Nothing Phone (3a) series to have a periscope zoom camera, company confirms

Nothing is about to launch new mid-range smartphones: The Nothing Phone (3a) series. According to leaks, there will be a vanilla model and a “Pro” model that will stand out with its more powerful optical zoom capabilities. Now, the company has confirmed that it will give the lineup a periscope lens—to the Pro variant, most likely.

The smartphones in the “a” series seem to be the most popular in the catalog of the firm founded by Carl Pei considering that, for the first time, Nothing will launch the “a” variant before launching the long-awaited Nothing Phone (3). A recent leak revealed many key specs for the Nothing Phone (3A) and Phone (3A) Pro. The key difference between them seems to be in the zoom range of their cameras. The vanilla variant could offer 2x optical zoom, while the “Pro” model could support 3x optical zoom.

Periscope zoom camera confirmed for the Nothing Phone (3a) series

Now, the company itself has confirmed that at least one model in the Phone (3a) series—likely the Pro—will come equipped with a periscope zoom lens. Such sensors are rare in mid-range smartphones, as manufacturers mostly turn to more traditional telephoto lenses to save costs. A periscope lens offers much higher zoom image quality by integrating a prism system.

The leaked specs for the Nothing Phone (3a) also list support for hybrid zooms up to 60x. It makes sense that the company would turn to more capable camera hardware to enable such a feature. The vanilla Nothing Phone (3a) probably won’t boast similar zoom capabilities, but the mere presence of a dedicated 2x telephoto lens might catch the attention of fans of the “Pixel a” and “Galaxy A” series.

Nothing will officially announce the Phone (3a) lineup on March 4.