Nothing Phone 3a (12GB RAM + 256GB) vs Apple iPhone Air
Quick Comparison
Nothing Phone 3a (12GB RAM + 256GB) has better RAM than Apple iPhone Air. In terms of display resolution, Apple iPhone Air has better resolution of 2736 x 1260 than Nothing Phone 3a (12GB RAM + 256GB) which has resolution of 2392 x 1080. Both have the same amount of internal memory.
| Name | Nothing Phone 3a (12GB RAM + 256GB) | Apple iPhone Air |
| RAM | 12 GB | 8 GB |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.77 in | 6.5 in |
| Internal Memory | 256 GB | 256 GB |
| Battery | 5000 mAh | 3149 mAh |
| Camera | 50 MP + 50 MP + 8 MP Triple | 48 MP |
| Price | Rs. 28999 | Rs. 99000 |
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Detailed Comparison
Price And Launch
The launch Date of the first phone is March 04, 2025. The Expected cost of Nothing Phone 3a (12GB RAM + 256GB) is Rs. 28999. The launch Date of the second phone is September 09, 2025. The cost of Apple iPhone Air is Rs. 99000.
Display comparison
Nothing Phone 3a (12GB RAM + 256GB) has larger screen size of 6.77 inches in comparison to Apple iPhone Air's 6.5 inch screen. Nothing Phone 3a (12GB RAM + 256GB) has AMOLED Screen type where as Apple iPhone Air has OLED Screen type. Apple's phone has display density of 460 PPI & Nothing's phone has only 387 PPI display density. In terms of screen to body ratio, Apple's phone has better screen to body ratio of ~ 89.9% than Nothing's phone ~ 88%. Both mobiles have same aspect ratio of 20:9.
Memory comparison
Nothing Phone 3a (12GB RAM + 256GB)'s larger 12 GB RAM is better for playing games and all with respect to Apple iPhone Air's lower 8 GB RAM. and both have same Internal Memory of 256 GB.
Camera comparison
Nothing Phone 3a (12GB RAM + 256GB)'s 50 MP + 50 MP + 8 MP Triple Rear Camera outshines Apple iPhone Air's 48 MP Rear Camera in terms of resolution. Nothing Phone 3a (12GB RAM + 256GB) will be better choice if you're looking to click lot of selfies as it has better 32 MP Front Camera in comparison to Apple iPhone Air's 18 MP Front Camera.
Technical comparison
Nothing Phone 3a (12GB RAM + 256GB) has version 15 Android Operating System where as Apple iPhone Air has version 26 iOS Operating System.
Related Comparisons
Full Comparison
| Name | Nothing Phone 3a (12GB RAM + 256GB) | Apple iPhone Air |
| General | ||
| Model | A059 | iPhone 17 AIr |
| Sim Type | Dual Sim, GSM+GSM | Dual Sim |
| Dual Sim | Yes | Yes |
| Sim Size | Nano SIM | eSIM SIM |
| Device Type | Smartphone | Smartphone |
| Release Date | March 04, 2025 | September 09, 2025 |
| In The Box | Nothing Phone (3a), Nothing Cable (c-c) 100 cm, Phone (3a) Screen Protector (pre-applied), SIM Tray Ejector Tool, Safety Card | iPhone with iOS 26, USB-C Charge Cable (1 m), Documentation |
| Design | ||
| Dimensions | 77.5 x 163.52 x 8.35 mm | 74.7 x 156.2 x 5.6 mm |
| Weight | 201 g | 165 g |
| Colors | Black, White, Blue | Space Black, Cloud White, Light Gold, Sky Blue |
| Display | ||
| Type | Color AMOLED Screen (1B Colors) | Color Super Retina XDR Display (1B Colors) |
