The 5,000-mAh battery is ample for most days, and the Nothing Phone (3a) Lite could maybe even last two days of light use. You’ll have to plug in when it runs low (there’s no wireless charging), and the rate tops out at 33 watts. That’s not bad, enabling you to go from zero to 80 percent in less than an hour. There’s 5G, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.3 support, but expect the battery to drain much faster on 5G networks.
Where the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro chipset and 8 GB of RAM really struggled for me was the camera. On several occasions, it took seconds to open, and I had to reboot the phone at one point to get the camera app to load at all. I encountered occasional lag on opening and switching apps, but the camera performance was jarring because general use feels relatively slick for a budget phone.
It doesn’t help that the camera system is disappointing. The main 50-megapixel shooter is capable, if a little slow, with a large-ish 1/1.57-inch sensor and an f/1.8 aperture that handles a range of scenarios quite well. But the 8-megapixel ultrawide is poor, and the 2-megapixel macro is a complete waste of time. Comparing a close-up with the macro and the main camera (see the flower photos) shows how useless it is. There’s a 16-megapixel shooter around front that’s fine for selfies and video calls.
You’d think a design-led company like Nothing would be more calculated in adding features that only add value. If the ultrawide and macro are only going to offer lackluster results, cut them and stick with a single, solid primary camera.
