We’ve been spoiled with two exciting smartphone launches in the past month, including the long-awaited iPhone 16e and the Nothing Phone 3a.
Although we haven’t reviewed either handset yet, both promise to offer features usually reserved for premium phones but with a more modest price tag.
Whether you’re torn between the two or just curious to see what’s the difference, keep reading our Nothing Phone 3a vs iPhone 16e to learn more about the 2025 phones and determine whether either will earn a space on our best smartphones or best mid-range smartphones list.
Pricing and Availability
Launched at MWC 2025, the Nothing Phone 3a is the cheaper of the two and has a starting RRP of £329.
The iPhone 16e is Apple’s latest iPhone, having launched at the end of February 2025. Available in just two colours, White or Black, it has a starting RRP of a pricier £599/$599.
Nothing Phone 3a has three rear cameras
In terms of quantity, the Nothing Phone 3a trumps the iPhone 16e’s camera as it sports three rear lenses while the latter only has one. However, Apple explains the singular camera of the iPhone 16e is actually a two-in-one 48MP fusion lens, which enables a 12MP 2x telephoto and up to 10x digital zoom.
Otherwise, the Phone 3a is made up of a 50MP main, 50MP telephoto and an 8MP ultrawide. Nothing explains the camera setup is fitted with TrueLens Engine 3 which combines hardware with “advanced computational algorithms, AI processing and multi-frame technology”, delivering “professional-grade, true-to-life photography.”
We’ll have to wait and see how the two competing camera systems compare.
Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 vs A18 Bionic
Aside from the fact the Nothing Phone 3a is an Android-powered smartphone while the iPhone 16e runs on iOS, the main difference between the handsets is their processors. The Nothing Phone 3a doesn’t run on Qualcomm’s latest and most top-end Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, but instead opts for the 2024 Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset.
Although we haven’t reviewed the Phone 3a yet, we have reviewed the Nothing Phone 3a Pro which runs on the same chipset. While in general use, we found the phone to be smooth and able to run games like Genshin Impact fairly well (although not flawlessly), it didn’t score particularly highly in our benchmarking tests. In fact, we found it actually fell short of its cheaper predecessor, Nothing Phone 2a.
Similarly, although we haven’t reviewed the iPhone 16e yet, we have spent time with the iPhone 16 which runs on the same A18 Bionic chip. We were really impressed with the A18 chip and found it doesn’t rank too far behind the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s A18 Pro chip either. With this in mind, we can perhaps expect the iPhone 16e to be more powerful than the Nothing Phone 3a, however we can’t confirm this yet.
Nothing Phone 3a has a larger display
At 6.77-inches, the Nothing Phone 3a is not only considerably larger than the 6.1-inch iPhone 16e but it’s also 0.07 inches bigger than the iPhone 16 Plus. The display itself is AMOLED, with a 120Hz refresh rate and 3000 nits peak brightness too.
On the other hand, the iPhone 16e has a Super Retina XDR display with a much lower peak brightness of 1200 nits. Plus, the iPhone 16 doesn’t have Apple’s ProMotion technology which means its refresh rate caps out at a lowly 60Hz.
iPhone 16e supports Apple Intelligence
The Apple Intelligence toolkit can be found across the entire iPhone 16 series and, impressively, this includes the cheaper iPhone 16e. Apple Intelligence includes numerous features including Genmoji, Image Playground and an updated Siri which understands natural language prompts.
While it may not be as extensive, the Nothing Phone 3a offers early access to Nothing’s own AI hub. Coined Essential Space, the toolkit is similar to Google’s Pixel Screenshots, and acts as a storage area for your notes and ideas.
Nothing’s Essential Space can be accessed via the brand new Essential Key button which is found on the right hand side of both the Phone 3a and Phone 3a Pro. Much like the Action Button on the iPhone 16e, the Key works as a useful shortcut to certain tasks.
iPhone 16e has an IP68 rating
Like most of the best smartphones, the iPhone 16e has an IP68 rating which means the phone is dust-tight and protected against the effects of continuous immersion in water.
The Nothing Phone 3a has a surprisingly low rating in comparison with IP64. This rating, which is usually found in earbuds and speakers, means although the phone is dust-tight, it can only withstand splashes of water in all directions.
Early Verdict
While the Nothing Phone 3a has three rear lenses and boasts a larger screen with a better refresh rate, the iPhone 16e runs on a powerful processor and has a higher IP rating too.
We’ll have to wait until we test both handsets to make a conclusive decision about which one comes out on top as both handsets undoubtedly sport pros and cons.