| Touch | Yes | Yes |
| Size | 6.77 inches, 1080 x 2392 pixels, 120 Hz | 6.5 inches, 1260 x 2736 pixels |
| Aspect Ratio | 20:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | ~ 387 PPI | ~ 460 PPI |
| Screen to Body Ratio | ~ 88% | ~ 89.9% |
| Glass Type | Panda Glass | Ceramic Shield 2 |
| Brightness | 1,000 Nits Max Brightness (Typical); 1,600 Nits Peak Brightness (Hdr); 3,000 Nits Peak Brightness (Outdoor); 1 Nit Minimum Brightness | |
| Features | Contrast Ratio: 1,000,000:1, 1000 Hz Touch Sampling Rate, 2160 Hz Pwm Frequency, 3000 Nits Peak Brightness, 1300 Nits Outdoor Brightness, 800 Nits Typical Brightness | Super Retina XDR Display, 16.63 Cm (6.5″) (Diagonal) All‑screen Oled Display, 2736x1260‑pixel Resolution At 460 Ppi, Dynamic Island, Always-on Display, Promotion Technology With Adaptive Refresh Rates Up To 120hz, Hdr Display, True Tone, Wide Colour (P3), Haptic Touch, 20,00,000:1 Contrast Ratio (Typical), Anti-reflective Coating, Support For Display Of Multiple Languages And Characters Simultaneously |
| Notch | Yes, Punch Hole | Yes, Dynamic Island |
| Memory | ||
| RAM | 12 GB | 8 GB |
| Storage | 256 GB | 256 GB |
| Card Slot | No | |
| Connectivity | ||
| GPRS | Yes | Yes |
| EDGE | Yes | Yes |
| 3G | Yes | Yes |
| 4G | Yes | Yes |
| 5G | Yes | Yes |
| 5G Bands | n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n20, n28, n38, n40, n41, n48, n66, n77, n78 | FDD-5G NR (Bands n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n20, n25, n26, n28, n30, n66, n70, n75), TDD-5G NR (Bands n38, n40, n41, n48, n53, n77, n78, n79) |
| VoLTE | Yes, Dual Stand-By | Yes |
| Wifi | Yes, with wifi-hotspot | Yes, with wifi-hotspot |
| Wifi Version | WiFi 6,802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax, 2.4G/5G, 2x2 MIMO, TWT, 8SS, MU-MIMO, OFDMA Wi-Fi Direct, Advanced Hotspot | Wi‑Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2x2 MIMO |
| Bluetooth | Yes, v5.4, A2DP, BLE | Yes, v6.0, A2DP, LE |
| USB | Yes, USB-C v2.0 | Yes, USB-C v2.0 |
| USB Features | USB Tethering, USB on-the-go, USB Charging, USB Storage | USB on-the-go, USB Charging |
| Extra | ||
| GPS | GPS (L1), GLONASS (G1), BDS (B1I), GALILEO (E1), QZSS (L1) | Precision dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou and NavIC), Digital compass, Wi‑Fi, Cellular, iBeacon micro-location |
| Fingerprint Sensor | Yes, In Display | No |
| Face Unlock | Yes | Yes |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Compass | Face Id, Barometer, High Dynamic Range Gyro, High-g Accelerometer, Proximity Sensor, Dual Ambient Light Sensors |
| 3.5mm Headphone Jack | No | No |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| AI Features | Apple Intelligence | |
| Water Resistance | Yes | Yes, 6 m upto 30 min |
| IP Rating | IP64 | IP68 |
| Dust Resistant | Yes | Yes |
