Home Phone comparison Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and Apple iPhone 16 - Which is better?

Nothing Phone (3a) Pro vs Apple iPhone 16

70 out 100
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
VS
86 out 100
Apple iPhone 16
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
Apple iPhone 16

Compared 2 smartphones : Nothing Phone (3a) Pro Manufactured in March, 2025, with display 6.77 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, vs Apple iPhone 16, Manufactured in September, 2024with chipsetApple A18. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
  • Larger display: 6.77in
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 3561mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5.3
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 16
  • Higher pixel density: 460ppi
  • Lighter design: 170g vs 211g
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Supports Dolby Atmos

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 12/256 GB		 - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and Apple iPhone 16
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison
Smartphones:
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
vs
Apple iPhone 16

Display

Display quality comparison
Type AMOLED OLED
Size 6.77 in 6.1 in
Resolution 1080x2392 pixels 1179x2556 pixels
Aspect ratio n/a 19.5:9
Pixel density 387 ppi 460 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (60-120 Hz) No
Max brightness 1300 nits 2000 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 88 % 86.4 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming		 DCI-P3
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
1300 nits
Apple iPhone 16
1719 nits
sRGB gamutn/a99.7 %
PWM (Flicker)n/a60 Hz
Response timen/a3 ms
Contrastn/a∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Apple iPhone 16]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 163.52 mm (6.44 in) 147.6 mm (5.81 in)
Width 77.5 mm (3.05 in) 71.6 mm (2.82 in)
Thickness 8.39 mm (0.33 in) 7.8 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 211 g (7.44 oz) 170 g (6 oz)
Water resistance IP64 IP68
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel n/a Glass
Frame n/a Metal
Colors - Black
- Gray		 - White
- Black
- Blue
- Green
- Pink
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
88 %
Apple iPhone 16
86.4 %

Performance

Testing Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and Apple iPhone 16 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 Apple A18
Max Frequency 2500 MHz 4040 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Kryo Silver (Cortex-A520))
- 3/2.4 (Kryo Gold (Cortex-A720))
- 1/2.5 (Kryo Prime (Cortex-A720))		 - 4/2.42 (Sawtooth)
- 2/4.05 (Everest)
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 4 nm 3 nm
Neural Processor Yes Neural Engine
Graphics Adreno 810 Apple A18 GPU
GPU Cores 256 640
GPU Frequency 1050 MHz 1490 MHz
FLOPS 537.6 GFLOPS 1907 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
1182
Apple iPhone 16
3283
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
3357
Apple iPhone 16
8094
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)11823283
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)33578094
Geekbench Compute (GPU)445928055
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Nothing Phone (3a) Pro], [Apple iPhone 16]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
750673
Apple iPhone 16
1580390
CPU273000439113
GPU192089611111
Memory135075181791
UX150509348375
NanoReview Score7506731580390
3DMark Wild Life
Sources: 3DMark [Apple iPhone 16]

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 8 GB
- 12 GB		 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz n/a
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB		128 GB
Storage Typen/aNVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 15 iOS 18 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.5)
OS Size n/a 16 GB
UI Skin Nothing OS 3.1 n/a

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 3561 mAh
Max Charging Power 50 W 30 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes
Fast Charging Yes (60% in 15 min) Yes (59% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:05 h 1:42 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
24:09
Apple iPhone 16
29:45
Web Browsing08:09 h13:44 h
Video Playback16:21 h18:09 h
Games05:48 h05:56 h
Standby Mode120 h130 h

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 8192x6144 pixels 8064x6048 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x 116
Flash LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (720p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP		 Standard: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix50 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.9f/1.6
Focal length24 mm26 mm
SensorSony LYT-600n/a
Sensor size1/1.561/1.56
Pixel size1 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix50 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.6n/a
Focal length70 mmn/a
Sensor size1/1.95n/a
Pixel size0.8 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix8 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length15 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX355n/a
Sensor size1/4.0n/a
Pixel size1.12 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
n/a
Apple iPhone 16
149
Video quality
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
n/a
Apple iPhone 16
154
Overall camera score
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
n/a
Apple iPhone 16
147
Bokehn/a80
Previewn/a84
Sources: DxOMark [Apple iPhone 16]

Front camera

Matrix 50 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 8192x6144 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/1.9
Focal length 24 mm 23 mm
Sensor n/a CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.76 1/3.6
Pixel size n/a 1.12 μm
Autofocus n/a Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 30 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No Yes

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.4 5.3
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort No Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Galileo
- QZSS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*2n/a
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM Standbyn/a
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850/900/1800/1900GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
3G BandsUMTS 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19UMTS/HSPA+/DC‑HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B18/B19/B20/B26/B28/B38/B40/B41/B42/B48/B66)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B48/B53/B66/B71)
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo n/a
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos n/a Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
n/a
Apple iPhone 16
90.4 dB

Other

Class Mid-range Flagship
Announced March, 2025 yr September, 2024 yr
Release Date March, 2025 yr September, 2024 yr
Launch Price ($) 459 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 799
Sensors - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
Charger Included No No

Note

Apple iPhone 16:

The US model is eSIM-only, while the international version offers both a physical SIM slot and eSIM support.

* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Apple iPhone 16 the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

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