Budget Smartphone Battle: iPhone 16e vs. Nothing Phone 3a Pro

I'm not sure the processor comparison is fair. On paper yes the A18 is 100% faster. But I think what matters is if the less performant Qualcomm chip is adequate for the device itself and whether you even notice the performance difference.

I think it’s a pity Apple no longer offer a substantially cheaper iPhone

This is a key segment of the market where they can lure in more customers who may buy an iPhone and then watch etc

This new entry level iPhone is more regular premium device. Actually a luxury device still because the build quality is far greater than many others on the market.

Android smartphone maker Nothing recently came out with the Phone 3a and Phone 3a Pro, just a little after Apple launched the iPhone 16e. Since Nothing's smartphone is targeting roughly the same group of smartphone buyers as the iPhone 16e, we thought we'd do a comparison.

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The iPhone 16e is priced at $599, which is higher than any other budget smartphone that Apple has released to date, while the 3a Pro ('https://us.nothing.tech/products/phone-3a-pro') is quite a bit more affordable at $459. The 3a Pro has some bells and whistles you won't get with the iPhone 16e like extra cameras and a larger display, but the Qualcomm chip in the 3a Pro really can't compete with the A18 in the iPhone 16e. It's not even close ('https://www.gsmarena.com/nothing_phone_3a_pro-review-2809p4.php').

While the iPhone 16e has a 6.1-inch display, the 3a Pro has a larger 6.8-inch display, and it's notably larger and heavier. It has a brighter OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, while the 16e display is limited to 60Hz. In terms of design, the 16e has a classic, understated iPhone look with a single camera, while the 3a Pro has a large rear camera circle, a stylized mechanical look, and a ring of LED lights at the back that serve as notification alerts.

The Nothing Phone 3a Pro has an eye-catching design for sure, but it might also be a bit much for some people. There's a single 48-megapixel Wide camera in the iPhone 16e, but the 3a Pro has a trio of cameras, including a 50-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel Telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, and an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera.

Battery life is about the same between the two, and the 3a Pro has no wireless charging feature while the 16e supports slow Qi-based wireless charging. The 3a Pro does charge faster though, because it supports up to 50W wired charging.

Nothing hasn't gone all in on AI like Apple, but there is a dedicated AI button that opens up the Essential Space, which is an AI-powered hub for notes, ideas, and inspirations. There are no image generation features or custom emoji, but it is a truly useful feature.

Of course, the major difference between the two is iOS vs. Android, so while the 3a Pro is a solid value with a good feature set, it's probably not going to lure iPhone users out of Apple's ecosystem.

What do you think of the Nothing Phone 3a Pro? Let us know in the comments below.

Article Link: Budget Smartphone Battle: iPhone 16e vs. Nothing Phone 3a Pro ('https://www.macrumors.com/2025/03/19/iphone-16e-vs-nothing-phone-3a-pro/')

I've used Mac and iPhone for years, yes before the iphone was a thing. But when the Pixel 7a arrived and fed up with the ever increasing pricing of this is the best iPhone ever!! I actually bought one....a Pixel 7a.

Pixel and Nothing phones running Android 15 are a great option. Android is not ios, but so what? Stop ending comparisons with the comments, "well the big difference is ios vs. android". It's 2025 and the user experiece of both Android and Apple phone is very similar, and it's no big deal switcking out of Apple to Google and vice versa.

What do you want a phone for? Calls, email, internet, YouTube, TicToc? Well hello they both do that! An the Pixel A series have great cameras.

If you haven't used an Android 15 Pixel or Nothing phone, perhaps you might surprise yourself and save £500/$500 :)

Ps. this is by no means anti-Apple, just plain good financial sense and an alternative decent mobile.

I'm not sure the processor comparison is fair. On paper yes the A18 is 100% faster. But I think what matters is if the less performant Qualcomm chip is adequate for the device itself and whether you even notice the performance difference.

The processor comparisons between iPhone models and between models released up to 4 or 5 years ago is also moot, for a lot of consumers. I don’t do anything “Pro” on my iPhone.

The only differentiator and aspect that determines function being more the anemic RAM allocation between those iPhones

Only 3 years of OS updates: https://9to5google.com/2025/03/04/nothing-phone-3a-3-years-android-updates/

Probably worth mentioning that Google just blew a big hole in the budget smartphone market. ('https://store.google.com/gb/product/pixel_9a?hl=en-GB&pli=1')

Everything the Pixel 8a was missing with a bigger battery and a practically flush camera? For £499?!

Apple are cutting the price of the 16e soon aren’t they?