• Nothing Phone 1 white
    Nothing Phone 1
    Unique design

    Premium feel in a mid-range phone

    The first smartphone from Nothing, the Nothing Phone 1 features a unique, premium design and decent performance, but it does have a few issues that need to be ironed out.

    Pros
    • Decent performance
    • Great daytime photos
    • Unique, premium design
    Cons
    • Night photos aren't too great
    • Poor and loud vibration motor
    • Unbalanced stereo features
  • Samsung-Galaxy-A53-5G
    Samsung Galaxy A53
    Decent mid-range pick

    Great display and performance

    $349 $449 Save $100

    A good mid-range model, the Galaxy A53 features a 120Hz display and excellent battery life. Unfortunately, there are a few downgrades that may not be worth the lower price.

    Pros
    • High-quality 120Hz OLED display
    • Long-lasting battery
    Cons
    • Inconsistent camera performance
    • No 3.5mm headphone jack
    • No charger in box

While the Nothing brand is a newcomer to the industry, the man behind it is not. The founder of Nothing is Carl Pei, who also co-founded OnePlus. In similar fashion as Pei's former company, Nothing is beginning its story by releasing a device that punches above what its mid-range price tag would suggest.

Samsung’s A-series lineup, with its all-around performance, has been a mid-range champion for years. And though the Nothing Phone 1 and Samsung Galaxy A53 both offer incredible value, only one can reign supreme.

Nothing Phone 1

Samsung Galaxy A53 5G

Chipset

Snapdragon 778G+

Exynos 1280

RAM & Storage

8GB RAM + 128GB memory / 8GB+256GB / 12GB+256GB

6GB RAM + 128GB, microSD expandable

Display

6.55-inch 1080x2400 120Hz, OLED with HDR10+, 10-Bit color depth, 1,200 nits max brightness

6.5" 1080x2400 OLED 60Hz, 800 nits max brightness

Charging

33W PD3.0 wired charging, 15W Qi wireless charging with dual charging support, 5W reverse charging

25W wired

Battery

4,500mAh

5,000mAh

Rear Cameras

50MP main, 50MP ultra-wide

64MP main, 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide, 5MP macro, 5MP depth

Front Camera

16MP

32MP

Connectivity

5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC

5G, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC

Dimensions

159.2 x 75.8 x 8.3mm, 193.5g

159.6 x 74.8 x 8.1mm, 189g

Software

Android 12 / Nothing OS 1

Android 12 / One UI 4.1

Colors

White, black

Black

Price

$475 (£399)

$300 (£248)

Pricing and availability: Where can you get these phones?

Nothing-Phone-1-Android-13-beta-hands-on-hero

Nothing initially decided to skip the U.S. when it launched the Phone 1 but may be looking to bring the Phone 1 to the States. Currently, Nothing can be found in the UK, Europe, Japan, and India. As of now, you can only import the Nothing phone to the United States. It’ll provide spotty coverage at best, so hopefully, they will release it here. You can find the 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage version of the Nothing Phone 1 for $475 (£399).

The Samsung Galaxy A53 5G is a lot easier to find and available from most carriers, including AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. You can also find the device unlocked through the usual outlets such as Amazon, Best Buy, and Samsung for a price of $450 (£373).

Design and build: Which phone is built better?

Nothing Phone 1 lights on 1

Nothing went out of its way to create a unique device that helps it stand out from even the best Android phones. The Nothing Phone 1 looks like an iPhone 14 with its recycled aluminum frame, flat glass design, and dual rear cameras. Even with its large 6.55-inch screen, Nothing was able to keep weight to only 193.5g. The power button can be found on the phone's right side, and the volume controls are on the left side.

Flip over the device, and you will immediately notice how much love went into its design. The back features a translucent cover revealing its internal components covered by white plates. Nothing didn’t stop there, though. It filled the back with white LEDs that create the Glyph Interface. These LEDs surround different components throughout the back and can light up independently of each other. The lights can also be used to alert you of notifications or as a battery charge indicator.

Samsung Galaxy A53

The Samsung Galaxy A53 5G follows a more traditional design philosophy. The Galaxy A53 5G doesn’t look or feel premium with its plastic frame and the plastic back that rises to meet its quad-camera setup. With a slightly smaller 6.5-inch display and plastic body, the device clocks in at 189g. The power and volume buttons can be found on the right side of the device.

Both phones offer some resistance to water and dust and are similar in size. The Nothing Phone 1 has an IP53 rating and the Galaxy A53 5G has an IP67 rating. The dimensions of the Nothing phone are 159.2 x 75.8 x 8.3mm, while the A53 is 159.6 x 74.8 x 8.1mm. The Nothing phone comes in black or white, and the Galaxy phone comes in black.

Display: Which has the better screen?

Nothing Phone 1 23

Nothing and Samsung outfitted their respective devices with similarly performing displays on paper and in use. The Nothing Phone 1 has a 6.55-inch OLED panel with a 1080 x 2400 resolution. In addition, it boasts a dynamic 120Hz refresh rate and a 240Hz touch response rate, giving you a smooth and fluid experience. And with a peak brightness of 1200 nits, you won’t have trouble seeing the screen in direct sunlight. The Phone 1 is HDR10+ compatible and has 10-bit color depth support.

The Samsung Galaxy A53 has a 6.5-inch OLED panel with a 1080 x 2400 resolution, plus a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth scrolling. The refresh rate isn’t dynamic like the Phone 1, but you can manually set it to 60Hz to save battery life. The display is capable of reaching a peak brightness of 800 nits.