| Extra Features | 3 Years of Android Updates, 6 Years of Security Patches, Benchmark (Antutu v10): 825,564, 2 High-definition Mics Dual Stereo Speakers, 4 nm TSMC process (N4), Qualcomm Hexagon NPU, Qualcomm Spectra Image Signal Processor, Glyph Interface: 26 Individually Addressable Zones, 10 New Ringtones and Notification Sounds, Glyph Timer, Essential Notifications, Volume Indicator, Glyph Composer, Glyph Torch, Glyph Progress (Now Supports Google Calendar), Flip to Glyph, Bedtime Schedule, Music Visualisation, Camera Countdown, Glyph Fill Light | Apple C1X Cellular Modem, Apple N1 Wireless Networking Chip |
| Camera | ||
| Rear Camera | 50 MP ƒ/1.9 (Wide Angle) 24mm (wide), 1/1.57", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 84.5° FOV 50 MP ƒ/2 (Telephoto) 50mm, 1/2.74", 0.64µm, PDAF (25cm - ∞), 2x optical zoom, 49.5° FOV 8 MP ƒ/2.2 (Ultra Wide) 15mm, 120° FOV, 1/4.0", 1.12µm | 48 MP ƒ/1.6 (Wide Angle) |
| Camera Sensor | IMX904 | |
| OIS | Yes | |
| Auto Focus | Yes | Yes, Phase Detection autofocus |
| Features | 2x Optical Zoom 4x in-sensor Zoom 30x Ultra Zoom | Digital Zoom Up to 10x, Customisable Default Lens (Fusion Main), Sapphire Crystal Lens Cover, True Tone Flash, Photonic Engine, Deep Fusion, Smart Hdr 5, Next-generation Portraits With Focus and Depth Control, Portrait Lighting With Six Effects, Night Mode, Panorama (Up to 63mp), Latest-generation Photographic Styles, Wide Colour Capture for Photos and Live Photos, Advanced Red‑eye Correction, Auto Image Stabilisation, Burst Mode, Photo Geotagging, Image Formats Captured: Heif and Jpeg |
| Video Recording | 4K @ 30 fps UHD, 1080p @ 30/60 fps FHD | 4K @ 60 fps UHD, 1080p @ 120 fps FHD |
| Flash | Yes, LED | Yes, Dual LED |
| Front Camera | 32 MP ƒ/2.2 (Wide Angle) 22mm (wide), 1/3.44" Punch Hole, Screen Flash | 18 MP ƒ/1.9 (Wide Angle) IMX914 Retina Flash |
| Front Video Recording | 1080p @ 30 fps FHD | 4K @ 60 fps UHD, 1080p @ 60 fps FHD |
| Technical | ||
| OS | Android v15 | iOS v26 |
| Custom UI | Nothing OS 3.1 | |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen3 | Apple A19 Pro |
| CPU | 2.5 GHz, Octa Core Processor | Hexa Core Processor |
| Fabrication Node | 3nm | |
| GPU | Adreno 710 | Apple GPU (5-core graphics) |
| Java | No | No |
| Browser | Yes, supports HTML5 | Yes |
| Multimedia | ||
| Supports | JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF, WEB, HEIF, HEIC, DNG | |
| Yes | Yes | |
| Music | MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, WAV, FLAC, APE, OGG, MID, M4A, IMY, AC3, EAC3, EAC3-JOC, AC4 | AAC‑LC, HE‑AAC, HE‑AAC v2, Protected AAC, MP3, Linear PCM, Apple Lossless, FLAC, Dolby Digital (AC‑3), Dolby Digital Plus (E‑AC‑3), Dolby Atmos and Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX and AAX+) |
| Video | MKV, MOV, MP4, H.265 (HEVC), AVI, WMV, TS, 3GP, FLV, WEBM | HEVC, H.264, MPEG‑4 Part 2 and Motion JPEG, HDR with Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG |
| FM Radio | No | No |
| Document Reader | Yes | Yes |
| Battery | ||
| Type | Non-Removable Battery | Non-Removable Battery |
| Size | 5000 mAh | 3149 mAh, Li-ion Battery |
| Fast Charging | Yes, 50W Fast Charging | Yes |
| Wireless Charging | Yes, 20W | |
| Reverse Charging | Yes, 7.5W | |
| Reverse Wireless Charging | Yes, 4.5W | |
| Music Playback Time | 100 hours | |