Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and Vivo V50 5G are two smartphones battling for the crown of the best mid-ranger in India and while the two phones have drastically different specifications, the only similarity between the two is their pricing. Here’s a comparison between the two devices to help you pick one.
Display
The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro sports a 6.77-inch AMOLED FHD+ screen with a resolution of 1080 x 2392 pixels, HDR10+, 2160Hz PWM dimming, up to 3000 nits peak brightness, 240Hz touch sampling rate, and a 120Hz refresh rate.
Vivo V50 5G features a 6.78-inch quad-curved AMOLED Display with a full-HD+ 2392 x 1080 Pixels resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, punch-hole cutout, 20:9 aspect ratio, HDR 10+, 4500 nits local peak brightness and 1300 nits max global brightness, 387 ppi, along with 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut.
Both the devices have similarly sized displays but the V50 5G does a better job than Nothing’s Phone (3a) Pro in terms of brightness so we’ll give it the win in this department. Further, you’ll have to make a decision between a flat display on the Phone (3a) Pro and a quad-curved one on the Vivo V50 5G.
Software & Performance
Under the hood, the Nothing device is powered by the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 mobile platform, paired with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage. It runs on Nothing OS 3.1 based on Android 15 and will get OS updates till Android 18 along with 6 years of security patches.
The V50 5G is powered by the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chip, and gets up to 12GB LPDDR4x RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 2.2 storage. The device runs on Android 15-based FunTouch OS 15. Vivo promises to offer 3 major Android upgrades to the device and up to 4 years of security updates.
Between the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and Vivo V50 5G, the latter has a slightly better chip in terms of numbers, even if real world usage may not be drastically different. Nothing’s devices takes the win when we talk of software, not only because it’ll offer updates for longer, but also because Nothing OS offers a far superior experience than Vivo’s FunTouch OS on the basis of our experience with previous devices from the two brands. The V50 5G does offer a variant with 512GB storage if you are into that but that model is far more expensive than Nothing Phone (3a) Pro’s top-end 12GB + 256GB version.
Read More: Vivo V50 5G vs Realme 14 Pro+ 5G: Which One Should You Go For?
Battery and Cameras
On the front, the Nothing device gets a 50-megapixel f/2.2 Samsung selfie camera. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro has packs a triple rear camera setup, consisting of a 50-megapixel f/1.88 OIS-assisted Samsung primary camera, a 50-megapixel f/2.5 Sony periscope telephoto sensor with 3x Optical Zoom and OIS, and an 8-megapixel f/2.2 Sony ultra-wide angle camera. The device packs a 5000mAh battery with 50W Fast charging support.
The Vivo smartphone has a 50-megapixel f/2.0 selfie camera with autofocus. The rear camera setup consists of an OIS-assisted 50-megapixel f/1.88 primary camera and a 50-megapixel f/2.0 ultra-wide angle lens, both of which are backed by Zeiss optics. It packs a 6000mAh battery with 90W fast charging.
In terms of optics, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro is clearly the winner due to the extra periscope lens but if you want better ultra-wide angle shots, Vivo’s V50 5G does it better. For battery, Vivo’s device is the obvious choice due to the larger battery and faster charging speed.
Verdict
The Phone (3a) Pro costs Rs 29,999 for the 8GB + 128GB model, Rs 31,999 for the 8GB + 256GB trim, and Rs 33,999 for the 12GB + 256GB version. The Vivo V50 5G is available in an 8GB + 128GB trim that costs Rs 34,999, an 8GB + 256GB model priced at Rs 36,999, and the top-end 12GB + 512GB version that costs Rs 40,999.
The Vivo V50 5G, quite evidently, wins the on-paper specs battle with the superior display, a better chip, a larger battery with faster charging speeds, along with higher storage capacity as well. However, it’s the software experience, the price advantage, and some extra key features it has which the V50 5G lacks, such as NFC, that keeps the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro still in the competition.
It offers a smoother and slightly more stable software interface along with a better rear camera setup and also Nothing-exclusive glyh lights (if you are into that). Further, the Rs 5,000 price gap is a notable one for offering nearly the same value as the Vivo V50 5G which could further make it a better choice for a lot of users.
