Nothing confirms key Phone (3a) detail – it's much more powerful than predecessor

Nothing is preparing to launch its latest phone, which is confirmed to be the Nothing Phone (3a). It'll be fully unveiled on 4 March and we’re starting to hear more and more about this phone. Indeed, Nothing has just confirmed a key detail.

In a surprise to many, the brand has decided to launch the Nothing Phone (3a) first in 2025, rather than the Nothing Phone (3) flagship that everyone was expecting. That’s great news for those looking for a more affordable handset, although it could face stiff competition from the iPhone 16e/SE4 and the Google Pixel 9a which are also expected in the next couple of weeks.

Taking to social media, Nothing has confirmed that the Phone (3a) will return to Snapdragon, where previously it was powered by MediaTek hardware. That will be welcome news for many buyers with Carl Pei confirming that the phone is more powerful than the previous iteration.

Exactly what that Snapdragon hardware will be remains unknown. Rumours suggest that it could be Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, while Qualcomm has recently launched the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 – and is expected to announce Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 hardware soon too.

That could be the reason the company is launching the Phone (3a) first, if it has access to new Qualcomm hardware and can play its role as a launch partner. The launch of the new phone is aligned with Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and it wouldn’t be unreasonable for Qualcomm to announce new hardware at the event.

At the moment, that’s all speculation: the reality is that Nothing has done a good job keeping control of leaks around this device.

What to expect from the Nothing Phone (3a)

While there’s been plenty of teasing for the new phone, there’s little that’s actually really known. Nothing has shown some graphics suggesting that the rear of the phone could gain a camera – this deduction comes from the outline shape on the original launch tease. Carl Pei also says that strengthening the camera is a priority.

Then we saw the side of the phone, appearing to reveal a new button. There’s no telling what that button does – it could be a camera button, it could be for AI, it could be a programmable action button. So far, we don’t know what it will do.

It has previously been suggested that there would be two models, so we could see an Nothing Phone (3a) and a Nothing Phone (3a) Plus.

What we do know is that the codename for the phone is Arcanine. We’ll have all the details on 4 March 2025.