I just went hands-on with Nothing Phone (4a) — this could beat iPhone 17e to be the budget phone of 2026

In the midst of the world embracing the iPhone 17e, Nothing took over MWC 2026 with a crate containing the upcoming Nothing Phone (4a) that tech reporters rushed to get a glimpse of in glass boxes.

But once the dust settled, I got a chance to go hands-on with the upcoming budget model, and not only should Apple be worried, it changed my entire perspective on cheap phones.

You see, the newly announced 17e is a solid budget iPhone with upgrades where it matters, like doubled storage, a faster chip and MagSafe charging. Then, as I turned on the (4a), I realized just how much room there actually is for strong specs and premium design at a lower price.

Of course, specs haven’t been confirmed yet, so I can only pair what I found out with what the rumor mill is saying, such as the price potentially starting at £349 — a whole £250 less than the iPhone. So with that (potentially) massive price gap noted, let’s see what you get for the money.

Suave looks

I love colors, but Nothing’s usually been all in on white, black or grey for its phones, special editions aside. So to hold this blue slab in my hand was a refreshing change of pace. You’re getting the usual transparent design that gets the geeks going with a (sort of) peek at the internals that look brilliant in these more vibrant hues — especially in pink too!

One small gripe from me would be the Glyph Bar. Nothing’s whole thing has been doing cool light-up stuff on the back so you don’t have to pick your phone up as much, such as unique notification pulses or timers. This smaller light bar can absolutely do that, but in minimizing the tech to this simpler form, it doesn’t feel as flashy.

After you’ve admired the back, we flip the phone over to see an impressively vivid and smooth OLED panel. Reports claim this 6.78-inch panel has a 1260 x 2800-pixel resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate.

And if you’ve tried any Nothing phone in the past, you know what you’re getting software-side. The bold, utilitarian aesthetic of Nothing OS 4 keeps things cool with its trademark dot-matrix font and monochrome color palette that makes the occasional use of color really pop.

But it’s more than just a facelift. They’ve added features people actually asked for, like custom focus spaces with their own notification settings, a “Lock In” mode to keep you on track, and new widgets that put your most-used files and sites right at your fingertips.

Speedy gains

Rumored to sport the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 alongside up to 12GB of RAM, I felt no slow down or latency when blazing through home screens, opening apps and putting it under a quick burst of stress. It’s clear this is a zippy phone for all your day-to-day work and play.

Of course, we’ll need to get it in the lab for a full benchmarking of other elements like graphics performance, local AI capabilities and battery life. But from our time testing previous Snapdragon 7s phones of the past like the Nothing 3a Pro, I’m expecting decent mid-range speeds and good power efficiency.

Snap happy

In the dark surroundings of the MWC 2026 afterparty I got to test these, I found myself in a good time to really test these shooters in awkward lighting situations.

Reports point to this camera system remaining largely unchanged from last year: a 50MP main camera, 50MP telephoto and an 8MP ultrawide — the main difference being a slightly wider aperture on that zoom lens. And that did show a noticeable uplift in low-light performance when using that 3.5x optical zoom.

Outlook

As my colleague John Velasco said last year, Nothing's a series is “what all budget phones should strive to be like,” and everything is looking like the company’s about to make the same statement again.

The size, screen quality, camera array and attention to design detail here make the iPhone 17e look expensive in comparison. While the Phone (4a)’s upgrades are minor in nature to last year’s model (you shouldn’t upgrade if you are already on the (3a)), signs are pointing to this being the budget phone to beat in 2026.

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