Vivo T3 Pro 5G vs Nothing Phone (2a): Which is the Best Value for Money Under Rs 30,000?

While the Nothing Phone (2a) is more value-for-money between the two, there’s no charger in the box. The Nothing Power 45W charger will set you back by Rs 2,499, so consider that.

Vivo T3 Pro 5G vs Nothing Phone (2a): Design

The Vivo T3 Pro 5G is flamboyant with two types of finishes available. Those who prefer attention-grabbing and peppy designs will like the Sandstone Orange variant with the vegan leather finish. The Emerald Green version with a matte texture is for those who like subtle elegance. The chamfered edges around the camera module and golden detailing add a touch of class to both colourways. The smartphone is IP54 rated for dust and water resistance.

The Nothing Phone (2a) is a testament to Carl Pei’s vision of making smartphones, which stand out from the crowd. The device comes in four colours: blue (India-exclusive), Special Edition (White with red, yellow, and blue accents), white, and black. No matter which colour you pick, the ‘anthropomorphic’ design philosophy, Glyph Interface, and transparent back panel will grab your eyeballs whenever you take the phone out.

Design preference is subjective, but if you ask us, the Phone (2a), with its modern design and more compact form factor, is our pick between the two. The smartphone looks like it belongs in the future without being too much in your face. However, the Vivo T3 Pro 5G might be your jam if you like to keep it classy.

Vivo T3 Pro 5G vs Nothing Phone (2a): Display

Coming to the display, the Vivo T3 Pro 5G is the slimmest curved smartphone with the brightest display (4,500nits peak brightness) in the segment. This means the device is legible in all lighting conditions. We were impressed with the display’s legibility in direct sunlight, even at 50% intensity.

The Vivo T3 Pro 5G offers not just great legibility but stunning visuals as well, thanks to features like a 100% cinema-grade P3 colour gamut and 80,00,000:1 contrast ratio. It supports Widevine L1 certification and HDR10+, which means it can play high-resolution videos on popular OTT platforms.

On the other hand, the Nothing Phone (2a) flaunts a 6.7-inch 10-bit flexible AMOLED display with a slightly lower peak brightness of 1,300 nits. It might not be as legible as the Vivo T3 Pro 5G in harsh lighting, but it matches the visual prowess. The Nothing Phone (2a) also comes with a 100% DCI P3 colour gamut, a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and HDR10+ certification.

You can pick either this or that; it wouldn’t matter when it comes to the quality of visuals on these smartphones. However, if you spend most of your time outside in the field, the Vivo T3 Pro 5G with higher brightness is the more obvious choice.

Vivo T3 Pro 5G vs Nothing Phone (2a): Cameras

The Vivo T3 Pro 5G has a dual camera setup on the back. In our Vivo T3 Pro 5G review, we found that the camera system captured crisp and detailed pictures in daylight and low-light situations. The ultrawide and portrait shots are also exemplary.

Vivo T3 Pro Daylight Camera Samples

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However, we found that the Vivo T3 Pro 5G struggled to get the shutter speed right in bright daylight situations. The HDR performance is also slightly patchy, leading to washed-out details when clicking pictures against harsh backlight. As for selfies, the 16MP snapper clicks decent pictures but tends to beautify the human skin in low-light situations.

The Nothing Phone (2a) has a much better camera system, with two 50MP cameras on the back and a 32MP camera on the front. And it shows in the pictures. There were low-light issues but the camera performed decently. The daylight shots are clear, detailed, and vivid.

Daylight shots

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Low light shots

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In our Nothing Phone (2a) review, we found that the camera accurately reproduces skin texture and colours, even in dimly/artificially lit indoor conditions. Moreover, the ultrawide camera produces the same level of detail without any colour shift thanks to a sensor similar to that of the primary camera. The selfie camera on the front also does a commendable job.

Vivo T3 Pro 5G vs Nothing Phone (2a): Performance

In the performance department, it’s a classic battle between Qualcomm and MediaTek here. Both smartphones are powered by a 4nm octa-core processor with LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.2 storage. They might appear neck-to-neck on paper, but their real-life performance might vary. So, we have put both these devices through several benchmarks, and here is how they performed.

As you can see above, the synthetic benchmark results for these smartphones are almost identical, with the Vivo T3 Pro 5G being slightly faster. Moreover, both smartphones didn’t throttle while running benchmark tests. We can confidently say that the Vivo T3 Pro 5G and Nothing Phone (2a) are similar.

We also played COD: Mobile and BGMI on these devices. The Vivo T3 Pro 5G played these games at Very High+Max and Ultra HDR+Ultra graphics quality. In comparison, the Nothing Phone (2a) achieved Very High+Very High in COD and HDR+Ultra graphic quality in BGMI.

In our extensive testing, we found a marginal difference in the performance of these two devices. However, the software experience differentiates them.

Vivo T3 Pro 5G vs Nothing Phone (2a): Software

Both devices run forked Android versions of their respective brands based on Android 14. However, the Nothing Phone (2a) is ahead with longer software support from the brand. Additionally, the minimalistic interface with zero bloatware, unique dot font, chatGPT integration, and other features make Nothing Phone (2a) a better option between the two.

The Vivo T3 Pro 5G guarantees a smooth 50-month experience along with a couple of AI features. However, bloatware, the notorious duo of hot apps and hot games, spammy notifications, etc., ruined our experience. So, the Phone (2a) is a better pick on the software front.

Vivo T3 Pro 5G vs Nothing Phone (2a): Battery and Charging

The Vivo T3 Pro 5G decimates the Nothing Phone 2a in the battery department. Not only does it have a bigger battery, but it also comes with double the charging speed. The specs reflect the real-life battery performance as well. The device charged fully in around 1 hour and lasted almost a whole day (21 hours 36 minutes) in the PC Mark Battery test. In comparison, the Nothing Phone (2a) only lasted for 15 hours and 40 minutes.

Vivo T3 Pro 5G vs Nothing Phone (2a): Verdict

The Nothing Phone (2a) is the clear winner between these two. The smartphone checks all the right boxes, from a stunning design and durability to powerful cameras and a great software experience. The Nothing Phone (2a) offers more bang for your buck. Its lower price tag also gives you the leeway to get a new charger, so that’s not a big deal either.

The Vivo T3 Pro 5G outperforms in the battery department. The Vivo T3 Pro 5G is for those who want a more conventional design with a long-lasting battery and don’t want to spend extra on a charger.