Nothing Phone (4a) Pro review

Triple rear camera, wide selfies

The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro switches things up a bit in the camera department, replacing some modules from the (3a) Pro and coming closer to the (4a) - last year's models had more of a gap. In doing so, the (4a) Pro is maybe a downgrade in a couple of ways.

The main camera is based on the Sony IMX 896 sensor (or Lytia 700C), replacing a Samsung GNJ. It's the same size sensor, and it's also the same size as that on the Phone (4a)'s main camera. The lens specs are also the same - 24mm equivalent focal length, f/1.9 aperture.

There's no change on the ultrawide - it's the same one you'd find on last year's models and also this year's (4a) - a tried and true (read 'old') 8MP Sony imager sits behind a fixed-focus lens, which doesn't sound very Pro.

The telephoto is where the most significant change is. In place of the (3a) Pro's 1/1.95" Lytia 600 and 70mm lens, we now have a smaller 1/2.75" Samsung JN5 sensor with a longer 80mm lens. The Phone (4a) features that camera as well and it's a smaller sensor.

There's another sort of major development, and it's in the front-facing camera hardware - the (4a) Pro features the same 32MP camera as the (4a), which in turn reuses the (3a)'s setup, while the (3a) Pro had a different, 50MP camera. Now, we're not exactly saying the old one was awesome - it saved 50MP files for whatever reason - but the sensor here is smaller than on the old Pro (1/3.44" vs. 1/2.76") and that's hardly ever the right way.

• Wide (main): 50MP Sony IMX 896 (Lytia 700C, 1/1.56", 1.0µm-2.0µm); 24mm, f/1.9, OIS, PDAF (9cm - ∞); 4K30/1080p60 video recording.
• Telephoto: 50MP Samsung ISOCELL JN5 (S5KJN5, 1/2.75", 0.64µm-1.28µm); 80mm (3.5x), f/2.9, OIS, multi-directional PDAF (35cm - ∞); 4K30/1080p60.
• Ultrawide: 8MP Sony IMX 355 (1/4.0", 1.12µm); 15mm, f/2.2, fixed focus;
• Front camera: 32MP Samsung ISOCELL KD1 (S5KKD1, 1/3.42", 0.64µm-1.28µm); 22mm, f/2.2, fixed focus;

The Phone (4a) Pro iterates on the whole glyph interface concept that Nothing came up with and features a 137 LED dot matrix display on the back in addition to a red recording light. The glyph display can be used as a (rather crude) live viewfinder for roughly framing rear-camera selfies, and it can also display a countdown for self-timed photos. Maybe it's gimmicky, maybe it's cool - that would be up to you to decide.

Daylight photo quality

Main camera

The Phone (4a) Pro's main camera captures very good daylight images - perhaps a little bit better than the non-Pro, perhaps just different. They don't have that grittiness, so you could say they're cleaner, but they're also often not as sharp. That said, indoor shots are notably sharper on the Pro, go figure. Dynamic range is very good - it's better than on the non-Pro with its needlessly high contrast.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x)

There's a lot to like about the way the Phone (4a) Pro renders human subjects - pleasing skin tones, good facial detail.

Human subjects, main camera (1x): Photo mode • Portrait mode

As is typically the case, the 50MP variants of these photos aren't worth the extra megabytes.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x), 50MP

2x zoom photos have a bit of a dreamy quality to them most of the time, almost as if they're out of focus. Some of them did turn out pretty solid though, like the Vespa shot or the lanyards - pretty unreliable behavior from the (4a) Pro. The (4a) wasn't particularly likeable at this zoom level, but at least it was more consistent - here you're left wondering if you did something wrong.

Daylight samples, main camera (2x)

Funnily enough, portraits at 2x are pretty great - they're more reliably sharp. Portrait mode itself isn't infallible, but it's not too bad either.

Human subjects, main camera (2x): Photo mode • Portrait mode

Telephoto camera

The telephoto camera does a pretty excellent job at 3.5x zoom. Its photos are sharp and detailed, and they're cleaner than the (4a)'s even though it's the same camera - the noise processing is better here, without it affecting detail in a negative way.

Dynamic range is wide, and colors are on point - no complaints there. Of course, just like we observed on (4a), the minimum focusing distance is a bit of a letdown, at 35cm.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (3.5x)

People shots are great too, as long as you have good lighting. Dimmer conditions will hurt sharpness a bit, but things remain good even so.

