Nothing Phone (3a) Pro VS TCL NxtPaper 60 Ultra

The most significant design differentiator between these two phones lies in their water protection. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro carries an IP64 rating, which means it can handle splashes and dust but is not rated for full submersion. The TCL NxtPaper 60 Ultra, by contrast, holds an IP68 rating — meaning it can withstand being submerged in water at depth for a defined period. In practical terms, the TCL can survive a drop in the sink or pool; the Nothing Phone cannot. This is a clear and meaningful real-world advantage for the TCL.

On physical dimensions, the two phones tell a different story. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro is notably lighter at 211 g versus the TCL's 227 g, and more compact across height and width (163.5 × 77.5 mm vs 174.5 × 81.2 mm). That 16 g weight difference and the tighter footprint make the Nothing Phone noticeably easier to handle one-handed over long periods. The TCL partially compensates by being slimmer at 7.6 mm thick compared to the Nothing's 8.4 mm, giving it a sleeker profile in the hand despite its larger frame.

Overall, neither phone has a rugged build or foldable form factor. The TCL NxtPaper 60 Ultra holds a clear edge in water protection — IP68 is a meaningfully superior standard for everyday durability — while the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro wins on portability with its lighter weight and more compact size. Which advantage matters more depends on the user: those prioritizing durability and peace of mind near water should lean TCL; those valuing one-handed comfort and pocketability will prefer the Nothing.

The panel technology gap here is fundamental. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro uses an OLED/AMOLED display, which delivers true blacks, superior contrast, and more vibrant colors by lighting pixels individually. The TCL NxtPaper 60 Ultra relies on an LCD IPS panel — a technology that requires a backlight and cannot match OLED for contrast depth or power efficiency when displaying dark content. For media consumption, gaming, or anything with rich visuals, the Nothing's screen will look more immersive and punchy in direct comparison.

Where the TCL pushes back is in screen real estate and durability. Its 7.2″ display is meaningfully larger than the Nothing's 6.77″, making it better suited for reading, browsing, or split-screen multitasking. It also features branded damage-resistant glass — a notable omission on the Nothing Phone — offering more confidence against everyday scratches and drops. The Nothing Phone counters with HDR10+ support and an Always-On Display, two features absent on the TCL, enabling richer tone-mapped content and glanceable notifications without fully waking the screen.

Both screens share a 120Hz refresh rate and near-identical brightness around 800 nits, so neither has an edge in smoothness or outdoor legibility. Overall, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro holds a clear display quality advantage thanks to its OLED panel, HDR10+ support, and Always-On Display. The TCL NxtPaper 60 Ultra is the better pick only if screen size and scratch resistance are the user's top priorities.

At the heart of this comparison is a notable transparency gap: the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro is powered by a named, identifiable Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, while the TCL NxtPaper 60 Ultra's chipset field is unlisted. This matters because a named SoC allows users and reviewers to benchmark expectations and compare against known devices — the absence of that information on the TCL side makes it harder to assess real-world performance potential from specs alone.

Where the TCL does pull ahead on paper is in two areas: storage and RAM speed. It ships with 512GB of internal storage versus the Nothing's 256GB — a doubling that is genuinely useful for users who store large media libraries or avoid cloud services. Its RAM also runs at 6400 MHz, twice the Nothing's 3200 MHz, which in theory allows faster data transfers between memory and processor. That said, both phones share the same 25.6 GB/s maximum memory bandwidth figure, 12GB of RAM, a 4 nm process node, and DDR5 memory — so the practical day-to-day gap may be smaller than the clock speed difference suggests.

GPU clock speeds are effectively tied at around 1050 MHz, though the Nothing's Adreno 710 is a known quantity in its class while the TCL's Mali G615 MC2 is less established in this segment. On balance, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro holds the edge for buyers who value a transparent, well-documented platform, while the TCL NxtPaper 60 Ultra offers a practical storage advantage that will appeal to heavy local storage users.

These two phones are remarkably well-matched on paper across their rear camera systems. Both sport an identical 50 & 50 & 8 MP triple-lens configuration with 3x optical zoom, OIS, 4K/30fps video, and the same autofocus and manual control feature set. The one subtle rear-camera difference is in aperture: the TCL's primary lens opens to f/1.8 versus the Nothing's f/1.9, which means marginally more light reaches the sensor in low-light conditions — a small but real edge for night shots. Conversely, the Nothing's telephoto aperture is f/2.0 compared to the TCL's f/2.4, meaning the Nothing lets in more light at zoom distances, which is where it counts most for detail retention in dim settings.

The clearest differentiator in this category is the front camera. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro packs a 50MP selfie shooter at f/2.2, while the TCL NxtPaper 60 Ultra offers a 32MP front camera with a wider f/2.0 aperture. The Nothing's higher resolution allows for more detail and greater flexibility to crop selfies, while the TCL's slightly wider aperture gives it a low-light advantage despite the lower pixel count. Which trade-off matters more depends on the user's selfie habits.

