What you need to know
- Nothing’s Phone 4b brings a Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 chip, refined Glyph Interface, and Nothing’s biggest battery yet to a more affordable price point.
- The phone sports a 6.77-inch 120Hz AMOLED display, a 5,200mAh battery, IP64 durability, and a transparent design that stays true to Nothing’s signature look.
- A 50MP OIS main camera, ultrawide lens, Ultra XDR processing, and 4K video recording aim to deliver a flagship-like photography experience without the flagship price.
Nothing is expanding its smartphone lineup again, but this time it is squarely targeting buyers looking for a polished Android experience without paying flagship prices. The new Nothing Phone 4b continues the momentum of the Phone 4a series with a handful of upgrades that until now were exclusive to more expensive devices like a Snapdragon processor, an improved Glyph Interface, and a larger battery.
The Phone 4b takes the Glyph Bar from the Phone 4a and combines it with the unibody styling of the Phone 4a Pro for what the company calls its cleanest design yet. The see-through look is still there, but the phone is also IP64-rated for dust and water resistance and is built to withstand up to 600N of bending force. It will be available in black, white, and blue.
Under the hood, Nothing has gone with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 chipset, built on a 4nm process. The company claims the chip is close to the Phone 4a in performance, with a score of over one million on AnTuTu. The new platform also promises to improve power efficiency and speed up on-device AI work like voice recognition and photo enhancements that can happen locally instead of relying on the cloud.
Nothing’s biggest battery yet
Battery life is another area getting a noticeable bump. The Phone 4b packs what Nothing is calling its biggest battery to date, rated at 5,200 mAh, with support for 33W wired fast charging. The phone can go from zero to 50 percent in less than 30 minutes, according to the company. Nothing is also suggesting that the battery should still have about 90% of its original capacity after about 1,200 charging cycles.
A lot of attention is also given to photography. The Phone 4b has a 50MP main camera with optical image stabilization and a 119-degree ultrawide sensor. The Nothing’s TrueLens Engine 4 drives its new Ultra XDR processing, which blends 13 RAW frames for better dynamic range and color accuracy.
The display checks many boxes, too. It has a 6.77-inch Super AMOLED screen with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, HDR10+ support, up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness, and a 1,000Hz instant touch sampling rate for more responsive gaming and everyday interactions.
Software-wise, the Phone 4b runs Nothing OS 4.1, based on Android 16. The phone offers Nothing’s signature interface tweaks, along with the company’s full suite of Essential AI tools, native ChatGPT integration, Google Gemini, Circle to Search, and the Essential Key for quick access to AI-powered features like Essential Space and Essential Search. Just as importantly, Nothing is promising three years of Android OS updates and six years of security patches, giving the Phone 4b one of the longest support windows in its price bracket.
Nothing is also launching a limited edition of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Edition to celebrate the cricket club’s second IPL title. The special model is available in a special red finish with custom branding and collector’s packaging. It will be available through an exclusive drop at the company’s Bengaluru flagship store initially. The Phone 4b starts at £299 (€329), offering 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.
Android Central’s Take
Okay, I’ll admit, the six-year security patch commitment is a giant win for budget buyers, finally forcing the industry to treat affordable phones as long-term investments, not disposable tech. Nothing, for its part, isn’t pretending it has reinvented the wheel, but a 5,200mAh battery with a slow 33W charging speed isn’t exactly breaking new ground. My job involves staring at spec sheets and chasing down the latest hardware leaks for things like 9,000mAh cells and 185Hz displays, and I’m used to seeing budget hardware actually take some risks. The Phone 4b offers a strong software experience in a slick, glowing package, but remove the flashy LED marketing and it’s just another midrange device trying hard to sell itself as a flagship.