Home Phone comparison Nothing Phone (3a) and Huawei Nova 12 - Which is better?

Nothing Phone (3a) vs Huawei Nova 12

69 out 100
Nothing Phone (3a)
VS
60 out 100
Huawei Nova 12
Nothing Phone (3a)
Huawei Nova 12

Compared 2 smartphones : Nothing Phone (3a) Manufactured in March, 2025, with display 6.77 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, vs Huawei Nova 12, Manufactured in January, 2024 with chipsetHiSilicon Kirin 830. 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 battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 4600mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5.2
Reasons to choose Huawei Nova 12
  • Higher pixel density: 395ppi
  • Lighter design: 191g vs 201g
  • Includes charger

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Nothing Phone (3a) and Huawei Nova 12
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
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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
Huawei Nova 12

Display

Display quality comparison
Type AMOLED OLED
Size 6.77 in 6.7 in
Resolution 1080x2392 pixels 1084x2412 pixels
Aspect ratio n/a 20:9
Pixel density 387 ppi 395 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (60-120 Hz) No
Max brightness 1300 nits 1200 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 300 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 88 % 89 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Nothing Phone (3a)
1272 nits
Huawei Nova 12
n/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 163.52 mm (6.44 in) 161.54 mm (6.36 in)
Width 77.5 mm (3.05 in) 75.36 mm (2.97 in)
Thickness 8.35 mm (0.33 in) 6.98 mm (0.27 in)
Weight 201 g (7.09 oz) 191 g (6.74 oz)
Water resistance IP64 No
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel n/a Plastic
Frame n/a Plastic
Colors - White
- Black
- Blue		 - White
- Black
- Blue
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Nothing Phone (3a)
88 %
Huawei Nova 12
89 %

Performance

Testing Nothing Phone (3a) and Huawei Nova 12 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 HiSilicon Kirin 830
Max Frequency 2500 MHz 2400 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)
1178
Huawei Nova 12
1040
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Nothing Phone (3a)
3214
Huawei Nova 12
2988
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)11781040
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)32142988
Geekbench Compute (GPU)4435n/a
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Nothing Phone (3a)]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Nothing Phone (3a)
708353
Huawei Nova 12
542241
CPU215621171381
GPU197715118160
Memory145649130301
UX149368122399
NanoReview Score708353542241

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 8 GB
- 12 GB		 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 2133 MHz 3200 MHz
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB		- 256 GB
- 512 GB
Storage TypeUFS 2.2UFS 3.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 15 Android 14
UI Skin Nothing OS 3.1 HarmonyOS 4.0

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 4600 mAh
Max Charging Power 50 W 66 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-Po
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No No
Reverse Charging No Yes
Fast Charging Yes (61% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 9 min)
Full Charge Time 1:06 h 0:23 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Nothing Phone (3a)
25:03
Huawei Nova 12
n/a
Web Browsing08:06 hn/a
Video Playback16:25 hn/a
Games05:49 hn/a
Standby Mode131 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 50 MP
Photo resolution 8192x6144 pixels 8192x6144 pixels
Zoom Optical, 2x Digital
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Optical Digital
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (720p) 240 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 112 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP		 Standard: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix50 MP50 MP
Aperturef/1.9f/1.9
Focal length24 mmn/a
SensorSony LYT-600Omnivision OV50E
Sensor size1/1.561/1.55
Pixel size1 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusLaser autofocus
StabilizationOpticalDigital
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 MP8 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length15 mmn/a
SensorSony IMX355n/a
Sensor size1/4.0n/a
Pixel size1.12 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitalDigital

Front camera

Matrix 32 MP 60 MP
Photo resolution n/a 8960x6720 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.4
Focal length 22 mm 17 mm
Sensor CMOS Omnivision OV60A
Sensor size 1/3.44 1/2.8
Pixel size n/a 0.61 μm
Autofocus No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps 2160p (4K) at 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.4 5.2
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 n/a
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Galileo
- QZSS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoNo
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850/900/1800/1900GSM Bands 2/3/5/8 (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
3G BandsUMTS 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19WCDMA Bands 1/2/4/5/6/8/19
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B18/B19/B20/B26/B28/B38/B40/B41/B42/B48/B66)LTE (B/B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B26/B28/B38/B40/B41/B66)
LTE categoryn/a18
5G SupportYesNo

Sound

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

Other

Class Mid-range Mid-range
Announced March, 2025 yr December, 2023 yr
Release Date March, 2025 yr January, 2024 yr
Launch Price ($) 329 490
Sensors - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included No Yes 66 W
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

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