomm Snapdragon for the Phone (3a) series, departing from the MediaTek chips used in the Phone (2a) and (2a) Plus. A leak reported by SmartPrix corroborates this, suggesting both the Phone (3a) and (3a) Pro will be powered by the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, a mid-range chipset released in August 2024. This marks a departure from the previous generation, where the standard and Plus models utilized different processors.
The Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 offers notable improvements in CPU and GPU performance thanks to its newer ARM cores. However, the most significant upgrade lies in the NPU, enabling enhanced on-device AI processing. This aligns with Nothing’s recently announced plans to deeply integrate AI for a more personalized user experience.
Nothing Phone OS AI dashboard.
Nothing showcased a demo interface highlighting contextual information like weather, reminders, social media notifications, and quick access to essential items, such as flight boarding passes. It will be intriguing to see these AI features in action on a mid-range device. The company appears confident that the upgraded NPU will be sufficient, but its performance compared to Samsung’s Now Brief remains to be seen.
Beyond AI enhancements, the Nothing Phone (3a) is rumored to feature a triple rear camera setup, a step up from its predecessor’s dual-camera system. Both models are expected to share a 50MP primary camera and an 8MP ultrawide lens. The key difference lies in the third camera: the Phone (3a) is tipped to include a 2X telephoto lens, while the Pro model is speculated to boast a 3X telephoto lens for enhanced zoom capabilities.
A cryptic post from Nothing’s official X account hints at the potential camera arrangement for the two phones.
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⚫⚫ ⚫ ⠀ ⚫ ⚫— Nothing (@nothing) February 17, 2025
Other specifications are anticipated to be consistent across both models, including a 5,000mAh battery, a 6.72-inch Full HD+ 120Hz AMOLED display, and an IP64 rating for improved dust resistance. Subtle design changes to the glyph lights are also possible, along with the potential addition of an iPhone-like camera shutter button. Both phones are expected to run NothingOS 3.0 based on Android 15.
Nothing has confirmed a March 4 launch date, where further details about the devices and their pricing will be revealed.
[Update 2/18/25 2:30am PT]: Nothing confirmed the camera design for one of the phones, likely the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro, featuring a periscopic telephoto lens.
