Nothing Phone (3a) Pro VS TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G

In terms of design fundamentals, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G share identical footing: neither offers a rugged build nor a foldable form factor. This means both are standard candy-bar smartphones without military-grade durability certifications or the premium hinge mechanisms found in folding devices.

The practical implication is that both phones target everyday consumer use without the added drop, dust, or water resistance you would expect from a rugged device. Users who work in demanding environments or need extra durability protection will need to rely on third-party cases for both options equally.

Based strictly on the provided design specs, these two devices are evenly matched — there is no differentiator between them in this category. Neither holds a design advantage over the other on these specific dimensions.

The display features of the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G are quite different in terms of technology and specifications. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro uses an OLED/AMOLED display, while the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G has an LCD, IPS display. This means the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro may offer better contrast and deeper blacks, while the TCL model could have more consistent color reproduction at wide viewing angles.

In terms of size, both phones have nearly identical displays, with the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro having a 6.77″ screen and the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G a 6.78″ screen, making the difference in size negligible. However, the pixel density on the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G is slightly higher at 396 ppi compared to the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro's 387 ppi. Both devices have Full HD+ resolutions, with the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro at 1080 x 2392 px and the TCL model at 1080 x 2460 px, making their resolutions also fairly similar.

Regarding refresh rate, both phones support 120Hz, providing smoother scrolling and responsiveness. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro has a higher touch sampling rate of 1000Hz compared to the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G's 240Hz, which may contribute to faster response times for the Nothing device. As for additional features, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro supports HDR10 and HDR10+, while the TCL model lacks HDR support. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro also features Always-On Display, which the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G does not have. Neither device has branded damage-resistant glass, Dolby Vision support, or a secondary screen, and both have touchscreens.

The performance specifications of the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G show clear differences in terms of storage, RAM, and processing power. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro comes with 256GB of internal storage and 12GB of RAM, while the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G has 128GB of internal storage and 6GB of RAM. This means the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro offers more storage and twice the RAM of the TCL model, which could potentially improve performance in tasks requiring more memory and storage space.

When it comes to the chipset, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, while the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G uses the MediaTek Dimensity 6100 Plus. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro’s Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 has a higher CPU speed, with 1 x 2.5 GHz, 3 x 2.4 GHz, and 4 x 1.8 GHz cores, compared to the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G’s 2 x 2.2 GHz and 6 x 2.0 GHz cores. Additionally, the GPU clock speed is slightly higher on the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro, at 1050 MHz compared to the TCL's 950 MHz, which may indicate better graphics performance on the Nothing device.

Both phones support 64-bit processing, integrated LTE, and DirectX 12, and both use big.LITTLE technology and have 8 CPU threads. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro supports up to 16GB of RAM, while the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G can handle a maximum of 12GB. Additionally, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro has faster RAM speed at 3200 MHz, compared to the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G's 2133 MHz. Both phones use HMP (Heterogeneous Multi-Processing) and multithreading, with the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro utilizing DDR5 memory and the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G using DDR4 memory.

The camera setups on the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G differ in both quantity and quality. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro features a triple-lens main camera with 50MP, 50MP, and 8MP sensors, while the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G uses a triple-lens setup with 50MP, 5MP, and 2MP sensors. The higher-resolution second lens on the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro could provide more detail in certain shots, while the TCL model has a dedicated macro camera (5MP) and depth sensor (2MP). Both devices have phase-detection autofocus for photos and continuous autofocus for video recording.

In terms of video recording, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro supports 4K video at 30 fps with its main camera, whereas the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G is limited to 1080p at 30 fps. Additionally, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro has optical zoom at 3x, which the TCL device lacks, as its optical zoom is 0x. Both phones have manual exposure, manual ISO, and support slow-motion video recording, but the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro also offers manual focus and shoots in raw format, features not found on the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G.

For the front cameras, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro has a 50MP front-facing camera, while the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G has a 32MP front camera. Both phones have a single front camera and do not include a front-facing LED flash. Neither device supports HDR10 or Dolby Vision recording, and neither can shoot 360° photos or videos. Both have a timelapse function, can create in-camera panoramas, and feature touch autofocus.

Both the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G run on Android 15, with nearly identical operating system features. Both devices offer clipboard warnings, location privacy options, camera/microphone privacy options, and theme customization. They also support blocking app tracking, on-device machine learning, notification permissions, and media pickers. Users of both phones can play games while they download, enjoy dark mode, and benefit from an extra dim mode.

In terms of additional features, both phones allow app offloading, support customizable notifications, and offer Live Text and full-page screenshots. They also support split-screen multitasking, PiP (Picture-in-Picture) mode, and widgets. Both devices have a child lock, voice commands, offline voice recognition, and the ability to track the current position of the device. Both are multi-user systems and are free and open source. However, neither phone gets direct OS updates, and neither supports Quick Start functionality.

The only notable difference is that the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G does not have a value for blocking cross-site tracking, which the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro lacks as well. Furthermore, both phones share similar privacy and customization features, with no significant differentiation in how they manage privacy or user experience options.

The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G are equipped with very similar battery capacities. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro has a 5000 mAh battery, while the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G features a slightly larger 5010 mAh battery, making the difference in capacity nearly negligible. Both devices come with rechargeable batteries and have battery level indicators, though neither has a removable battery.

When it comes to charging, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro supports fast charging at 50W, while the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G supports fast charging at a slower 18W. Neither device supports wireless charging. Additionally, the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G comes with a charger in the box, whereas the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro does not.

Overall, the two phones share similar battery-related features, but the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro stands out with its faster charging speed, while the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G offers the added convenience of a charger in the box.

The audio features of the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G show some differences in terms of connectivity and microphone count. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro lacks a 3.5 mm audio jack, while the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G includes one. Both phones feature stereo speakers, providing an enhanced audio experience with two speakers for a more immersive sound.

Neither device supports high-definition Bluetooth audio codecs like aptX, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, or aptX Lossless, nor do they support LDAC. However, the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G includes a radio, a feature absent in the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro.

When it comes to microphones, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro has three, while the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G has two. This difference may impact audio quality for things like recording or voice calls, with the additional microphone on the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro potentially improving noise cancellation or sound capture.

Both the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G support 5G connectivity, ensuring fast data speeds. However, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro supports a wider range of Wi-Fi versions, including Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n), Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), and Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), while the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G supports only Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) and Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac). In terms of Bluetooth, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro uses Bluetooth 5.4, whereas the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G uses Bluetooth 5.3. Both devices have USB Type-C and NFC capabilities, as well as similar download speeds, with the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro offering 2900 Mbits/s and the TCL model slightly ahead at 3300 Mbits/s.

The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro features a dual SIM slot, while the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G offers one SIM and one eSIM slot. Both phones have fingerprint scanners, NFC, and GPS, and support Galileo for positioning. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro has a barometer, which is absent from the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G. Additionally, the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G includes a barometer but lacks a secondary feature found on the Nothing device.

Both phones offer similar features like accelerometers, gyroscopes, and motion sensors, but neither has a built-in projector, 3D facial recognition, or an iris scanner. Neither device supports optical tracking, but both have compass functionality. The TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G supports external memory, which the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro does not.

Both the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G feature a video light, making them capable of providing extra lighting during video recording. Neither device has sapphire glass displays, curved displays, or e-paper displays, indicating that both smartphones have standard flat LCD or OLED displays.

The specifications for this group are identical for both phones in all aspects, with no distinguishing features between the two models in terms of the miscellaneous functionalities provided.

Overall, the two devices are quite similar in this category, offering similar capabilities without any major differences in terms of their unique display or lighting features.