The Nothing Phone (4a) series is here, and finally Nothing is something again.

Let’s be honest. Mid-range smartphones don’t usually get people that excited. They’re practical, affordable for sure, but it rarely has that wow or cool factor.

But Nothing seems determined to change that narrative (again). It’s irony to feel surprise about it, especially we are talking about from a company that is known for its lifestyle and dare to do something new. But given to what happened to Nothing Phone (3), it’s good to see that Nothing is finally back to do something again, and this new Phone (4a) series might be one of the few mid-range smartphones that actually feels… fresh.

The first impressions : The real head-turner

Everyone that is familiar with Nothing surely will focus on the back of the smartphone during the first encounter, and so did I. The (4a) series, especially the Pro, looks absolutely professional, and playful. The redesigned back design with the only Nothing DNA is focusing on the camera and the Glyph Matrix area makes the phone now is more acceptable for more audience, without being too nerdy or geeky at all times. The metal unibody also makes the phone feels and looks premium especially if you’d go for Silver or Black color. Although if you want to feel more fun, you can opt for the Pink color that for me is still a very stylish yet elegant color.

Same can be said with Phone (4a), although the looks almost identical with the previous Phone (3a), the redesigned Glyph Bar gives more highlights and focus on the camera area. It also has a stronger frame that improves durability as compared to its predecessor. As usual with most of the smartphones manufactures, the cheaper version always come with more color options, and Phone (4a) comes in 4 colors, the White, Black, Pink and Blue.

What about the Glyph? Well they are still not yet reaching the level of highly essential in terms of functionality, but you can actually utilize it more than just an aesthetic aspect of the phone. I personally enjoy taking a selfie by referring to the Glyph Matrix on the (4a) Pro which is cool and useful at the same time.

Basically, visually Phone (4a) series are more refined in every way, and you can tell immediately that these aren’t a boring phone.

Performance: Skip the specs sheet, just enjoy the ride.

Under the hood, Phone (4a) Pro is powered by a Snapdragon 7 Gen 4, LPDDR4x RAM and Phone (4a) is powered by Snapdragon 7s Gen 4, LPDDR4X RAM. Both uses speedy UFS .1 storage. The results? Smooth daily performance. The social media scrolling is smooth, apps launch quickly, multi-task and switching between apps work fine. I even have tested high frame-rate gaming such as PUBG, Genshin Impact with Phone (4a) Pro and it runs perfectly well.

In short, if you lose the specs sheet and didn’t know what is powering the phones, you might think they use one of the older, but higher end Snapdragon 8 series. Eh wait. You can realize they aren’t when you see the purchase receipt, you are not paying for a flagship price.

Cameras: Zoom like a Pro

Allow me to share some technical specs.

The Phone (4a) Pro camera setup:

• 50MP Sony main camera
• 50MP periscope telephoto lens (3.5x optical zoom)
• Up to 140x zoom (yes, that’s wild for this price range)
• Ultra-wide + 32MP selfie

The Phone (4a) camera setup:

• Dual 50MP setup
• Periscope zoom up to 70x

Nothing Phone (4a) series camera setup is really interesting. It doesn’t offer high megapixels camera, but Nothing prefers a more balance approach. It provides dual 50MP lenses in the main camera and the periscope telephoto. Yes, both phone even the cheaper Phone (4a) has periscope lens that we’d usually expect in flagship territory smartphone. It can do 70x zoom and the Phone (4a) Pro goes beyond the imagination with 140x zoom. It’s wild to have that capabilities in this price range.

On top of that, it is very surprising to find it easy to snap 140x zoom photo with just bare hands and no tripods. The OIS works brilliantly. The results are sharp, clear and not shaky. Also thanks to its AI-powered photography with Google-backed processing. If you are a concerts goers, love portrait or even nature photography that involves shooting from distance, I find that Phone (4a) especially the Pro is very usable and good enough for my Instagram content.

The OS: Intentional, not overloaded.

Personally, Nothing OS is one of my preferred Android UI, and it continues with Nothing OS 4.1. It is aesthetic, clean and very fun. The widgets are very customizable and it has many essential AI tools such as essential search, essential memory and Playground (that shouts my inner-developer-self). While many preferred more simpler UI like Pixel’s UI or more professional UI like Samsung’s One UI, for me Nothing OS 4.1 is one of the few Android UI that actually giving me the fun experience. Nothing also ensure all its features are purely intentional instead of overloaded.

Special shout: The display.

For a mid-range phone, it’s not fair for me to expect much more, but I definitely underrate what Nothing Phone (4a) Pro offers. Its big 6.83″ AMOLED (yes for me it is big, and I always prefer a smaller display device) has a silky smooth 144Hz refresh rate and a crazy bright 5000 nits brightness. Yes you read it right, 144Hz and 5000 nits, a combination normally can only be found on a flagship and much more expensive device.

The Phone (4a) isn’t that further away with 6.78″ AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate and still a super bright display, up to 4500 nits brightness. The display quality that Nothing gives in these Phone (4a) series are brilliant for every usage such as watching movies, gaming or just scrolling TikTok, even under a harsh sunlight.

The Final Conclusion: Nothing is back.

Nothing has always leaned heavily into design and uniqueness, and not on specifications. But Phone (4a) series are one of the most refined mid-range smartphone Nothing ever produced. The design (especially for the Phone (4a) Pro) is a real head-turner, visually it is playful enough with glyph that’s more than just a flashy lights, a Nothing OS 4.1 that continues its signature fun and clean, a fast enough performance for pretty much everything, a solid battery life, a speedy and brilliantly bright display and last but not least, cameras system with zoom capabilities that is a worthy of flagship level.

And all these are at just RM2,299 for the Phone (4a) Pro and a bit of compromise (but acceptable) Phone (4a) at RM1,999, which for me makes Nothing Phone (4a) series is no doubt the most stand out premium mid-range smartphones my money can buy right now.