Both displays are protected by Gorilla Glass 5 and have a hole punch for the front-facing camera. Nothing places its selfie camera in the top-left corner of the panel, and Samsung chose to put its camera in the top-middle portion of its panel.

Cameras: Best shots

Nothing Phone 1 4

The Nothing Phone 1’s main 50MP lens can take great photos in good lighting. Pictures snap quickly, but they tend to get grainy once the lights begin to dim. Nothing equipped this device with a night mode, but you must manually turn this feature on and off.

The device has a capable 50MP ultra-wide lens with a 114-degree field of view. Nothing can utilize its Glyph interface on the back to help act as a light source for pictures and videos.

Samsung equipped the Galaxy A53 5G with a 64MP main camera, a 12MP ultra-wide, a 5MP macro sensor, and a 5MP depth sensor. The main lens is a capable performer, giving you consistent photos that are full of color. The 64MP bins photos to 16MP images by default, but you can easily turn that off.

samsung-galaxy-a53-cameras

The 12MP ultra-wide with its 123-degree field of view produces crisp and clear photos with little distortion when the lighting is good. However, it can struggle in dim lighting and make grainy photos. Also, the main lens has an automatic night mode, but it isn’t available on the ultra-wide lens. In addition, the 5MP macro and depth sensors are nicer on paper than the 2MP ones you normally find in this range; however, they produce inconsistent shots and can mostly be ignored.

The Nothing Phone 1 has a 16MP selfie camera, and the Galaxy A53 5G uses a 32MP front-facing lens. The two phones offer similar video capabilities and can record videos at 1080p/60fps or 4K/30fps.

Hardware and battery life

Nothing Phone 1 2

The Nothing Phone 1 comes with a Snapdragon 778+ chipset and is available in three different configurations. The base model features 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The mid-tier model keeps the 8GB of RAM and ups the storage capacity to 256GB. The premium tier gets 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage space. Nothing was able to equip this phone with both wireless charging and reverse wireless charging.

Rounding out the hardware is sub-6GHz 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, stereo speakers, NFC, and an in-display fingerprint sensor.

Samsung decided to use its in-house Exynos 1280 chipset along with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. If you need more storage space, the Galaxy A53 5G can be expanded with a microSD card. The Exynos chipset used here is a bit underpowered compared to the Snapdragon in the Nothing Phone 1.

samsung-galaxy-a53-back-with-speaker

In Geekbench 5 tests, Samsung’s chip is 4% slower in single-core performance and up to a whopping 49% slower in multicore performance. As a result, there are times when the Galaxy A53 5G can lag a bit if you push it past the basics. It also has an in-display fingerprint sensor, sub-6Ghz 5G, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1, stereo speakers, and NFC onboard.

The Nothing Phone 1 offers a 4500mAh battery, and the Galaxy A53 5G has a 5000mAh one for all-day battery life. The Nothing Phone 1 can usually make it a day before needing a charge, while Samsung can go almost two days. Nothing uses a 33W charger, and Samsung uses a 25W charger.

Software: Which phone has better performance?

Nothing Phone 1 21

Nothing takes a similar approach to Google or Motorola and uses a lightly skinned version of Android 12 called Nothing OS. The only major changes from stock Android are slight tweaks to the notification shade and some added widgets. Nothing says the Phone 1 will get three years of Android updates and four years of bi-monthly security patches. At the time of writing, there is a beta for Android 13.

samsung-galaxy-a53-pink-floral

Samsung launched the Galaxy A53 5G with One UI 4.1 using the Android 12 operating system. One UI 5.0 and Android 13 are currently being rolled out to A53 users. One UI is a heavily skinned version of Android that some people love and some love to hate. Samsung tends to put duplicate apps on its phones. You get a Samsung version as well as the Google version, so it’s generally more bloated than a phone like Nothing’s. Samsung has committed to four years of Android updates and five years of security updates.

Nothing Phone 1 vs. Samsung Galaxy A53 5G: Which should you buy?

The Galaxy A53 5G is one of the best budget Android devices you can buy, and if Nothing brings its Phone 1 to the U.S., I believe it deserves a spot on that list. Both devices are well-equipped and trade blows in different categories. The categories you value most will determine which phone you should get.

The Nothing Phone 1 offers a unique design, solid performance, a decent set of cameras, decent battery life, and a UI that is close to stock Android. It's a new company, so you have to take Nothing’s word regarding the update schedule. The Samsung Galaxy A53 5G has a more traditional design, mediocre performance, solid cameras, great battery life, and a heavily skinned One UI. You can trust Samsung to keep to its update promises.

The Nothing Phone 1 does enough to be crowned the winner in this comparison. It's an all-around performer with no real weak points. It even offers some beneficial added features, such as a dynamic refresh rate and wireless charging. The camera and battery may be a tad better on the Galaxy device, but its chipset holds it back from being the winner here.

nothing-phone-1-render
Nothing Phone 1

The Nothing Phone 1 has a unique design, capable display, and impressive performance at a midrange price. Its translucent back is filled with LEDs creating a one-of-a-kind design. You can readily find the Phone 1 overseas, but Nothing hasn't brought the device to the United States, but that may be changing.

Samsung-Galaxy-A53-5G
Samsung Galaxy A53
$349 $449 Save $100

The Samsung Galaxy A53 5G is a perfectly capable mid-range phone with a great 120Hz display and a good camera setup. However, it lacks a bit of power due to its chipset.