Is it OnePlus or Nothing? I try two brilliant bargain phones to find out

I’ve been using, and very much enjoying, the OnePlus 13R for the last week. But it got me thinking, I spent several weeks with the Nothing Phone 3a Pro recently too, and it’s cheaper to buy than the OnePlus phone. This was a chance to look closely at two phones which I’ve liked very much to find out if it’s worth buying the more expensive one, or if you can save a bit of money and pick up a bargain. What’s more, the two phones also share a common, but unusual link between them, just to spice things up even more.

What’s the connection?

The unusual connection linking the two together is Carl Pei. Pei co-founded OnePlus, and after moving on from the company he founded Nothing. The Nothing Phone 3a Pro is the brand’s most recent release, sitting slightly higher in the range than the Nothing Phone 3a. The brand thrives on brilliant marketing, some of it straight out of the original OnePlus playbook, and goes to great efforts to build a healthy, vibrant community around its products.

OnePlus was once quite a lot like Nothing, but today it’s is a far more mature, corporate being. Much of this is due to its close working relationship with Oppo. This shift changed OnePlus a lot, and it was a rocky time early-on, but with the OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 13R we’re seeing a lot more of the old OnePlus we all knew and loved.

Pei obviously had nothing to do with the OnePlus 13 devices, and I don’t think the company itself is the same one that he would remember either, but I’ve seen more of the essence of the Pei-era OnePlus in its latest releases. It’s fascinating to compare two smartphones connected, even if it’s now loosely, by a single person, and I can’t think of many other current instances where we can do this in mobile.

Maturity versus flamboyance?

The OnePlus 13R I’ve been using is in the Nebula Noir color, which is black to you and me, and it’s a very serious looking phone indeed. The circular camera module in the top corner means business, the flat rear panel is free of any frivolous design detail, and it leads into very iPhone-like flat sides. Yes, OnePlus makes a different color, but the OnePlus 13R looks staid and ordinary next to the Nothing Phone 3a Pro.

The jarring look of the Nothing Phone 3a Pro’s camera module and incredibly busy rear panel design, has softened the more I’ve looked at the phone. Don’t misunderstand me, it’s still insane, and can never be described as pretty, but it’s far more unique and characterful than the OnePlus 13R. The Glyph Lights can be useful, and add even more flair to the phone. The weight and thickness of the two phones is basically the same, as is the overall size, so both take up the same amount of space in your hand and pocket. The IP65 dust and water resistance rating on the OnePlus 13R isn’t that much different to the Phone 3a Pro’s IP64 rating, making durability about the same too.

I love the Nothing Phone 3a Pro’s mad design, and that it now has an aluminum chassis and glass rear panel, just like the OnePlus 13R. However, I can’t help but think the person looking at the OnePlus 13R from a purely design point of view isn’t going to be immediately drawn to the Nothing Phone 3a Pro. They may both be very different visually, but are very similar in basic size and form, and because of this you probably should be considering both. One is to live life safely, while the other is to live life dangerously.

Taking photos with the cameras

What about the camera? Neither are going to challenge big-name phones like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, but the specifications of the OnePlus 13R and Nothing Phone 3a Pro’s cameras are basically the same, with the pair using a 50-megapixel main camera, a 50MP telephoto camera, and an 8MP wide-angle camera. The Nothing Phone 3a Pro’s telephoto shoots 3x optical shots, while the OnePlus 13R takes 2x optical zoom photos.

Despite the specs, the two main cameras take quite different photos. The OnePlus 13R’s camera is brighter and more dynamic, while the Nothing Phone 3a Pro keeps colors and exposure under control, which often results in scenes lacking some vibrancy. For example, the OnePlus 13R’s photo of the lake seen above is far more representative of the day, and the one I’d probably choose to share.

However, the Nothing Phone 3a Pro’s telephoto camera is superb, packing in a lot more detail than the OnePlus 13R’s camera, which can blow colors out and properly expose the scene, as you can seen in the photo of the flower. However, I’ve also taken some other shots with the OnePlus 13R’s telephoto that have come out really well. The roles are reversed when using the wide-angle camera, where the Nothing Phone 3a Pro amps up the colors, and the OnePlus 13R fails to get the exposure right in most cases.

