Nothing Phone 3a series leak suggests major upgrades to camera and SoC

Nothing is expected to launch its flagship Phone 3 sometime next year, and like the predecessor lineup, the brand is expected to introduce two mid-range phones. According to a new leak, these two affordable devices could bring some major upgrades over the last-gen devices.

More specifically, the Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Plus will reportedly switch to a Qualcomm chip. It's rumored to be the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3. This wouldn't be the most capable mid-range SoC in 2025, as the Snapdragon 8s Elite is reportedly on the way. However, it will definitely be a good upgrade over the Dimensity 7200 and 7350 that powered the last-gen devices.

On that note, a previous rumor hinted that the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 could power an upcoming mid-range Galaxy smartphone. If all of these turn out to be accurate, the Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Plus could be the direct competitors to the rumored Samsung mid-range device (128 GB S24 FE curr. $619.97 on Amazon).

Besides the SoC, Android Authority has spotted clues that suggest the Nothing Phone 3a could feature a telephoto camera. As for the Phone 3a Plus, it will reportedly sport a periscope camera zoom sensor. To look back, none of the past Nothing phones had a dedicated zoom camera, so this would be an interesting change.

Another upgrade that Android Authority reports is support for eSIM. While it's not clear yet, the Nothing Phone 3a series could allow users to use one physical SIM and one eSIM. Other than these, the rest of the specs for the upcoming mid-range phones are still under wraps, but more details could emerge soon.