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

Nothing Phone (3a) vs Realme 16 Pro Plus

69 out 100
Nothing Phone (3a)
VS
80 out 100
Realme 16 Pro Plus
Nothing Phone (3a)
Realme 16 Pro Plus

Compared 2 smartphones : Nothing Phone (3a) Manufactured in March, 2025, with display 6.77 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, vs Realme 16 Pro Plus, Manufactured in January, 2026 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4. 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)
    Reasons to choose Realme 16 Pro Plus
    • Larger display: 6.8in
    • Higher pixel density: 453ppi
    • Higher refresh rate: 144Hz
    • Lighter design: 198g vs 201g
    • Higher battery capacity: 7000mAh vs 5000mAh
    • Infrared port

    Versions

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

    Review

    Key Specs Nothing Phone (3a) and Realme 16 Pro Plus
    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
    Realme 16 Pro Plus

    Display

    Display quality comparison
    Type AMOLED OLED
    Size 6.77 in 6.8 in
    Resolution 1080x2392 pixels 1280x2800 pixels
    Aspect ratio n/a 19.5:9
    Pixel density 387 ppi 453 ppi
    Refresh rate 120 Hz 144 Hz
    Adaptive refresh rate Yes (60-120 Hz) Yes
    Max brightness 1300 nits 1800 nits
    HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes, HDR10+
    Touch Sampling Rate n/a 240 Hz
    Screen-to-body ratio 88 % 91.6 %
    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
    Realme 16 Pro Plus
    n/a

    Design & Build

    Design and ergonomics comparison
    Height 163.52 mm (6.44 in) 162.5 mm (6.4 in)
    Width 77.5 mm (3.05 in) 76.3 mm (3 in)
    Thickness 8.35 mm (0.33 in) 8.1 mm (0.32 in)
    Weight 201 g (7.09 oz) 198 g (6.98 oz)
    Water resistance IP64 IP69
    Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
    Back panel n/a Eco Leather
    Frame n/a Metal
    Colors - White
    - Black
    - Blue    		 - Gold
    - Gray
    - Pink
    Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes, In-Display
    Screen-to-body ratio
    Nothing Phone (3a)
    88 %
    Realme 16 Pro Plus
    91.6 %

    Performance

    Testing Nothing Phone (3a) and Realme 16 Pro Plus In benchmarks
    Processor
    Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4
    Max Frequency 2500 MHz 2800 MHz
    CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (1 + 4 + 3)
    Architecture - 4/1.8 (Kryo Silver (Cortex-A520))
    - 3/2.4 (Kryo Gold (Cortex-A720))
    - 1/2.5 (Kryo Prime (Cortex-A720))    		 - 3/1.84 (Kryo Silver (Cortex-520))
    - 4/2.4 (Kryo Gold (Cortex-720))
    - 1/2.8 (Kryo Prime (Cortex-720))
    Process TSMC TSMC
    Transistor Size 4 nm 4 nm
    Neural Processor Yes Yes
    Graphics Adreno 810 Adreno 722
    GPU Cores 256 512
    GPU Frequency 1050 MHz 1150 MHz
    FLOPS 537.6 GFLOPS 1177.6 GFLOPS
    GeekBench v6
    Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
    Nothing Phone (3a)
    1178
    Realme 16 Pro Plus
    1374
    Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
    Nothing Phone (3a)
    3214
    Realme 16 Pro Plus
    4363
    Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)11781374
    Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)32144363
    Geekbench Compute (GPU)44357820
    Sources: Geekbench v6 [Nothing Phone (3a)], [Realme 16 Pro Plus]
    AnTuTu 10
    AnTuTu 10
    Nothing Phone (3a)
    708353
    Realme 16 Pro Plus
    1436204
    CPU215621517565
    GPU197715323371
    Memory145649223419
    UX149368371849
    NanoReview Score7083531436204

    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    		128 GB
    Storage TypeUFS 2.2UFS 3.1
    Memory CardNoNo

    Software

    OS Android 15 Android 16
    UI Skin Nothing OS 3.1 Realme UI 7.0

    Battery

    Volume 5000 mAh 7000 mAh
    Max Charging Power 50 W 80 W
    Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
    Removable No No
    Wireless Charging No No
    Reverse Charging No No
    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
    Realme 16 Pro Plus
    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 200 MP
    Photo resolution 8192x6144 pixels n/a
    Zoom Optical, 2x Optical, 3.5x
    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) n/a
    Wide-angle lens 120 ° 116 °
    Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
    Telephoto: 50 MP
    Ultra-wide: 8 MP    		 Standard: 200 MP
    Telephoto: 2.8 MP
    Ultra-wide: 8 MP
    Features - Bokeh effect
    - Pro mode    		 - Bokeh effect
    - Pro mode
    Main lens
    Matrix50 MP200 MP
    Aperturef/1.9f/1.9
    Focal length24 mm23 mm
    SensorSony LYT-600n/a
    Sensor size1/1.561/1.56 (0.64)
    Pixel size1 μm0.5 μm
    AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
    StabilizationOpticalOptical
    Telephoto
    Matrix50 MP28 MP
    Aperturef/2.6f/2.8
    Focal length50 mmn/a
    Sensorn/a1/2.76
    Sensor size1/2.74n/a
    Pixel size0.64 μm0.64 μm
    StabilizationOpticalOptical
    Ultra-wide lens
    Matrix8 MP8 MP
    Aperturef/2.2n/a
    Focal length15 mmn/a
    SensorSony IMX355n/a
    Sensor size1/4.01/4 (0.25)
    Pixel size1.12 μm1.12 μm
    StabilizationDigitalDigital

    Front camera

    Matrix 32 MP 50 MP
    Photo resolution n/a 8192x6144 pixels
    Aperture f/2.2 f/2.4
    Focal length 22 mm 23 mm
    Sensor CMOS CMOS
    Sensor size 1/3.44 1/2.88 (0.35)
    Pixel size n/a 0.61 μm
    Autofocus No n/a
    Stabilization Digital Digital
    Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps 2160p (4K) 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 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    		 - 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 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
    - QZSS
    NFC* Yes No
    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

    Other

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

    Results

    After analyzing the data, we consider Realme 16 Pro Plus the clear winner in this comparison.

    Survey

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

    User comments

    Share your opinion or ask questions below