Nothing is poised to launch its next smartphone on March 04 – but before the device is even unveiled, pixel peepers can already see how the images compare to the iPhone 16 Pro Max. In a series of teasers leading up to the launch event, the company has shared a glimpse at how the Nothing 3a camera compares to the flagship iPhone, dropping a long list of hints as to the upcoming smartphone’s capabilities.
The successor to the budget-friendly Nothing 2a, the London-based competition is teasing a March 04 launch for the Nothing 3a. Pitting what, based on the 2a, is presumably a budget smartphone against the likes of the pricey iPhone 16 Pro Max is a bold move, but the teaser suggests the Nothing 3a will have a competitive camera spec sheet.
ABOVE: Watch the Noting 3a teaser
While the teaser blurs out the glimpses of the phone itself, the video that Nothing shared to YouTube on February 18 lists some key specifications, along with a folder of sample images.
The smartphone will have three different 50MP cameras, including a periscope zoom with Sony components, one designed with OIS (optical image stabilization) and one at the front of the device. That makes the Ultra-wide lens’ 8MP spec feel more underwhelming, but the teaser video makes it clear that zoom, macro and stabilization capabilities are headliners for the upcoming device.
Nothing phones haven’t offered much in the way of zoom previously, but that looks to be changing with the 3a. The Nothing 3a’s periscope lens will offer a 3x optical zoom alongside a 6x lossless zoom. A digital or ultra zoom will also be available for up to 60x, but at a crop for lower quality than the true optical zoom.
I downloaded the images that Nothing shot with the 3a alongside the iPhone 16 Max, and pixel-peeping the 3a’s zoom sample seemed a bit sharper. Of course, manufacturer-provided image samples aren’t as telling as real hands-on reviews, but the early look appears impressive.
Another key feature of the periscope lens is a 6x macro capability. Nothing demonstrated this with some food shots and the resulting image looks impressively close.
The main camera on the Nothing 3a has the largest “full well capacity” compared to similar sensors, Nothing claims in the video. A product manager then explained that the full well capacity refers to the amount of electronics that a pixel can hold – the larger the full well capacity, the better the depth, brightness and HDR effects.
Nothing says the 3a full well capacity is 300% compared to other similar devices. The image samples appear to have slightly brighter shadows than the comparable iPhone image.
The other feature teased in the video is stabilization for video footage, which was shot at 4k 30p. (That tidbit suggests the 3a may have fewer 4k features then the iPhone 16 Pro Max.) The video also drops the term “adaptive stabilization”, suggesting there’s some computer smarts involved in determining how to smooth out the footage.
While the video shares far more camera details than a typical teaser, at one point Nothing compares the zoom lens to a mirrorless lens – taking the lens off the camera being used to record the video as an example. It’s interesting that, with all those capabilities, the teaser video still seems to have been captured with a mirrorless camera.
Along with the teaser, Nothing dropped the date of March 04 – so expect the 3a announcement to hit on that date.
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