Nothing camera test: Cheaper Phone (3a) Pro gives 'flagship' Phone (3) a run for its money

In a camera comparison video posted 2 days ago, Versus compared the devices extensively, with categories covering main camera, ultra-wide camera, portrait, video, audio, slow motion, zoom, macro, low light, selfie, and more.

Starting with main camera photos, the Nothing Phone (3) took the lead and maintained its lead at the end of the test. However, it wasn't all smooth sailing, as the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro wasn't so far behind; it even beat the Phone 3 in some categories. The (3a) Pro topped in selfie photos, low-light photos, and audio.

In the video categories: outdoor, indoor, stabilization, and slow-motion, the Nothing Phone (3) was the clear winner. For zoom photography, it left the rest in the dust, albeit with generous help from AI-enabled image processing.

The biggest shock of them all came in the macro and tele-macro categories — the Nothing Phone (3a) and (3a) Pro simply flopped. However, the flagship Phone (3) and the entry-level CMF Phone 2 Pro (curr. $299 on Amazon) managed to get acceptable shots, with the latter capturing properly colored photos and the former capturing more details in its shots.

Here is how the phones ranked in the end:

• Nothing Phone (3) — 9.7 points
• Nothing Phone (3a) — 7.48 points
• Nothing Phone (3a) Pro — 6.35 points
• Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro — 5.75 points

As evident, the Phone (3) took the crown, but the performance gap was quite underwhelming, given that it was supposed to be a flagship and launched at about double the price of the Phone (3a) Pro ($799).