Nothing Phone 4a vs OnePlus Nord 5: Style vs Raw power

When I look at the Nothing Phone 4a, at first glance, it doesn’t look different from the phone that came before it. The company’s signature transparent design is still here and if you place it next to last year’s Nothing Phone 3a, you can see the resemblance. But this time the shift isn’t about the design, it’s about the price. Nothing Phone 4a starts at Rs 31,999, and it now sits in a much more competitive part of the smartphone market. At this price segment, the selling point should not be design alone. Buyers expect strong performance, versatile cameras, a good display, and battery life that can easily last through a full day.

With the Nothing Phone 4a, the Glyph lighting interface is gone, replaced by a rectangular Glyph Bar on the back of the phone. There’s also a small red indicator on the Glyph Bar, just like the Nothing Phone 3. It lights up when you record a video.

The main challenge for the Nothing Phone 4a is that it isn’t competing with last year’s Nothing Phone 3a. It’s competing with every strong contender around the Rs 30,000 price point. So, I chose the most obvious alternative, the OnePlus Nord 5.

After spending time with both phones and testing them for more than a week now, the differences become much clearer.

Design

Design has always been one of Nothing’s biggest strengths, and the Phone 4a continues that legacy. The transparent back panel still gives the phone a distinctive look. That actually is a head turner, and a lot of people have also asked me in public, ‘Which phone are you using?’

Of course, design is subjective; some will love it because it looks different from the others, while others might prefer something more understated.

The new Glyph Bar is the biggest visual change this year. Instead of the full Glyph lights used in previous models, the Phone 4a now uses a rectangular strip made up of 63 mini LEDs arranged in 7 segments. The Glyph Bar can be customised as well through the settings menu, and it even reacts to the system if the user adjusts the volume. There is one small but satisfying detail: the small red square on the Glyph Bar, which lights up when you start recording video.

In daily use, the glossy finish on the transparent back does attract fingerprints. But to solve this problem, Nothing is giving a transparent case in the box for the first time.

The OnePlus Nord 5 takes a different approach. Instead of trying to stand out visually, it focuses on a clean design. The matte glass finish feels smooth in the hand and does a better job of hiding smudges and fingerprints.

Both phones follow a flat-sided design language, so they feel quite similar when held. Buttons are also quite tactile and clicky on both devices, offering satisfying response and feedback.

The Nord 5 tends to wobble a lot on a flat surface. To solve this, you can use a phone back cover. On the other hand, Phone 4a sits flat without rocking.

Both devices include stereo speakers with strong output, and OnePlus adds an IR blaster, which can be useful for controlling your home appliances.

Display

When it comes to the displays, both the Nothing Phone 4a and Nord 5 use LTPS AMOLED panels. The Phone 4a has a 120Hz 6.78-inch screen, while the Nord 5 has a slightly larger 6.83-inch screen with a smoother 144Hz refresh rate. In terms of quality, both are quite vibrant and smooth. However, the tuning between them is slightly different.

Scrolling through apps and navigating the interface feels fluid on both devices, although the higher refresh rate on the Nord 5 does give it a slight edge in terms of responsiveness. At the same time, Nothing’s software animations are very well tuned, which helps the Phone 4a feel polished during everyday use.

The displays also ran through our Digit Test Labs, and when we looked at the numbers from our display testing, the Nord 5 achieved stronger results in colour accuracy. In the Calman colour test, the Phone 4a recorded an average Delta E of 2.4, which is okay. The Nord 5, however, achieved an impressive average Delta E of 0.6.

Both displays perform well in colour gamut coverage. The Phone 4a reached 99.9% in the colour gamut test, while the Nord 5 measured 100%.

Brightness is where the results shift slightly because the Nothing Phone 4a peaked at 2,640 nits in our testing, which made it easier to see outdoors under harsh sunlight. The Nord 5 measured around 1,560 nits, and it is still usable outside, but reflections were more noticeable.

When watching HDR content, both displays look good. Colours appear vibrant, contrast is strong, and viewing angles are excellent. If you put the phones side by side, the Nord 5 looks a bit more vivid and brighter, but the Phone 4a retains slightly better detail in darker scenes.

Cameras

The camera hardware between these two phones takes noticeably different approaches. The Nothing Phone 4a includes a triple-camera setup that comes with a 50MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide sensor and a dedicated 50MP telephoto camera. The OnePlus Nord 5 relies on a dual-camera setup with a 50MP main sensor and an 8MP ultrawide lens.

