Smartphones
Nothing Phone (3a) Lite touts midrange specs as entry-level
Both the specs and the price are in midrange territory.
As they’ve announced recently, Nothing has now expanded its lineup to include the more budget-friendly Phone (3a) Lite.
Formerly thriving on only flagship and midrange models, Nothing has recently pushed to include entry-level smartphones into its lineup. The Nothing Phone (3a) Lite is the brand’s first ever foray into the segment.
Not bad for an entry-level phone
Though the phone has a price tag that starts at only EUR 249 (or approximately US$ 289), the Phone (3a) Lite still rocks the brand’s iconic design, which the brand calls “a beautiful balance of matte and gloss.” It will have a Glyph Light which, unlike the longer strip of the past, is just a single blinking LED for notifications. The transparent back is encased in Panda Glass, broken only by the protruding triple rear camera combination.
Speaking of which, the phone comes with a 50-megapixel main shooter with a 1/1.57-inch Samsung sensor. It’s paired with an 8-megapixel ultra-wide lens and a macro lens. This trio is still capable of shooting 4K resolutions at 30 frames per second. Additionally, it comes with a 16-megapixel front camera.
In front, the phone has a 6.77-inch AMOLED display — putting out 1080p resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and 3,000 nits of peak brightness. The side has this generation’s Essential Key (which we didn’t really care for in the flagship model).
Under the hood, the Phone (3a) Lite sports the Dimensity 7300 Pro 5G chipset. This is paired with 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage. Finally, it has a 5000mAh battery, capable of 33W fast charging.
The bloatware begins
As we noted previously, Nothing has changed its perspectives on offering no bloatware inside its phones. Starting with Nothing OS 4.0 (which this phone will eventually come with), the brand’s non-flagship phones will eventually come with Lock Glimpse, a lock screen that’s essentially a rolling carousel of wallpapers with links to content. It’s similar to the lock screens you might see in Chinese smartphones these days.
Additionally, the upcoming update will start shipping smartphones off with preinstalled apps, starting with Instagram. It’s a big step away from Nothing’s prior commitment to offering a pure Android experience.
Price and availability
Available in black and white, the Nothing Phone (3a) Lite is out now in Europe. The base 128GB model sells for EUR 249. Meanwhile, the larger 256GB variant ships for EUR 279. There’s no word yet on availability elsewhere.
SEE ALSO: Nothing Phone (3a) series is here!
News
iPhone Air has the worst resale value for Apple in years, report says
One variant has reportedly lost 47.7 percent in value.
An iPhone is not an easy purchase to make. After you spend your hard-earned cash on one, you’re also likely thinking about how much you can resell the phone for. Still, even if it’s used, an iPhone can still fetch a decent price… unless, apparently, if you own an iPhone Air.
The iPhone Air is the latest non-typical addition to Apple’s iconic flagships. Compared to the mainline series, the Air is much thinner but still capable of delivering the Apple experience. Unfortunately, the model might end up being the brand’s biggest misfire.
According to SellCell (via GSM Arena), the iPhone Air has had the worst depreciation in value after ten weeks. Averaging all three variants, the model now averages a 44.3 percent loss of value in the resale market. Worst of all is the 1TB variant which has lost 47.7 percent of its resale value already.
In comparison, the entire iPhone 17 lineup averages a loss of only 34.6 percent. The iPhone 17 Pro Max 256GB variant, in fact, only lost 26.1 percent.
Based on the report’s findings, the iPhone Air’s sudden drop is the worst one since 2022. This is unlikely to be a nitpicked chart, too. Previous reports have speculated that Apple is not bringing back the Air next year because of poor sales.
SEE ALSO: Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo reportedly cancelled their iPhone Air competitors
News
Infinix partners with Ferrari designer for NOTE 60 Ultra
Smartphones always do well when they ink a partnership with a car-related brand. Remember how amazing it always looks when Porsche or BMW get involved with anything in the smartphone space. Today, Pininfarina is the next automative-adjacent brand to enter the smartphone space via Infinix.
Though you might not recognize the name “Pininfarina,” you will undoubtedly know all the big names they’re associated with. The Italian design firm is behind the designs of iconic Italian luxury cars like the Ferrari Testarossa and the Alfa Romeo Spider. Now, it’s coming to a smartphone.
Infinix, to be exact. Today, Infinix announced that it is partnering with Pininfarina for the Infinix NOTE 60 Ultra.
The brand has been on the rise lately, especially in Southeast Asia. According to IDC, the brand recently topped the quarter-on-quarter shipment increase in the region. The brand seesaws between offering affordable smartphone experiences to premium daily drivers. The NOTE 60 Ultra will be latest to join this thriving lineup.
Unfortunately, Infinix has not announced what the upcoming smartphone will look like. Pininfarina will, at least, add a nice veneer of luxury to the phone’s design.
The brand has confirmed, however, that the phone is launching in 2026. More details, including features and availability, will be released in the coming weeks.
News
TECNO’s two new telephoto tech redefines the future of mobile imaging
Slimmer telephoto structure and seamless continuous zoom, comin’ thru!
TECNO continues to break boundaries in imaging with their recent line of smartphones — the CAMON 40 Premier highlighting that claim as it’s one of the market’s midrangers that deliver excellent camera quality without compromising overall price.
At this year’s event, not only this marks the fifth anniversary of its annual Future Lens showcase, they are delivering two new innovations in mobile imaging.
