Nothing Phone (3a) Pro vs Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max

Compared 2 smartphones : Nothing Phone (3a) Pro Manufactured in March, 2025, with display 6.77 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, vs Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max, Manufactured in September, 2025 with chipsetApple A19 Pro. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
  • Lighter design: 211g vs 221g
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 4729mAh
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
  • Larger display: 6.9in
  • Higher pixel density: 458ppi
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Supports Dolby Atmos

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 12/1024 GB

Review

Key Specs Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
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

Display

Display quality comparison
Type AMOLED OLED
Size 6.77 in 6.9 in
Resolution 1080x2392 pixels 1320x2868 pixels
Aspect ratio n/a 19.5:9
Pixel density 387 ppi 458 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (60-120 Hz) Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 1300 nits n/a
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 88 % 92.6 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
1300 nits
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
n/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 163.52 mm (6.44 in) 163 mm (6.42 in)
Width 77.5 mm (3.05 in) 77.4 mm (3.05 in)
Thickness 8.39 mm (0.33 in) 8.2 mm (0.32 in)
Weight 211 g (7.44 oz) 221 g (7.8 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
- Silver
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
88 %
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
92.6 %

Performance

Testing Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 Apple A19 Pro
Max Frequency 2500 MHz 4300 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) n/a
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Kryo Silver (Cortex-A520))
- 3/2.4 (Kryo Gold (Cortex-A720))
- 1/2.5 (Kryo Prime (Cortex-A720))
n/a
Process TSMC n/a
Transistor Size 4 nm n/a
Neural Processor Yes n/a
Graphics Adreno 810 n/a
GPU Cores 256 n/a
GPU Frequency 1050 MHz n/a
FLOPS 537.6 GFLOPS n/a
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
1182
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
3780
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
3357
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
10772
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)11823780
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)335710772
Geekbench Compute (GPU)4459n/a
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
750673
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
2112459
CPU273000510033
GPU192089791934
Memory135075367847
UX150509442645
NanoReview Score7506732112459

Memory

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

Software

OS Android 15 iOS 26
UI Skin Nothing OS 3.1 n/a

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 4729 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
Full Charge Time 1:05 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
24:09
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
n/a
Web Browsing08:09 hn/a
Video Playback16:21 hn/a
Games05:48 hn/a
Standby Mode120 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 8192x6144 pixels 8064x6048 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x Optical, 5x
Flash LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Yes (Up to 120 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 120 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
Telephoto: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 48 MP
Depth
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.9f/1.6
Focal length24 mmn/a
SensorSony LYT-600n/a
Sensor size1/1.561/1.28
Pixel size1 μm1.22 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix50 MP48 MP
Aperturef/2.6f/2.8
Focal length70 mm120 mm
Sensor size1/1.95n/a
Pixel size0.8 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix8 MP48 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

Front camera

Matrix 50 MP 24 MP
Photo resolution 8192x6144 pixels n/a
Aperture f/2.2 f/1.9
Focal length 24 mm n/a
Sensor size 1/2.76 n/a
Pixel size n/a 1.12 μm
Autofocus n/a Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Optical
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 5.4
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 3.2
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
- NAVIC
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*2n/a
SIM TypeNanoeSIM
SIM ModeDual SIM Standbyn/a
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850/900/1800/1900n/a
3G BandsUMTS 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19n/a
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B18/B19/B20/B26/B28/B38/B40/B41/B42/B48/B66)n/a
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo n/a
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos n/a Yes

Other

Class Mid-range Flagship
Announced March, 2025 yr September, 2025 yr
Release Date March, 2025 yr September, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 459 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 1199
Sensors - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
Charger Included No No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Nothing Phone (3a) Pro the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

Which smartphone would you pick?
1 (100%)
0 (0%)
Total Votes: 1

User comments

Share your opinion or ask questions below