Given how closely aligned these systems are overall, there is no sweeping winner here — this is a genuine near-tie. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro earns a marginal edge for selfie resolution and telephoto light intake, while the TCL NxtPaper 60 Ultra nudges ahead on primary lens aperture. Buyers who prioritize selfie quality will lean toward the Nothing; those focused purely on main-camera low-light performance may prefer the TCL.

Rarely does a spec group produce such a clean result: every single data point in this category is identical between the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and the TCL NxtPaper 60 Ultra. Both run Android 15, both lack direct OS updates, and both share the exact same feature set across privacy controls, productivity tools, and system capabilities.

From a practical standpoint, users of either phone get a solid and modern Android experience — including on-device machine learning, dynamic theming, split-screen multitasking, Picture-in-Picture, and a full suite of privacy options such as camera/microphone controls and app tracking blocks. The shared absence of features like Wi-Fi password sharing, focus modes, and direct OS updates applies equally to both, so neither phone is disadvantaged relative to the other in this group.

This is a complete tie. The operating system category offers zero differentiation between these two devices based on the provided specs, and should carry no weight in a buying decision between them.

Both phones carry large batteries in the same ballpark — 5000 mAh for the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and 5200 mAh for the TCL NxtPaper 60 Ultra. The 200 mAh difference is marginal in practice and unlikely to translate into a noticeable gap in daily endurance for most users. Neither phone supports wireless charging, so that distinction does not factor in here.

Where the two diverge more meaningfully is in charging speed and in-box contents. The Nothing Phone charges at 50W versus the TCL's 33W, which in real terms means the Nothing refills its battery significantly faster — a genuine convenience advantage for users who charge in short bursts throughout the day. However, the TCL ships with a charger included in the box, while the Nothing does not. That means Nothing buyers face an additional purchase to take full advantage of the 50W speed, partially offsetting the advantage.

On balance, this category is a nuanced trade-off rather than a clear sweep. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro wins on charging speed, which is the more impactful day-to-day spec, but the TCL NxtPaper 60 Ultra offsets with a slightly larger battery and the practical value of an included charger. Users who already own a fast charger will prefer the Nothing; those who want a complete out-of-the-box experience may appreciate the TCL's approach.

Audio hardware is largely aligned between these two phones, with both dropping the 3.5mm headphone jack and offering stereo speakers — so wired audio purists will need an adapter or Bluetooth headphones on either device, and both deliver a spatial, dual-channel listening experience for media. Neither phone supports any high-resolution Bluetooth audio codec, including aptX, aptX HD, LDAC, or their variants, meaning wireless audio quality is capped at standard Bluetooth performance on both.

The sole differentiator in this category is the microphone count. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro features 3 microphones compared to the TCL's 2. An additional microphone enables more precise noise cancellation, better spatial audio capture for video recording, and improved voice clarity during calls — particularly in noisy environments where multi-mic beamforming makes a tangible difference.

Given the near-identical feature set, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro holds a narrow but genuine edge here, solely on the strength of its third microphone. For most casual listeners the gap is small, but for anyone who frequently records video, takes calls in busy settings, or uses voice-to-text heavily, that extra microphone has real practical value.

Connectivity fundamentals are identical across the board: both phones offer 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, dual SIM, USB Type-C, and GPS with Galileo support. This is a well-rounded modern baseline — Bluetooth 5.4 in particular brings improved connection stability and energy efficiency over older versions, and Wi-Fi 6 ensures both phones are ready for faster home and office networks.

The only meaningful differences in this category sit with the TCL NxtPaper 60 Ultra's two additional sensors: an infrared sensor and a barometer. The infrared sensor allows the TCL to function as a universal remote control for TVs and home appliances — a niche but genuinely useful feature that the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro simply lacks. The barometer enables more accurate altitude readings and can improve GPS precision, which matters for fitness tracking, hiking, or navigation in areas with variable elevation.

Everything else — including USB version, fingerprint scanner, gyroscope, accelerometer, and compass — is shared between the two. The TCL NxtPaper 60 Ultra takes a clear, if narrow, edge in this category purely on the basis of those two extra sensors, which add tangible real-world utility that the Nothing Phone cannot replicate.

This is a short spec group, but it contains one genuinely distinctive feature. Both phones share a video light and neither has a sapphire glass or curved display — those data points are evenly matched and unremarkable. The single differentiator is that the TCL NxtPaper 60 Ultra has an e-paper display capability, while the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro does not.

An e-paper mode is a meaningful addition for a specific type of user. It renders the screen in a low-power, high-contrast style that is significantly easier on the eyes during extended reading sessions, and it drastically reduces display power consumption when active. For anyone who reads long-form content, e-books, or documents on their phone regularly, this feature transforms the TCL into a more versatile device that can double as a reader-friendly screen — something the Nothing Phone simply cannot offer.

The TCL NxtPaper 60 Ultra wins this category outright. The e-paper display is not a universally compelling feature — users who do not read extensively on their phone will rarely use it — but for those who do, it is a unique and practical differentiator that the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro has no equivalent for.