Nothing Phone (3a) vs Huawei Nova 15 Max

Compared 2 smartphones : Nothing Phone (3a) Manufactured in March, 2025, with display 6.77 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, vs Huawei Nova 15 Max, Manufactured in May, 2026with chipsetHiSilicon Kirin 8000. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Nothing Phone (3a)
  • Lighter design: 201g vs 232g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5.2
Reasons to choose Huawei Nova 15 Max
  • Larger display: 6.84in
  • Higher pixel density: 444ppi
  • Higher battery capacity: 8500mAh vs 5000mAh
  • Infrared port

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Nothing Phone (3a) and Huawei Nova 15 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
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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

Display

Display quality comparison
Type AMOLED OLED
Size 6.77 in 6.84 in
Resolution 1080x2392 pixels 1272x2756 pixels
Aspect ratio n/a 19.5:9
Pixel density 387 ppi 444 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (60-120 Hz) Yes (60-120 Hz)
Max brightness 1300 nits n/a
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes, HDR10
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 300 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 88 % 90.1 %
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 15 Max
n/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 163.52 mm (6.44 in) 163.3 mm (6.43 in)
Width 77.5 mm (3.05 in) 78 mm (3.07 in)
Thickness 8.35 mm (0.33 in) 7.98 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 201 g (7.09 oz) 232 g (8.18 oz)
Water resistance IP64 IP65
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel n/a Plastic
Frame n/a Plastic
Colors - White
- Black
- Blue
- Black
- Gold
- Blue
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes, In-Button
Screen-to-body ratio
Nothing Phone (3a)
88 %
Huawei Nova 15 Max
90.1 %

Performance

Testing Nothing Phone (3a) and Huawei Nova 15 Max In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 HiSilicon Kirin 8000
Max Frequency 2500 MHz 2400 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Kryo Silver (Cortex-A520))
- 3/2.4 (Kryo Gold (Cortex-A720))
- 1/2.5 (Kryo Prime (Cortex-A720))
- 4/1.84 (A55)
- 3/2.19 (1xA77 L)
- 1/2.4 (1xA77 H)
Process TSMC SMIC
Transistor Size 4 nm 7 nm
Neural Processor Yes Yes
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 15 Max
960
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Nothing Phone (3a)
3214
Huawei Nova 15 Max
2601
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)1178960
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)32142601
Geekbench Compute (GPU)4435n/a
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Nothing Phone (3a)
708353
Huawei Nova 15 Max
808133
CPU215621302738
GPU197715104021
Memory145649191983
UX149368209391
NanoReview Score708353808133

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 8 GB
- 12 GB
8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 2133 MHz 2133 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 2.2n/a
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 15 Android 12
UI Skin Nothing OS 3.1 14.2

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 8500 mAh
Max Charging Power 50 W 40 W
Battery Type Li-Po Silicon Carbon (Si/C)
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No No
Reverse Charging No Yes
Fast Charging Yes (61% in 30 min) Yes
Full Charge Time 1:06 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Nothing Phone (3a)
25:03
Huawei Nova 15 Max
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 30 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (720p) n/a
Wide-angle lens 120 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP
Standard: 50 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix50 MP50 MP
Aperturef/1.9f/1.9
Focal length24 mm23 mm
SensorSony LYT-600n/a
Sensor size1/1.561/1.56 (0.64)
Pixel size1 μmn/a
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
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 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

Front camera

Matrix 32 MP 8 MP
Photo resolution n/a 3264x2448 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.0
Focal length 22 mm n/a
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 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

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 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 No
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Galileo
- QZSS
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No Yes
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoNo
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 No

Other

Class Mid-range Mid-range
Announced March, 2025 yr May, 2026 yr
Release Date March, 2025 yr May, 2026 yr
Launch Price ($) 329 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 499
Sensors - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included No No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

No clear favorite identified yet; updates may follow as new data arrives.

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