Nothing Phone (4a) vs Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
The short answer
- Nothing Phone (4a) has the bigger battery: 5,080 mAh against 5,000.
- Nothing Phone (4a) charges faster, at 50 W against 45.
- Nothing Phone (4a) is the cheaper of the two at the price its maker announced: INR 31,999 against INR 32,999.
Compared only on figures both makers publish. Everything else is in the table below.
2 phones side by side.
| Specification |
 Nothing Phone (4a)
₹31,999launch price
|
 Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
₹32,999launch price · Mar 2025
|
|---|---|---|
| Placement | ||
| At its price | Bottom quarter ₹30–40k | Bottom quarter ₹30–40k |
| Spec index | 7.8 / 10 | 8.0 / 10 |
| Key Specs | ||
| RAM | 8 GB / 12 GB LPDDR4x | 8 GB / 12 GB |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4, 8-core, up to 2.7 GHz | Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 |
| Rear Camera | 50 MP main + 50 MP periscope telephoto + ultra-wide | 50 MP + 8 MP + 5 MP |
| Front Camera | 32 MP | 12 MP |
| Battery | 5,080 mAh (5,400 mAh India only) | 5000 mAh |
| Display | 6.78-inch flexible AMOLED, 1224 x 2720, 120 Hz | 6.7 inches (17.02 cm) |
| General | ||
| Launch Date | 05 March 2026 (announced); on sale in India 13 March 2026 | March 2, 2025 (Official) |
| Operating System | Android 16 | Android v15 |
| Custom UI | Nothing OS 4.1 | Samsung One UI 7 |
| Performance | ||
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 |
| CPU | Qualcomm Kryo, 8-core, up to 2.7 GHz (1 prime core up to 2.7 GHz + 3 performance cores up to 2.4 GHz + 4 efficiency cores up to 1.8 GHz) | Octa core (2.4 GHz, Quad core, Cortex A78 + 1.8 GHz, Quad core, Cortex A55) |
| Fabrication | 4 nm TSMC process | 4 nm |
| Graphics | Qualcomm Adreno 810 | Adreno 710 |
| RAM | 8 GB / 12 GB | 8 GB / 12 GB |
| RAM Type | LPDDR4x | — |
| Architecture | — | 64 bit |
| Display | ||
| Display Type | Flexible AMOLED, 10-bit, 1.07 billion colours, 1,000,000:1 contrast | Super AMOLED |
| Screen Size | 6.78 inches | 6.7 inches (17.02 cm) |
| Resolution | 1224 x 2720 pixels | 1080x2340 px (FHD+) |
| Pixel Density | 440 PPI | 385 ppi |
| Screen Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 7i | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ |
| Touch Screen | Yes, touch sampling rate up to 2500 Hz | Yes, Capacitive Touchscreen, Multi-touch |
| Brightness | 800 nits typical, 1600 nits outdoor, 4500 nits peak | 1200 nits (HBM) |
| Refresh Rate | 120 Hz adaptive (PWM dimming 2160 Hz) | 120 Hz |
| Aspect Ratio | — | 19.5:9 |
| Screen to Body Ratio (calculated) | — | 86.48 % |
| Bezel-less display | — | Yes with punch-hole display |
| Design | ||
| Height | 163.9 mm | 162.9 mm |
| Width | 77.5 mm | 78.2 mm |
| Thickness | 8.5 mm | 7.4 mm |
| Weight | 205 g | 195 grams |
| Colours | White, Black, Pink, Blue | Awesome Lavender, Awesome White, Awesome Black |
| Waterproof | IP64 certified; tested for water immersion up to 25 cm for up to 20 minutes | Yes, IP67 |
| Build Material | — | Frame: Plastic Back: Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ |
| Main Camera | ||
| Camera Setup | Triple | Triple |
| Resolution | 50 MP main + 50 MP periscope telephoto + ultra-wide | 50 MP f/1.8, Wide Angle, Primary Camera (1/1.96" sensor size) 8 MP f/2.2, Ultra-Wide Angle Camera 5 MP f/2.4, Macro Camera |
| Sensor | Main 1/1.57 inch, periscope 1/2.75 inch, ultra-wide 1/4 inch | — |
| Autofocus | Periscope: auto focus, PDAF | Yes |
| OIS | No | Yes |
| Shooting Modes | Ultra XDR, Ultra XDR motion photo, Portrait Optimiser, Macro (built into the default mode), Night Mode | Continuous Shooting High Dynamic Range mode (HDR) Macro Mode |