While I liked the Phone 3a Pro’s main camera when I reviewed the phone, the OnePlus 13R’s main camera takes photos with better dynamic range, brighter colors, and the pop many want when sharing images on social media. The wide-angle cameras take poor photos, as expected from 8MP cameras, but Nothing wins over the OnePlus 13R with the telephoto. In isolation the Phone 3a Pro is a solid camera phone, but against the OnePlus 13R problems with its main camera can be seen.

What about the software?

OnePlus’s OxygenOS 15 is a breath of fresh air, if you’ll excuse the pun. It’s a slick, logical, and well designed piece of software, which avoids many of the unpleasant pitfalls of Oppo’s ColorOS, to which it’s closely related. There’s less bloatware, fewer annoying interruptions from system notifications, and more of a OnePlus look to it. It’s what I mean about OnePlus returning to its old self, as OxygenOS was always a big draw to its phones and has now begun to reclaim its individuality over ColorOS.

NothingOS is really different. Like the phone’s design, it’s unique and unmistakably Nothing. Choose the pixel-art style Nothing theme and it barely even looks like Android. There’s a lot more going on inside NothingOS, with all kinds of features and widgets to play around with, ranging from an Asteroids-style game and a pedometer widget, to the Essential Space button on the side of the phone, which opens up Nothing’s AI feature.

AI isn’t Nothing’s focus, but OnePlus is making even less of a deal out of its AI efforts. It’s refreshing and welcome, after wrangling Apple Intelligence and Samsung’s Galaxy AI features, yet finding very little of value. NothingOS and OxygenOS are far from simple, but compared to One UI 7 the lack of over-complication is obvious when you get started. I’ve been using NothingOS’s pixel-art theme, but it’s easily swapped to something more Android-like if you want a more standard appearance.

One UI 7 is the best version of Samsung’s Android interface yet, but both OxygenOS 15 and Nothing OS 4 are less complex, yet still smooth, fast, and pack enough features to keep them interesting and useful. We’re spoiled with Android software at the moment, and these are all excellent examples.

What about the battery and performance?

Since using the OnePlus 13R I’ve found it returns longer battery life than the Nothing Phone 3a Pro. The larger capacity 6,000mAh battery barely reduces to 50% after my usual three hours screen time per day, but the Phone 3a Pro’s 5,000mAh battery was down to around 30%. The OnePlus 13R has easily lasted two full days of my regular use on a single charge, while the Nothing Phone 3a Pro will only make it with light use.

The OnePlus 13R is also a far better performer, which shouldn’t come as a surprise given the difference in processor. The OnePlus phone is essentially a 2024 flagship phone with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, while the Nothing Phone 3a Pro’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 can’t keep up if you want to play some of the top games.

Running the 3DMark app’s Steel Nomad Light Stress Test benchmark on both phones highlighted the difference between them for gaming. The OnePlus 13R runs the test with few issues and at an average of 12 frames-per-second, but the Nothing Phone 3a Pro chugs along at less than four frames-per-second. Benchmark tests are a good indicator of gaming performance, and if you want to play the top games on your phone, the OnePlus 13R is the one to get.

Which phone to buy?

The OnePlus 13R has been a delight over the past week, delivering long battery life, a fun camera, plus logical and smooth software in a convenient package. Yes, it’s dull to look at, but it really delivers where it counts. For $600 it’s a great purchase, and alongside the even better OnePlus 13, we’ve been treated to the best phones OnePlus has made in a while. It gets even better if you want a smartwatch, as the OnePlus Watch 3 is the best Android smartwatch out at the moment.

Where does this leave the $459 Nothing Phone 3a Pro, and would I swap back to it after using it alongside the OnePlus 13R for a day or so? No, I wouldn’t swap the OnePlus 13R for the Nothing Phone 3a Pro. The unique design is brilliant, the software rivals OxygenOS, and the solid camera and battery life mean it will satisfy a lot of people. But the additional performance and great main camera make the OnePlus 13R an excellent all-rounder that’s worth the extra money.

What’s going to be really intriguing is what Nothing does with the highly anticipated Nothing Phone 3 later this year. The Phone 3a Pro isn’t really designed to take on the OnePlus 13R, and did pretty well to keep up at all, but the flagship Phone 3 is likely to match or even exceed the OnePlus phone’s ability. We love what Carl Pei is doing with the Nothing brand and its phones, but are also so pleased to see OnePlus is becoming its own brand once again. If the extra money for the OnePlus 13R is within budget you’ll be really pleased with the phone, but equally, the Nothing Phone 3a Pro is so unique it’s impossible to ignore, and it’s a great value purchase.