Nothing takes a distinct tack with its cellphone collection. For the second time in a row, its midrange entry-level A-series smartphones debuted forward of its subsequent flagship gadget. The corporate has even warned that we gained’t be getting the Nothing Telephone 4 till subsequent yr. Till then, the Telephone 4a Professional is right here to make an affect, with a extra restrained design, a much less obtrusive digital camera bump and specs that beat out final yr’s Nothing Telephone 3 — all for $499. In 2026, Nothing is really aiming to dethrone the Pixel 10a.
Nothing/Engadget
Nothing continues to impress with its midrange telephones. The Telephone 4a Professional gives a extra restrained design and fewer compromises.
- Premium aluminum unibody design
- Higher battery life
- Extra succesful processor
- Nice value
- Glyph Matrix misplaced some utility
- Disappointing video efficiency
- Restricted Android replace help
{Hardware}
Mat Smith for Engadget
It’s a brand new look. That’s typically the case with Nothing’s smartphones as the corporate usually reimagines or rejigs what you may see by the clear again panel. This yr, nevertheless, Nothing is making greater modifications: that is its first metallic (aluminum) unibody cellphone.
With a brand new periscope telephoto digital camera design, the jarringly thick digital camera bump of final yr’s Telephone 3a Professional is fortunately gone, leading to a slice of smartphone that feels — and to some, seems to be — extra premium and extra refined than Nothing’s “flagship” Telephone 3.
Nonetheless, in comparison with the Nothing telephones that got here earlier than, it additionally feels muted, and just a little secure. The playfulness of Nothing has been hemmed in just a little. You may desire it, however I’m undecided I do.
These identifiable Nothing design prospers — crimson particulars, seen screens, tons and many circles — at the moment are squeezed right into a digital camera panel. This rectangular space with curved corners homes a trio of cameras, a “Now Recording” crimson gentle and a tweaked Glyph Matrix, which we final noticed on the Nothing Telephone 3.
This new Glyph Matrix is greater and brighter, however at a decrease “decision,” that’s made from 137 mini-LEDs. That’s fewer than the Nothing Telephone 3’s 489-strong dot-matrix, however the LEDs listed here are 100% brighter. So vibrant, in reality, that I needed to flip them right down to their lowest brightness after I was utilizing them.The 4a Professional, nevertheless, lacks the rear button on the Telephone 3 that allows you to cycle by Glyph capabilities. Does this imply the corporate has made it simple to modify between Glyph toys and notifications within the cellphone’s UI? Sadly not.
You’ll be able to dip into the Glyph choices by the principle settings menu, however to alter what the Glyph shows is hidden in a sub-tab. I additionally observed that the providing of “toys” was restricted, with fewer gadgets than even the Nothing Telephone 3 had at launch. Hopefully, it will develop as soon as the cellphone formally launches.
The 4a Professional packs an even bigger display than the corporate’s flagship, with a 6.83-inch AMOLED display working at 1.5K decision. It additionally has the next refresh fee than the 6.67-inch Telephone 3. And on prime of that, the Telephone 4a Professional’s show has a peak brightness of 5,000 nits, making it Nothing’s brightest smartphone but.
I’ve dealt with so many telephones over the past 4 weeks that it’s typically arduous to discern the distinction between brighter shows. Happily, I’ve the Nothing Telephone 3 (and 3a Professional) to match towards the Telephone 4a Professional. It’s noticeably brighter, and as we slowly get into sunnier climate, a smartphone that’s simpler to learn outside is at all times very welcome.
The Telephone 4a Professional additionally has improved IP65 water and dirt resistance, whereas Nothing says it is 42 % extra bend-resistant than the Telephone 3a Professional as effectively. It’s additionally nearly 0.5mm thinner, in the event you ignore the digital camera bump for these measurements. Issue that in and the Telephone 4a Professional is nearly 1.5mm thinner than its predecessor. This design change additionally makes Nothing’s latest cellphone really feel far much less top-heavy than the 3a Professional. Whatever the aesthetic modifications, that is unmistakably refined {hardware}.
Cameras
Mat Smith for Engadget
Apart from the streamlined digital camera unit, with a brand new tetraprism periscopic lens that takes up much less area, the Telephone 4a Professional has improved imaging capabilities (nearly) throughout the board. The brand new 50-megapixel periscope telephoto lens (which Nothing says additionally makes use of much less energy) has a 3.5x optical zoom, plus computational pictures magic that may now crank it as much as a (principally unusable) 140x hybrid zoom.
The principle 50MP sensor additionally incorporates a greater sensor for improved low-light efficiency. With an f/1.88 lens although, it doesn’t fairly match the Telephone 3’s essential digital camera (f/1.68), each on paper and in apply. The array is rounded out with an 8MP ultrawide digital camera, which sounds just like the weakest hyperlink, however I not often use the ultrawide cameras on any cellphone except for assessment testing. Oddly, the selfie digital camera is a technical downgrade in decision, with a 32MP sensor on the 4a Professional, down from 50MP on the 3a Professional.