Two New Tele-nnovation
From 2023’s W-Shaped Liquid Telephoto Macro Lens to last year’s (very mouthful) Tap Any Zoom Dual Prism Telephoto, TECNO introduces two new flagship-level telephoto zoom innovations for future smartphones.
Dual-Mirror Reflect Telephoto
First and foremost, this new type of telephoto tech is based on a smaller telephoto module 50% smaller than traditional systems.
That’s all thanks to its coaxial optical structure that enables an evern slimmer design slimmer without totally compromising the zoom performance.
Moreover, this type of telephoto module also creates a distinct “doughnut-shaped” bokeh and low-light shots that are also strong.
Freeform Continuum Telephoto
This is another breakthrough of TECNO in terms ofd telephoto zoom tech.
From the term itself, the Freeform Continuum Telephoto tech provides true continuous optical zoom from 1x to 9x. By that, it totally eliminates those unwanted “focal jumps” very apparent in modern-day smartphone camera systems.
TECNO says this achieves with a pro-grade zoom performance comparable to camcorders. Still, providing full image quality and sharp detail at every distance and angle.
Advancing the TECNO Image Matrix
That said, it’s not always limited to just announcing an upgraded camera hardware and advanced optics alongside an intelligent camera software experience . TECNO seamlessly bridges all of these with its already-existing imaging architecture, the TECNO Image Matrix (TIM).
The uprising brand is also committed to imaging that favors humans in all races, as well as providing industry-leading color science with their very first automated imaging lab collab with DXOMARK.
ICYMI, it unifies AIGC-enhanced hardware and intelligent algorithms. This system also powers technologies such as TECNO’s revolutionary Universal Tone (UT) technology that continues to deliver accurate and inclusive color rendering of diverse skin tones — eliminating the racial bias in image processing.
Technology that understands culture makes it possible. Cultural accuracy at the center — cultural fidelity the core in mobile photography. And in the wisest words of Amateur Photographer’s Musa Bwanali, “Every culture has a story worth telling”.
In addition to that, she told her that TECNO truly knows the path they’re aiming for. “This is not just about technical progress. It’s human progress.”
Why Focus on Telephoto?
Gaohan Bei, a Senior Analyst from Counterpoint, has revealed that more and more phone brands have invested and applied telephoto and periscope zoom lenses among their smartphones during the first half of 2025 — regardless if it’s a flagship model or a midrange one.
Furthermore, periscope zoom lenses is the most challenging part among smartphones nowadays. Not only with all the varying sizes of lens modules, quality also differs from one brand to another.
TECNO’s latest tech developments in telephoto modules demonstrate the clear alignment with these trends. And it’s not just zooming in and capturing light. Also, intelligently understand scenes and intention of users.
Quick Fire Q&A
After the very-detailed presentation, some media friends were encouraged to ask anything and everything under the sun.
* These were answered in Mandarin by TECNO’s Director of Image R&D Centre, Xiaohan Huang, and was translated live for us by a human translator. The answers you will see here are non-verbatim and was simplified by the author during the writing process.
1. Is it possible to fuse these two new tech together?
Technically and mechanically speaking, it is impossible and incompatible.
Other than the high-precision requirement, processing and manufacturing these modules are already very challenging to begin with.
2. Are there any realistic timeline for these to be available for users?
All I can tell is that, 2026 will be challenging for commercialization. For the freeform telephoto, it is very difficult. The two lens module groups in this unit have a high requirement for processing and manufacturing.
On the other hand, the Dual-Mirror Reflect Telephoto is ready to be commercialized. However, TECNO is still testing what will be the effect for its intended users.
Commercialization and market-size are key factors for this survey.
3. Is TECNO re-considering to go back in making flagship smartphones (like the Phantom X2 Pro) or just focus on CAMON series moving forward?
There’s no definite answer to going back and moving forward. New technologies are very costly with an expensive sale price.
That said, TECNO’s main goal is to focus and bring the latest and greatest to these users. This technique can solve the painpoints of mobile photography in the middle or lower-end spectrum of the market.
4. Is it possible to bring these two telephoto technologies to phones like the TECNO Slim?
If you don’t mind getting the bump thicker, it is doable. But realistically speaking, it is still too thick for this product — thicker than we wanted it to be. Therefor, it’s merely impossible to do it just yet.
There are phone markets that are willing to sacrifice overall camera performance in favor of a pleasing design and appearance. Also, cmeras aren’t only the bottleneck, battery longevity is for another.
Bringing it to the Slim series may not be possible (for now) but should be doable for TECNO’s another set of phone series.
5. When can the DXOMARK collab be seen in TECNO’s phones?
Even though the first fully-automated imaging lab was announced just this year, TECNO and DXOMARK has already established a long-term partnership for many years now.
At TECNO, we clearly focus and prioritize on portrait shooting. And, with our heavy reliance on DXOMARK’s professional quantifiable benchmarking tools and technologies, we are hoping to further deepen this relationship.
With all that being said, the collab can be felt and seen by 2026 without a specific date.
Shaping the Future of Mobile Imaging
Building on innovations ranging from periscope telephoto lenses to full-system imaging frameworks, TECNO reaffirmed its ambition to make pro-grade imaging accessible across global markets.
Through continued research partnerships and advanced testing facilities, it aims to deliver more personalized, authentic, and creatively empower photography experiences both for professionals, hobbyists, and even just casual users.
Together with TECNO’s “Stop At Nothing” mantra, they will continue to focus on breaking through the boundaries of smartphone camera innovation for the next five years — and the foreseeable future.
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