| Camera Features | TrueLens Engine 4, AI Semantic Segmentation (12 layers), Image Super Resolution (ISR) algorithm, 3.5x optical / 7x in-sensor / 70x ultra zoom on periscope; apertures f/1.88 main, f/2.88 periscope, F/2.2 ultra-wide with 120 degree field of view | 10 x Digital Zoom Auto Flash Face detection Touch to focus |
| Video Recording | 4K recording at 30 fps; 1080p recording at 30 or 60 fps; 1080p Ultra XDR recording at 30 fps | 3840x2160 @ 30 fps 1920x1080 @ 60 fps 1920x1080 @ 30 fps |
| Video Recording Features | Slo-mo at 1080p 120 fps, Time Lapse at 4K / 1080p | Slo-motion |
| Flash | — | Yes, LED Flash |
| Settings | — | Exposure compensation, ISO control |
| Front Camera | ||
| Camera Setup | Single | Single |
| Resolution | 32 MP | 12 MP f/2.2, Wide Angle, Primary Camera |
| Camera Features | F/2.2 aperture, 1/3.44 inch sensor, 89 degree field of view | — |
| Autofocus | — | No |
| Flash | — | No |
| Video Recording | — | 3840x2160 @ 30 fps 1920x1080 @ 30 fps |
| Battery | ||
| Capacity | 5,080 mAh (5,400 mAh India only) | 5000 mAh |
| Removable | No | No |
| Wireless Charging | No | No |
| Quick Charging | 50 W wired charging; 7.5 W reverse wired charging; PPS / PD3.0 / PD2.0 / QC3.0 / QC2.0 / DCP / SDP / CDP / UFCS | Yes, Fast, 45W |
| USB Type-C | Yes | Yes |
| Type | — | Li-ion |
| Storage | ||
| Internal Memory | 128 GB / 256 GB | 128 GB / 256 GB |
| Expandable Memory | No | No |
| Storage Type | UFS 3.1 | — |
| User Available Storage | — | Up to 105.6 GB |
| USB OTG | — | Yes |
| Network & Connectivity | ||
| SIM Slot(s) | Dual SIM | Dual SIM, GSM+GSM (Nano SIM + Nano SIM) |
| SIM Size | Nano-SIM (4FF) | SIM1: Nano, SIM2: Nano |
| Network Support | 5G, 4G LTE, 3G, 2G | 5G Supported in India, 4G Supported in India, 3G, 2G |
| 5G Bands | n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n20, n28, n38, n40, n41, n48, n66, n71, n77, n78 | — |
| 4G Bands | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28, 38, 40, 41, 42, 48, 66, 71 | — |
| 3G Bands | B1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19 | — |
| 2G Bands | 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 | — |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6, 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, 2.4G/5G | Yes, Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax), MIMO |
| Wi-Fi Features | 2x2 MIMO, TWT, MU-MIMO, OFDMA | Wi-Fi Direct, Mobile Hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 5.4 | Yes, v5.4 |
| GPS | GPS (L1), GLONASS (G1), BDS (B1I), GALILEO (E1), QZSS (L1) | Yes with Glonass, Galileo, Beidou, QZSS |
| NFC | No | Yes |
| USB Connectivity | USB Type-C | USB 2.0, Mass storage device, USB charging |
| VoLTE | — | Yes |
| SIM 1 | — | - |
| EDGE | — | Available |
| SIM 2 | — | - |
| GPRS | — | Available |
| Multimedia | ||
| Stereo Speaker | No | Yes |
| Loudspeaker | Yes | Yes |
| Audio Features | 2 high-definition mics; audio playback MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, WAV, FLAC, APE, OGG, MID, M4A, IMY, AC3, EAC3, EAC3-JOC, AC4 | Dolby Atmos |
| FM Radio | — | No |
| Audio Jack | — | USB Type-C |
| Sensors | ||
| Fingerprint Sensor | Yes | Yes |
| Fingerprint Sensor Position | On-screen | In Display |
| Fingerprint Sensor Type | In-screen optical scanner | Optical |
| Heart Rate Monitor | No | No |
| Other Sensors | Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Electronic Compass, Proximity Sensor, Front Ambient Light Sensor, Linear Haptic Motor | Light sensor, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer, Compass, Gyroscope |