Mat Smith for Engadget
One new addition was co-developed by Google. Extremely XDR blends Android’s native HDR processing with Nothing’s personal strategy, capturing 13 RAW frames at completely different exposures and mixing them to ship higher dynamic vary and element. Nonetheless, as proof of how new they’re, your Extremely XDR photos can’t be shared as simply. They do work with Google Photographs and Instagram, a minimum of. If it’s any comfort, Extremely XDR to date doesn’t appear massively distant from typical HDR seize. I’ll maintain testing the cameras and if I determine the place it actually shines, I’ll replace this assessment.
Mat Smith for Engadget
If one factor disappoints on the 4a Professional, it’s recording video. Switching between zoom ranges will typically fully derail publicity settings. Even in the event you report on a single digital camera on the identical focal size, publicity ranges appear extraordinarily delicate and battle to remain locked. Footage is commonly muddy and low-light efficiency isn’t nice, even when utilizing the Extremely XDR video mode. You aren’t pressured to endure this with the Pixel 10a, however then once more, there’s no zoom on Google’s mid-range cellphone — only a lossless crop. In additional forgiving lighting, video is satisfactory, however high quality drops off past the three.5x optical zoom. Nonetheless, the flexibility and high quality of the nonetheless photos from each the principle digital camera and the telephoto lens put it above each different smartphone at this value.
Efficiency and software program
The Telephone 4a Professional is now powered by a extra succesful processor: Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7 Gen 4. Nothing claims that, along with its personal on-device optimizations, it improved CPU efficiency by 27 %, GPU efficiency by 30 % and AI efficiency by 65 % in comparison with the Telephone 3a collection.
There’s actually a giant distinction in efficiency whereas gaming. Whereas the 3a collection struggled with extra complicated video games, the 4a Professional saved up with Purple Useless Redemption and Diablo Immortal. It’s not essentially the most polished interpretation of Decard Cain and the lands of Sanctuary, but it surely’s responsive and playable, even at 60 fps, with just a few body drops.
The Telephone 4a has a 5,080mAh battery, roughly equal to its predecessor. It helps as much as 50W quick charging, a tad quicker than the Pixel 10a, although it lacks wi-fi charging help, in contrast to Google’s midranger. It’s one of many few indicators that this isn’t Nothing’s “true” flagship, even when it seems to be the half.
I used to be pleasantly stunned by the battery life, too. Usually, telephones are getting more and more greater batteries, however as I discussed, that’s not the case right here.. Nonetheless, the 4a Professional lasted 24 hours in our battery rundown take a look at, 5 hours greater than final yr’s mannequin.
The Telephone 4a Professional has all of the software program options both current or teased in older Nothing Telephones. Important Search is a system-wide search that may discover phrases in messages, recordsdata and the remainder of your cellphone. There’s additionally a brand new Respiration Break widget; we undoubtedly want that in 2026.
Important Reminiscence is Nothing’s identify for its background algorithms and evaluation, scrutinizing your cellphone’s contents in addition to no matter’s saved in Important Area. Nothing has added cloud storage for Area, aimed toward devoted upgraders, that means the whole lot you saved on older appropriate Nothing telephones could be transferred over. Positive, it’s just a little area of interest, but it surely was an early frustration whereas testing the Telephone 3 after the 3a collection. If, for some cause, you must reset your gadget, maintaining the whole lot in Area backed up elsewhere is a boon.
Mat Smith for Engadget
Additionally, whereas it’s technically a {hardware} tweak, Nothing has additionally moved the Important Key to the left fringe of the cellphone, making it far much less prone to be triggered while you’re adjusting the quantity and extra consistent with different telephones and my very own smartphone muscle reminiscence.
One caveat from earlier Nothing units stays. The corporate says it should ship three years of Android updates and an extra three years of safety patches. Evaluate that to Samsung’s seven years of Android updates for this yr’s S26 collection (and Google’s Pixel 10a), and you may see the way it falls brief.
Wrap-up
The Telephone 4a Professional punches effectively above its $499 price ticket. Nothing has efficiently refined its {hardware} right into a extra premium, all-metal unibody, dropping the jarring digital camera bump of its predecessor in favor of a modern design that homes a genuinely spectacular digital camera. The improved digital camera versatility, coupled with its class-leading 24-hour battery life and a extra succesful processor, makes this a severe menace to the Pixel 10a.
Nonetheless, a few of Nothing’s signature playfulness has been dialed again. The Glyph Matrix, whereas brighter, is lower-resolution and its “toys” are disappointingly restricted at launch. The dearth of wi-fi charging is one other nod to its midrange standing.
Nothing’s Telephone 4a Professional is a tool with a transparent id, delivering on the necessities for half the worth of many rivals.