In daylight photography, both devices capture good images, but the Nothing Phone 4a tends to produce slightly more vibrant colours, while the Nord 5 aims for a more natural look.

One thing that stood out during my testing was how the Nord 5 often adds a blue tint to the sky.

Portrait photography is where the dedicated telephoto lens on the Phone 4a makes a difference. The phone captures portraits with cleaner background blur and noticeably better edge detection. Hair strands and subject outlines are handled better compared to the Nord 5.

The ultra-wide camera also performs slightly better on the Phone 4a, capturing more detail and maintaining better consistency with the main camera.

For selfies, the Phone 4a uses a 32MP front camera while the Nord 5 offers a 50MP sensor. The Nord 5 captures more detail, but the overall colour processing on the Phone 4a produces better results, especially in portrait selfies.

On the video side, the Nothing Phone 4a supports recording 4K at 30fps, while the OnePlus Nord 5 can record at 4K 60fps.

Performance

Performance is where the gap between these phones becomes very clear. The Nothing Phone 4a runs on the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chipset, while the OnePlus Nord 5 is powered by the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset.

Both devices use UFS 3.1 storage, but there are differences in memory as well. The Phone 4a uses LPDDR4X RAM, while the Nord 5 has faster LPDDR5X RAM. You can buy the OnePlus Nord 5 in a 512 GB storage variant, while Nothing caps storage at 256 GB.

In everyday usage, both phones feel smooth. Apps launch quickly, multitasking is stable, and basic tasks like browsing and messaging are handled easily.

However, benchmark testing reveals differences. In Antutu, the Nord 5 scored more than 1.47 million, comfortably ahead of the Phone 4a.

The gap becomes even more obvious in the graphics tests. In the 3DMark Wildlife Extreme Test, the Phone 4a achieved a score of 1,110, while the Nord 5 achieved 3,134.

Geekbench results tell a similar story. The Phone 4a recorded scores of 1,255 in the single-core test and 3,365 in the multi-core test. The Nord 5 delivered 1,952 single-core and 4,890 multi-core.

In the CPU throttling test, the Nord 5 CPU throttled to 83%, while the Nothing Phone 4a CPU throttled to 94%.

Gaming performance also reflects those numbers. The Phone 4a can run BGMI up to 120fps, but the Nord 5 pushes even further, supporting 144fps gameplay with frame interpolation enabled. In Call of Duty Mobile, the Nord 5 again leads with 144fps support, while the Nothing Phone 4a only supports up to 90fps.

Software

Right out of the box, you get Android 16 on both devices, but the software experience feels quite different.

The Nothing Phone 4a runs Nothing OS 4.1, which continues the company’s minimalist design experience. The interface is clean and uncluttered, and the good thing is that there are very few pre-installed apps.

The OnePlus Nord 5 runs on OxygenOS 16; the interface of Oxygen OS feels fluid, but there are pre-installed apps.

Both operating systems run smoothly, and they also take different approaches to features. Nothing focuses on simplicity and visual identity, while OnePlus adds more AI tools and functionality.

The Essential Key on the Phone 4a allows quick access to Essential Space for notes and screenshots. I would say it still feels somewhat limited.

The Plus Key on the Nord 5 is more versatile; with this, users could save screen content, trigger AI features, and interact with Gemini as well.

In terms of software support, Nothing promises three years of Android updates along with six years of security patches. OnePlus offers four years of Android updates and six years of security patches.

Battery Life

In this area, as well, the Nord 5 has a clear advantage. The Nothing Phone 4a includes a 5,400mAh battery. In my testing, the battery lasts through a full day of moderate use.

The OnePlus Nord 5 uses a larger 6,800mAh battery, and in my testing, it easily lasts through a full day on heavy use and it can also stretch up to one and a half days on medium usage.

In our PCMark Work 3.0 battery test, the Nord 5 lasted 15 hours and 35 minutes.

Charging speeds also favour the OnePlus Nord 5. The Nord 5 supports 80W charging and reaches from 0 to 100% in 55 minutes. The Nothing Phone 4a supports 50W charging and takes about an hour to fully charge.

Verdict

The Nothing Phone 4a is a distinctive and well-rounded mid-range smartphone. It offers a very unique and classic Nothing design, a bright display, capable cameras and a clean software experience that feels refreshing in a crowded market.

However, the OnePlus Nord 5 makes a stronger technical case. Its performance is significantly better, battery life also lasts longer, and it offers fast charging.

For users who prioritise performance and long-term value, the Nord 5 is the more obvious option. But if design, cleaner software and a more distinctive identity matter more, the Nothing Phone 4a still holds its ground well.