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

Nothing Phone (3a) vs Apple iPhone XR

69 out 100
Nothing Phone (3a)
VS
51 out 100
Apple iPhone XR
Nothing Phone (3a)
Apple iPhone XR

Compared 2 smartphones : Nothing Phone (3a) Manufactured in March, 2025, with display 6.77 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, vs Apple iPhone XR, Manufactured in October, 2018with chipsetApple A12 Bionic. 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)
  • Larger display: 6.77in
  • Higher pixel density: 387ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 2942mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone XR
  • Lighter design: 194g vs 201g
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 12/256 GB		 - 3/64 GB
- 3/128 GB
- 3/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Nothing Phone (3a) and Apple iPhone XR
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)
vs
Apple iPhone XR

Display

Display quality comparison
Type AMOLED IPS LCD
Size 6.77 in 6.1 in
Resolution 1080x2392 pixels 828x1792 pixels
Aspect ratio n/a 19.5:9
Pixel density 387 ppi 326 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (60-120 Hz) No
Max brightness 1300 nits 625 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 88 % 79.9 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming		 n/a
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Nothing Phone (3a)
1272 nits
Apple iPhone XR
635 nits
sRGB gamutn/a100 %
Response timen/a32.8 ms
Contrastn/a1920:1
Sources: NotebookCheck [Apple iPhone XR]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 163.52 mm (6.44 in) 150.9 mm (5.94 in)
Width 77.5 mm (3.05 in) 75.7 mm (2.98 in)
Thickness 8.35 mm (0.33 in) 8.3 mm (0.33 in)
Weight 201 g (7.09 oz) 194 g (6.84 oz)
Water resistance IP64 IP67
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel n/a Glass
Frame n/a Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Blue		 - White
- Black
- Blue
- Red
- Orange
- Yellow
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
Nothing Phone (3a)
88 %
Apple iPhone XR
79.9 %

Performance

Testing Nothing Phone (3a) and Apple iPhone XR In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 Apple A12 Bionic
Max Frequency 2500 MHz 2490 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))		 - 4/1.6 (Tempest)
- 2/2.49 (Vortex)
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 4 nm 7 nm
Neural Processor Yes Neural Engine
Graphics Adreno 810 Apple A12 GPU
GPU Cores 256 256
GPU Frequency 1050 MHz 1100 MHz
FLOPS 537.6 GFLOPS 576 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Nothing Phone (3a)
1178
Apple iPhone XR
1167
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Nothing Phone (3a)
3214
Apple iPhone XR
3020
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)11781167
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)32143020
Geekbench Compute (GPU)4435n/a
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Nothing Phone (3a)]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Nothing Phone (3a)
708353
Apple iPhone XR
656253
CPU215621203013
GPU197715155478
Memory145649134836
UX149368162926
NanoReview Score708353656253
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Nothing Phone (3a)
n/a
Apple iPhone XR
5205
Max Surface Temp.n/a42.6 °C
Stabilityn/a69 %
Graphics Testn/a31 fps
Graphics Scoren/a5205
Sources: 3DMark [Apple iPhone XR]

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 8 GB
- 12 GB		 3 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 2133 MHz 2133 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB		- 64 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 2.2NVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 15 iOS 12 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2)
OS Size n/a 11.1 GB
UI Skin Nothing OS 3.1 n/a

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 2942 mAh
Max Charging Power 50 W 15 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No Yes Qi (10 W)
Reverse Charging No No
Fast Charging Yes (61% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:06 h 1:43 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Nothing Phone (3a)
25:03
Apple iPhone XR
20:45
Web Browsing08:06 h08:01 h
Video Playback16:25 h11:59 h
Games05:49 h04:34 h
Standby Mode131 h106 h

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 8192x6144 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Zoom Optical, 2x Digital
Flash LED Quad 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 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP		 Standard: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.9f/1.8
Focal length24 mm26 mm
SensorSony LYT-600Apple iSight X
Sensor size1/1.561/2.55
Pixel size1 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix50 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.6n/a
Focal length50 mmn/a
Sensor size1/2.74n/a
Pixel size0.64 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix8 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.2n/a
Focal length15 mmn/a
SensorSony IMX355n/a
Sensor size1/4.0n/a
Pixel size1.12 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitaln/a
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Nothing Phone (3a)
n/a
Apple iPhone XR
103
Video quality
Nothing Phone (3a)
n/a
Apple iPhone XR
96
Overall camera score
Nothing Phone (3a)
n/a
Apple iPhone XR
101

Front camera

Matrix 32 MP 7 MP
Photo resolution n/a 3088x2316 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 22 mm 32 mm
Sensor CMOS CMOS
Sensor size 1/3.44 n/a
Autofocus No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
Bluetooth version 5.4 5
Bluetooth features LE SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C No
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- OTG
DisplayPort No n/a
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Galileo
- QZSS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*21
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM Standbyn/a
eSIM Support *NoYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850/900/1800/1900GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900
3G BandsUMTS 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19HSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B18/B19/B20/B26/B28/B38/B40/B41/B42/B48/B66)LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2600)
LTE categoryn/a12
5G SupportYesNo

Sound

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

Other

Class Mid-range Flagship
Announced March, 2025 yr September, 2018 yr
Release Date March, 2025 yr October, 2018 yr
Launch Price ($) 329 750
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 n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

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

Survey

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1 (100%)
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Total Votes: 1

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