on his Return to Instinct event, Nothing officially introduced the Phone (1) smart phone. At a price of £399, the Nothing Phone 1 offers a lot for the money. While the Nothing Phone (1) stands out in the budget segment for the features and price it offers, it is not the end of the competition as the market is filled with a number of options. Another great value-for-money smartphone will be launched later in July, and yes, we are talking about the Google Pixel 6a.
Google announced the Pixel 6a back at its I/O event earlier this year, and it will finally launch later this month in key global markets, including the US, Australia and Europe. With the Pixel 6a, it seems that Google is once again ready to tackle the popular budget/mid-range segment and go against the likes of Nothing Phone (1), Samsung Galaxy A53and OnePlus North 2T.
Nothing Phone 1 vs Google Pixel 6a will certainly be one of the hottest topics this summer, but here’s why we think you should consider buying Nothing Phone (1) over the Google Pixel 6a.
5 reasons to buy Nothing Phone 1 over Google Pixel 6a
1. Premium building materials
Starting with the build materials, the Nothing Phone (1) offers a better build compared to the Pixel 6a. The phone is surrounded by an aluminum metal frame and comes with Gorilla Glass 5 protection on the front and back. While the Pixel 6a also comes with a metal frame, Google has opted to use a 3D thermoformed composite back, which makes the phone feel less premium. The Pixel 6a also uses the decade-old screensaver – Gorilla Glass 3 — while the phone (1) offers much newer (and better) Gorilla Glass 5 protection.
2. Modern design
Purely from a design point of view, the Nothing Phone 1 looks quite unique. The phone comes with a transparent back that shows off its industrial elements such as screws that hold the panel in place and the coil for wireless charging. And then there’s a set of LED light strips on the back, which no other smartphone offers. Nothing calls this “Glyph Interface”. You can read more about the functionality and what the Glyph Interface offers here†
On the other hand, the Google Pixel 6a looks decent lame† Sure, it shares the same design as the flagship Pixel 6 Pro, with the two-tone finish and a camera bar that runs horizontally across the back of the smartphone, but the design isn’t very unique. If you’re looking for a smartphone that immediately grabs the attention of those around you, the Nothing Phone (1) seems like a better buy.
3. 120Hz Display
The Nothing Phone (1) also offers a superior display compared to the Google Pixel 6a. The Nothing Phone (1) comes with a 6.55-inch OLED display with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels at 402 PPI. In addition, the display also supports a 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate, HDR10+ display and 1200 nits peak brightness. The icing on the cake is the use of a flexible OLED display, which is why Nothing Phone (1) comes with sleek (and uniform) bezels around the display.
While the Pixel 6a comes with a 6.1-inch FHD+ display with a slightly higher pixel density of 429 PPI, the display’s refresh rate is limited to only 60Hz† In this day and age when even social media apps are resource-intensive, a 120Hz display ensures that customers have a smooth experience. If you’re picky about screen, stutter and lag, we recommend choosing the Nothing Phone (1) over the Google Pixel 6a.
4. Faster wired charging, support wireless charging
While both smartphones have a similar battery capacity (4500 mAh vs. 4410 mAh), the Nothing Phone (1) supports faster wired charging. The Nothing Phone (1) comes with: 33W support for fast charging, while the Google Pixel 6a only supports 18W charging. Also, nothing says you can charge the Phone 1 from 0-50% in about half an hour and fully charge the device in about an hour. Another advantage that Nothing Phone (1) offers is the support for: 15W Qi wireless charging (and 5W reverse wireless charging), something that’s missing from the Google Pixel 6a.
5. Higher capacity RAM in basic variant, more storage options
Nothing offers the phone (1) in different variants: 8+128GB, 8+256GB and 12+256GB. In contrast, Google offers the Pixel 6a only in one variant: 6GB RAM and 128GB internal memory. Not only does the Nothing Phone (1) come with higher capacity RAM in basic variants, but the company also offers more storage options than Google, so you can choose according to your needs.
Also, nothing says it optimized the operating system to keep the most used apps in RAM, allowing the phone to launch them in a flash. While it doesn’t necessarily mean anything – it all depends on software optimization – it can play an important role in the longevity of the phone and how it performs over the course of its life.
Nothing is the very first smartphone!
Nothing Phone (1)
Phone 1 is the very first smartphone from Nothing. It comes with a 6.55-inch 120Hz OLED display with slim bezels, Qualcomm’s custom-tuned Snapdragon 778G+ processor, LEDs on the back, dual 50MP camera sensors and more. Check out all the deals on the device using the links below.
Available for pre-order from July 21, 2022
Google Pixel 6a
Google Pixel 6a is the latest budget smartphone from Google. Despite being affordable, the Pixel 6a comes with the best features and specs like a Google Tensor chip, the same camera software as the Pixel 6 series, a new design and more. Pre-orders for the Google Pixel 6a will start on July 21.