Nothing confirms Phone 3a will use a Snapdragon SoC for ‘Elite’ performance
Summary
- Nothing’s next smartphone, the Phone 3a and the 3a Plus, are scheduled to be unveiled at MWC 2025 on March 4.
- After using MediaTek chips in the 2a series, Nothing is returning to Qualcomm Snapdragon processors for the 3a series, promising a 25% faster CPU and 72% faster NPU.
- While the exact Snapdragon chip remains unconfirmed, rumors point to the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3. However, Nothing’s carefully worded teasers have sparked speculation about the possibility of the higher-end Snapdragon 8S Elite.
The early leaks and rumors were true — Nothing has confirmed that its next major smartphones will be unveiled on March 4, alongside at least one key piece of processor information directly from CEO Carl Pei.
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The phone we’re referring to is the Nothing Phone 3a, and potentially the Phone 3a Plus too — both slated to grace the stage at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025 at a not-so-convenient 5am ET time slot on March 4.
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For reference, the Nothing Phone 1 and Phone 2 both ran on Qualcomm’s chipsets — Snapdragon 778G+ 5G and Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, respectively, to be precise. With the Nothing Phone 2a and 2a Plus, however, Nothing decided to switch things up by opting for MediaTek chipsets.
At the time, Nothing reportedly had the choice between the MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro and the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 for the Phone 2a, and it went with the former because it offered better performance. Similarly, it went with the Mediatek Dimensity 7350 Pro for the bigger Nothing Phone 2a Plus.
Now, with the Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Plus, Nothing is returning to its old trusty, as confirmed by CEO Pei. In a community post that confirmed the March 4 unveiling, Nothing also confirmed that the Nothing Phone 3a series will be powered by a Snapdragon chipset.
“Perfect match for elite performance”
According to Nothing, the Phone 3a series will have a 25 percent faster CPU and a 72 percent faster NPU than the Phone 2a Plus. The company didn’t reveal which chipset to be precise, but previously reported leaks suggest that it could be the Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 SoC.
On the other hand, and this is a stretch by all means, there’s a sliver of a chance that Pei might be referencing to a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset — the upcoming 8S Elite, to be specific. We know that Nothing likes to tease its products, leaving crumb-sized clues for fans to pick up. The phone-maker’s community post and the subsequent tweets on its social networks are very carefully worded, and might just be a hint about the processor of choice.
“Today we’re delighted to announce that Phone (3a) Series will be powered by a Snapdragon chipset, the perfect match for elite performance,” reads the community post. Similarly, “Our perfect match for elite performance,” reads the company’s tweet.
Could this be a subtle reference to Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 8S Elite, which is specifically designed for affordable flagship killers?
For reference, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 was announced back in March 2024. It, however, only started landing late in the year. If the 8S Elite follows a similar unveiling timeline with a quicker launch, it could indeed make its way to the Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Plus — or maybe that isn’t the case at all, and perhaps we’re just making mountains out of molehills.
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