Nothing is not shying away from the fact that the unprecedented demand for memory have forced the company to raise the prices of its phones. But the company has found a way to balance the consumer demand and the products it is offering by launching (b) series, Phone (4b) is the best starting point for students to experience smartphones. Nothing’s new (b) series kicks off with a phone that borrows design cues from its pricier siblings, packs the longest-lasting battery in the Nothing lineup, and brings the full Nothing OS experience to a more accessible price point
Design and built: Familiar
The Phone (4b) carries an IP64 rating for dust and water resistance, and claims that it is 20% more bend-resistant than the Phone (3a) Lite. It now consists of a grid of 45 mini-LEDs arranged across five squares, sitting inside a clear camera module — and it caimed to be up to 40% brighter than previous Glyph Interfaces, with no light leakage across brightness levels. Under the hood, the Phone (4b) runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 4: a chip Nothing says delivers 15% greater CPU performance and 25% improved GPU performance compared to the Phone (3a) Lite. For gaming, the Snapdragon chip is backed by a substantial cooling system: a 20,829mm² total cooling area with a 4,400mm² Vapour Chamber. Nothing claims this reduces surface temperatures by up to 2°C during gaming and cuts peak CPU temperature by up to 18.8°C. App launches are snappy, multitasking is smooth, and the 120Hz adaptive Super AMOLED 6.77-inch display with LTPS technology and an in-screen optical fingerprint sensor makes everything look and feel fluid.
The Phone (4b) draws its design DNA from some of its siblings: the unibody form of the Phone (4a) Pro and the Glyph Bar of the Phone (4a). The unibody is made from high-strength polycarbonate, coated with primer, a colour layer, and a UV top coat that reduces fingerprints and gives the surface a smooth. It is comfortable to hold and does not attract the smudges that plague glossy-finish phones. True to Nothing’s transparent design ethos, the camera module is clear, and the curves of the clear enclosure follow the edges of the unibody. Durability is solid for the price. The Glyph Bar has been meaningfully changed on the Phone (4b). You can set custom light patterns for specific contacts, create rules triggered by keywords in messages, or configure app notifications — so the bar flashes, for instance, every time cricket scores update. In everyday use, the phone feels responsive. Dual stereo speakers round out the multimedia experience.
Enhanced Battery Performance of Phone (4b)
The Phone (4b) boasts impressive battery performance, featuring a 5,200mAh battery globally, with a larger 6,000mAh option available in India. This makes it the longest-lasting battery that Nothing has integrated into a smartphone to date. According to the company, the Phone (4b) provides up to an hour more usage compared to its predecessor, the Phone (4a).
Additionally, the device incorporates Safe Cell Technology, designed to enhance impact resistance. It is also rated to maintain 90% of its battery capacity after approximately 1,200 charge cycles, equating to about three years of typical usage.