Nothing Phone (3a) Lite Review: Bloating the Brand
The 5,000 mAh battery is enough for most days, and the Nothing Phone (3a) Lite could perhaps even last two days of light use. You’ll need to plug it in when it’s low (there’s no wireless charging) and the rate caps out at 33 watts. That’s not bad, it gets you from zero to 80% in less than an hour. There is support for 5G, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.3, but expect the battery to drain much faster on 5G networks.
Where the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro chipset and 8GB of RAM really struggled for me was the camera. On several occasions it took a few seconds to open and I had to restart the phone at one point to get the camera app to load. I experienced occasional lags when opening and switching apps, but the camera performance was heartbreaking as general use seems relatively smooth for a budget phone.
It doesn’t help that the camera system is disappointing. The 50-megapixel main shooter is capable, if a little slow, with a large 1/1.57-inch sensor and f/1.8 aperture that handles a range of scenarios quite well. But the 8-megapixel ultra-wide is mediocre 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 on the front, ideal for selfies and video calls.
You’d think a design-driven company like Nothing would be more calculated in adding features that only add value. If ultra-wide and macro only offer mediocre results, remove them and stick with a single solid main camera.
