OnePlus Nord CE 4 vs Nothing Phone 3a: Detailed Comparison – Which Budget Smartphone Should You Buy?
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00:00In India, the under 25,000 rupee category market is pretty competitive.
00:08We have the recently launched Nothing 3A as a major contender coming with some of the
00:15top of the line specifications like a triple camera setup at the back and a 5000 mAh battery.
00:21Now the phone that was launched last year, this is the Nord CE 4, yes, one year older
00:28but still has the capabilities to be a champion in this price segment.
00:33In this comparison, a quick one that we will tell you all that you need to know about these
00:39sub 25k phones and which one you should buy if you are looking for a phone in this price
00:44category.
00:45All the differences, performance, battery, camera, everything we'll talk about in this
00:50video, so let's go.
00:55Alright first up, the design of the two phones.
00:58If you're looking for a new age, funky looking smartphone, then definitely the 3A stands
01:03out.
01:04You have the glyph interface, these cool LED lights and this naked, I mean, design at the
01:08back.
01:09Yes, I recommended something like this to a relative, he said, this is actually what
01:14he said that where is the back cover of the device, to which I was surprised, but again,
01:19they won't get it, right.
01:20However, the new age people will definitely like something, this sort of a naked design
01:25and yeah, if you're looking for a 2025 phone, the Nothing 3A is definitely a design that
01:31you will really appreciate.
01:33On the hindsight, if you take a look at the CE4, very minimalistic, I'm not saying it
01:38looks outdated, but doesn't have the extravagance that you would get on a 3A.
01:43So yes, if you're looking for a simplistic design, very minimal, nothing extravagant,
01:48so the Note CE4 is a good option.
01:52Remember, when you hold both these phones in the hand, there is more heft, what you
01:56get with the 3A, regardless of the fact that this has 500 mAh lesser than the CE4, I think,
02:05in the hands, if you really want something lighter, then definitely the Note CE4 has
02:10their advantage.
02:11Also, IP protection on both these devices, so they will be able to take on a couple of
02:15splashes, but if you drop the phones inside of the water, then, well, if you're lucky,
02:21then only the phones will escape because they're not meant to survive that kind of
02:25a drop.
02:26If you turn to the front of the device, you get a 6.7-inch AMOLED display on both these
02:31phones, 120 Hz of refresh rate, which means content consumption, if you're gaming on these
02:36phones, it's going to be absolutely fine.
02:38However, the one thing that could be a deal-breaker are the chunky bezels on both these devices,
02:43but the thing is, under 25K, you get these bezels on almost all of the devices, so the
02:48advantage with the 3A is, at least, the bezels are a bit proportional, so, yeah.
02:54Moving to the performance, yes, the Snapdragon 7S Gen 3 processor on the 3A is a capable
03:01machine, it makes the phone a capable machine, but the thing is, it's still a bit underpowered
03:08compared to the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 processor, which is, you know, one year older.
03:14Yes, that's because the 7 Gen 3 has one prime core that is clocked a bit more than the 7S
03:22Gen 3, so, that performance, while on paper, looks more for the CE 4, in practicality,
03:28there's hardly any difference, I've played games on both, I've been multitasking, I've
03:32been using it for a couple of days now, and both are equally fine.
03:36I mean, the one thing that separates the two and totally depends on user preference, it's
03:41the UI, because the Nothing OS on the Nothing Phone 3A is very clean, gets you regular Android
03:48updates, especially for three years, and a lot of customizations are available for the
03:53smartphone, so if you want something that is not complicated at all, it's easy to customize,
03:58looks very clean, the Nothing OS is great.
04:01Now, the OnePlus comes with OxygenOS, and, I mean, like I said, depends on the user,
04:07because OxygenOS is also very clean, and also comes with Android updates regularly,
04:13so, again, I mean, you have to consider the fact that both these OS, both these ecosystems
04:20are very different, you have to pick whichever you like, because the icon pack, the themes,
04:25the customizations are different for both of these smartphones, so, yeah, make a smart
04:29choice, have a look online, which one you prefer, and go for the one that suits you.
04:34Rest, both these smartphones come with 8GB of RAM and storage options, 256GB is available
04:41on the 3A, while the advantage with the CE 4 is that it comes with expandable storage
04:46up to 1TB, so, yes, there is a micro SD card slot option, so, I mean, that's a big advantage,
04:54isn't it?
04:54One of the big differences here is the camera setup, the 3A comes with a triple rear camera
04:59setup, a 50MP primary sensor, a 50MP telephoto, and an 8MP macro sensor, which, again, is
05:07not available, this triple camera setup is not here, it's just a dual camera setup, yes,
05:11there is a 50MP primary sensor here, but, I mean, if you want that extra 8MP macro sensor
05:18for macro photography, go with the 3A.
05:21Not only that, when you come to the front of both these smartphones, a 32MP sensor on
05:26the 3A holds a big advantage, we've got 4K recording right here, and that's not available
05:31on the CE 4, is it?
05:32Because it's a 16MP, the quality is also decent enough, so, yes, you want a better camera,
05:38go with the 3A.
05:39Now, the battery, like I said before, is a big deciding factor, 5500 mAh on the CE 4
05:45and also 5000 mAh on the 3A, but, again, the big difference maker here is the charging
05:51speed.
05:52Now, the CE 4 offers 100W fast charging, and the charger comes inside of the box, and
05:59here, the 3A comes with 50W fast charging, and they don't even give you a charger.
06:04So, clearly, big advantage here.
06:07Alright, so everything boils down to the pricing of both these devices, where the CE 4 right
06:12now is retailing on the website at 23,999, with the discounts and exchanges, you can
06:16get it for relatively much cheaper.
06:19The 3A is right now retailing at 24,999 for the 8GB variant with 256GB of storage.
06:26I think it is a fantastic deal, you are getting the recently launched smartphone with all
06:31of the cool updates and the latest Android ecosystem.
06:35However, you need to remember, thousand-rupee difference could matter for a lot of people
06:40who are looking for a phone in this category.
06:43With the CE 4, you are getting the minimalistic design philosophy, top-of-the-line specifications,
06:48and you're not really outdated in terms of software, you will still keep getting software
06:53updates with the CE 4, it's just that, the design might not be a standout, you might
06:58not get an exemplary camera system like what you get on the 3A, that's it, apart from that,
07:04the CE 4 is a good device, and if you're considering something under 25K, go for this one.
07:10That's it for this quick comparison between the CE 4 and the nothing 3A, let us know in
07:14the comments section if you have any specific questions on both these devices, we'll be
07:19answering them for you, we'll be back with more tech right here on Fyber, till then, take care.