Home Phone comparison Nothing Phone (3a) and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition - Which is better?

Nothing Phone (3a) vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition

69 out 100
Nothing Phone (3a)
VS
82 out 100
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition
Nothing Phone (3a)
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition

Compared 2 smartphones : Nothing Phone (3a) Manufactured in March, 2025, with display 6.77 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition, Manufactured in October, 2024 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. 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)
  • Higher pixel density: 387ppi
  • Lighter design: 201g vs 236g
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 4400mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5.3
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition
  • Larger display: 8in
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 12/256 GB		 16/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Nothing Phone (3a) and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition
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
Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition

Display

Display quality comparison
Type AMOLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.77 in 8 in
Resolution 1080x2392 pixels 1968x2184 pixels
Pixel density 387 ppi 367 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 HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 88 % 91.2 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Nothing Phone (3a)
1272 nits
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition
n/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 163.52 mm (6.44 in) 157.9 mm (6.22 in)
Width 77.5 mm (3.05 in) 142.6 mm (5.61 in)
Thickness 8.35 mm (0.33 in) 5.6 mm (0.22 in)
Weight 201 g (7.09 oz) 236 g (8.32 oz)
Water resistance IP64 IP48
Cooling system Vapor chamber Vapor chamber
Back panel n/a Glass
Frame n/a Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Blue		 Black
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Button
Screen-to-body ratio
Nothing Phone (3a)
88 %
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition
91.2 %

Performance

Testing Nothing Phone (3a) and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Max Frequency 2500 MHz 3390 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (1 + 3 + 2 + 2)
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Kryo Silver (Cortex-A520))
- 3/2.4 (Kryo Gold (Cortex-A720))
- 1/2.5 (Kryo Prime (Cortex-A720))		 - 2/2.27 (Cortex-A520)
- 2/2.96 (Cortex-A720)
- 3/3.15 (Cortex-A720)
- 1/3.3 (Cortex-X4)
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 4 nm 4 nm
Neural Processor Yes Hexagon
Graphics Adreno 810 Adreno 750
GPU Cores 256 1536
GPU Frequency 1050 MHz 1000 MHz
FLOPS 537.6 GFLOPS 2774 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Nothing Phone (3a)
1178
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition
2279
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Nothing Phone (3a)
3214
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition
6910
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)11782279
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)32146910
Geekbench Compute (GPU)4435n/a
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Nothing Phone (3a)]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Nothing Phone (3a)
708353
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition
1885765
CPU215621440781
GPU197715795002
Memory145649344091
UX149368305891
NanoReview Score7083531885765

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 8 GB
- 12 GB		 16 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 2133 MHz 4200 MHz
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB		512 GB
Storage TypeUFS 2.2UFS 4.0
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 15 Android 14
UI Skin Nothing OS 3.1 One UI 6.1.1

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 4400 mAh
Max Charging Power 50 W 25 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-Po
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (61% in 30 min) Yes (38% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:06 h 1:40 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Nothing Phone (3a)
25:03
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition
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, 3x
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No Yes (Up to 30 fps)
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) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 123 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP		 Standard: 200 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP200 MP
Aperturef/1.9f/1.8
Focal length24 mmn/a
SensorSony LYT-600n/a
Sensor size1/1.56n/a
Pixel size1 μmn/a
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix50 MP10 MP
Aperturef/2.6f/2.4
Focal length50 mm66 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung ISOCELL 3K1
Sensor size1/2.741/3.94
Pixel size0.64 μm1 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix8 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length15 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX355n/a
Sensor size1/4.0n/a
Pixel size1.12 μm1.12 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital

Front camera

Matrix 32 MP 10 MP
Photo resolution n/a 3648x2736 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 22 mm 24 mm
Sensor CMOS Sony IMX374
Sensor size 1/3.44 1/3
Pixel size n/a 1.22 μm
Autofocus No No
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 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 5.3
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
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850/900/1800/1900GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G BandsUMTS 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19UMTS B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8(900)
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B18/B19/B20/B26/B28/B38/B40/B41/B42/B48/B66)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66)
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

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

Other

Class Mid-range Flagship
Announced March, 2025 yr October, 2024 yr
Release Date March, 2025 yr October, 2024 yr
Launch Price ($) 329 1999
Sensors - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity 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

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

Which smartphone would you pick?
8 (47.06%)
9 (52.94%)
Total Votes: 17

User comments

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