Human subjects, main camera (3.5x): Photo mode • Portrait mode

Here's how a few of the scenes look when shot in 50MP - we wouldn't bother.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (3.5x), 50MP

7x zoom photos are very good though - they have great sharpness and detail (except that second scene, of which we couldn't get a single keeper).

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (7x)

Close-ups

On the Phone (4a) we were leaning towards the 7x zoom level for close-ups, but on the (4a) Pro it's the 2x photos that are giving us better detail in close-ups. Unless you specifically need the longer subject distance that the 7x will give you, you'd be better off with 2x closeups.

Close-up samples: 7x • 3.5x • 2x

Ultrawide camera

The differences between the two phones continue on the ultrawide camera, where the Pro is notably sharper than the plain (4a). On the other hand, the (4a) Pro's ultrawide shots have higher contrast, and not necessarily in a good way - we'd prefer a bit more life in the shadows. Colors are great though.

Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

Low-light photo quality

Main camera

The Phone (4a) Pro takes quite good low-light photos with its main camera - better than the (4a)'s. Dynamic range is very good, with well-developed dark areas, unlike the (4a)'s contrasty rendition with dingy shadows. Detail is pretty great too, with good definition in well-lit areas and shadows alike.

Low-light samples, main camera (1x)

2x zoom photos are relatively good - better than what the Phone (4a) could muster at this level, and now even more tangibly so than at 1x. Still, they're not particularly sharp if examined in isolation - we'd say they're just about okay.

Low-light samples, main camera (2x)

Telephoto camera

In another episode of 'make it make sense', the Phone (4a) Pro's telephoto camera isn't doing quite as well in the dark as the (4a) otherwise identical module - photos are on the soft side here. Color rendition is different too, and the Pro's isn't really better - it's got certain pinkish tendencies. Dynamic range is great, for what that's worth.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (3.5x)

The 7x zoom shots are roughly on par between the two models, though the Pro is still occasionally behind the non-pro in sharpness.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (7x)

Ultrawide camera

The Phone (4a) Pro's ultrawide camera is unusually good in the dark, capturing sharp and detailed photos - to the extent that an 8MP sensor can capture detailed photos, but the point is that the Phone (4a) Pro is squeezing the most out of it. In that sense, it's substantially better than the Phone (4a) and its, once again, supposedly identical ultrawide camera. Dynamic range is great too.

Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

Selfies

The Phone (4a) Pro takes pretty great selfies. They're packed with detail - not 32MP worth of detail, but a lot of detail still. Dynamic range is excellent too. The color rendition is likeable with plenty of life and a bit of a reddish tinge (the non-Pro was closer to neutral).

Selfie samples

Video quality

The Phone (4a) Pro's video recording capabilities aren't too wide-ranging - we'd even call them 'basic'. It maxes out at 4K30 on the main sand telephoto cameras, and on those two, you can also do 1080p60. The selfie camera can record in 1080p (no other resolution) at either 30fps or 60fps. The ultrawide on the back doesn't go above 1080p30.

There's no advanced video mode - Expert mode is only for stills. There's no control over stabilization either - it's always on. You do get HDR recording capability in all quality modes, including 4K30 - the (4a) non-Pro could only do HDR in 1080p30.

You can check out the playlist below, which includes multiple video samples.

The Phone (4a) Pro's video quality is a bit disappointing. The main camera's 4K footage at 1x is too soft and the telephoto's 4K clips are also not up to the same high standard we saw in stills (or the Phone (4a)'s telephoto videos). The ultrawide is fine for what it is - it's good 1080p, but that's all. Colors and dynamic range give us no reason for complaint on any of the cameras.

Video screengrabs, daylight: 0.6x • 1x • 3.5x

At night, the main camera holds its ground and while footage is still not particularly sharp, it's still as good as that of the non-Pro - we'd say it's good enough for the class. The telephoto's low-light clips are decent, but a notch below the quality of those we got out of the Phone (4a). The ultrawide camera's low-light videos are barely usable.

Video screengrabs, low light: 0.6x • 1x • 3.5x

One area where the Pro is about the same as the non-Pro is stabilization. Just like the other model, this one's clips remain a little shaky when you're shooting while walking, but it's excellent at stabilizing all three cameras if you're shooting from a fixed position.