Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Phones
  3. News

Early leak highlights key upgrades for Nothing’s upcoming budget phones

There also appears to be a new budget-friendly headphone in the works.

Add as a preferred source on Google
Nothing Phone 3a in White rear camera
Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends

Nothing appears to be prepping its next-gen mid-range phones and a new pair of headphones that could hit the market in the first half of 2026. While the company has revealed no official information about these devices, a new leak has given us an early look at the upgrades on the way.

According to a tip from developer MlgmXyysd on Telegram (via Android Authority), Nothing is working on two new phones: the Phone 4a and Phone 4a Pro. The standard Phone 4a will reportedly stick with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s series chipset, like the Phone 3a. The Pro model, however, could get a notable performance upgrade with a Snapdragon 7 series processor.

Recommended Videos

The leak also suggests that the Phone 4a Pro could also offer eSIM support, which will sadly not be available on the base model. Nothing also appears to be experimenting with new colorways, with the leak indicating both models may be offered in Blue, Pink, White, and Black options.

On the pricing front, the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage variant of the Phone 4a could cost around $475. Meanwhile, the Phone 4a Pro with the same configuration could be priced around $540.

A new budget-friendly headphone may also be on the way

Nothing is also said to be working on a new pair of headphones, called the Headphone a, that could arrive with the budget-friendly phones. These new headphones are rumored to be a more affordable version of the Nothing Headphone 1, featuring a plastic body. The leak adds that these headphones will be available in four striking colorways: Pink, Yellow, White, and Black.

MlgmXyysd says that these products could hit store shelves in March 2026. Given that Nothing launched the Phone 3a and Phone 3a Pro this March, the rumored timeline seems plausible. We expect more leaks to surface in the coming months, revealing additional specifications and details about potential design changes.

Pranob Mehrotra
Pranob is a seasoned tech journalist with over eight years of experience covering consumer technology. His work has been…
Google has to play fair with AI rivals on Android, and that could be good news for your wallet
A new ruling strips Gemini of its exclusive access to deep Android integration, opening the door for cheaper AI models to offer similar functionality for less.
A person using Google Gemini on the Google Pixel 9a.

After forcing Google to open up Android to third-party app stores, the EU is back with a new target, and this time it's Gemini's home-field advantage. The European Commission ordered Google on July 16 to give rival AI apps the same deep access to Android that's currently exclusive to Gemini. The order falls under the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), and it directs Google to stop treating its own assistant as a first-class citizen on a platform it controls.

What Google now has to hand over

Read more
Top phone brands should learn how to deck out a flagship without nuking our wallets
Red Magic 11S Pro Full Rear Design

I've always had a soft spot for devices that lean heavily into one aspect as their main identity. From phones that aim to replace a dedicated camera to devices with batteries larger than some power banks, these products know exactly what they were made for. They do not chase the same all-rounder brief as a typical flagship.

The Red Magic 11S Pro is a great example of this. I've always had a soft spot for devices that lean heavily into one aspect as their main identity. From phones that aim to replace a dedicated camera to devices with batteries larger than some power banks, these products know exactly what they were made for. They do not chase the same all-rounder brief as a typical flagship.

Read more
Apple is finally removing AI apps that can digitally undress anyone
Apple and Google told by court by court to remove undressing apps
Apple App Store

Apple has removed several AI-powered "nudify" apps from the App Store after coming under legal pressure from San Francisco's city attorney, but the episode raises a much bigger question than whether a handful of apps violated App Store rules.

The real issue is why these apps made it onto one of the world's most tightly controlled app marketplaces in the first place.

Read more