In an industry full of identical black slabs, Nothing continues to be one of the few brands actually having fun with smartphone design. With the new Phone (4b), they are expanding their lineup to introduce a dedicated b-series, built specifically to lower the barrier of entry for younger buyers, students, or anyone who wants a distinct daily driver without dropping four figures.

Instead of stripping away all the personality to hit a budget target, Nothing took the core elements people love about their hardware and repackaged them into a practical, eye-catching package. If you are tired of boring budget phones and want hardware that turns heads while keeping you productive, the Phone (4b) is aimed squarely at your pocket.

Design

Pulling the Phone (4b) out of the box, the design immediately stands out, though long-time brand followers will notice a deliberate shift in styling. The full edge-to-edge transparent rear panel seen on other releases is gone here. Instead, transparency is focused entirely around the oversized camera module at the top, creating a clear window that showcases exposed screws, precision-moulded components, and mechanical accents.

The rest of the rear unibody uses a solid, opaque eco-polycarbonate finish, giving the phone a clean two-tone aesthetic across its three colourways: Black, White, and a vibrant Blue.

In the hand, it feels surprisingly premium for plastic. Nothing used a three-layer coating with a UV-cured top finish that does a great job keeping greasy fingerprints to a minimum while offering plenty of grip.

Around the front, the display is protected by Dragontrail Glass Pro. ^{This uses an alkali-aluminosilicate chemical strengthening process engineered to deliver high resistance against surface scratches and direct impacts while keeping manufacturing costs accessible. In daily use, it easily shrugs off pocket contact with keys or loose change, though pairing it with a tempered glass screen protector remains a smart extra precaution for everyday peace of mind.}

Durability overall is right where it needs to be for daily life. With an IP64 rating for dust and splash resistance, you do not have to stress about sudden rain showers or accidental splashes on the bench.^{While polycarbonate can pick up fine micro-scratches over time compared to rear glass panels, the chassis feels rigid, lightweight, and easily able to survive everyday handling and pocket wear.}

Performance

Under the hood, the Phone (4b) runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 processor, built on an efficient 4nm architecture.^{Paired with Nothing OS, daily operation is remarkably snappy.App launches feel immediate, multitasking is smooth, and scrolling through long feeds never bogs down.}

For gaming and media creation, the processor punches well above its weight class. It handles casual and mid-tier gaming with ease, supporting up to 120 frames per second in optimized titles. ^{That processing power also extends to content creation with Dual-view video recording. The system processes simultaneous feeds from both the front camera and the primary rear sensor at the same time. For creators, vloggers, or anyone covering live events, you can capture your commentary and reactions while showing what is in front of you, with the flexibility to display the feeds as an adjustable Picture-in-Picture window or a split-screen top/bottom layout.}

While sustained, intense 3D gaming and dual-camera rendering push the silicon, the internal 4,400mm² vapor chamber does an admirable job dissipating heat so the phone stays comfortable during extended sessions.

The 6.77-inch Super AMOLED screen is a genuine highlight in this price bracket.^{It gives you a crisp Full HD+ resolution with an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate and reaches a peak brightness of 2,000 nits.Even standing outside under harsh midday sun, text and video stay completely legible.The dual stereo speakers offer punchy, clean audio with a wide 160-step volume range, which is great for podcasts and videos around the house.}

Features

Hardware looks great on paper, but a smartphone lives and dies by how seamless it feels in day-to-day use. Nothing has packed the Phone (4b) with a solid mix of functional hardware touches and thoughtful software tools designed to cut down on screen distractions.

• The Glyph Bar: The rear lighting array uses 45 mini-LEDs divided into five zones. It acts as an ambient dashboard, letting you track transport pickups, food delivery progress, countdown timers, or camera shutter counts without needing to turn your main screen on and get distracted.
• TrueLens Camera Setup:You get a 50MP primary sensor with Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) paired with an 8MP ultra-wide lens. Nothing’s RAW processing handles high-contrast outdoor shots well, preserving detail in bright skies without blowing out shadows.
• The Essential Key: A dedicated physical button on the side triggers quick-capture productivity tools, making it easy to record instant voice memos, transcribe thoughts, or capture notes straight into your digital workspace.
• Serious Battery Life: Packing a 5,200 mAh cell, battery endurance is stellar. In daily testing, it easily achieved 16 to 18 hours of mixed screen time, comfortably stretching across two full days of typical use. It supports 33W wired charging, hitting 50% in under 30 minutes, plus 7.5W reverse wired power sharing. Note that you will need to provide your own USB-C charging adapter.

Issues and Opportunities

There really is not much to fault with the Phone (4b) when you look at the hardware package for the price, but there are a few practical considerations worth highlighting:

• No Early Platform Beta Access: For tech enthusiasts who enjoy testing pre-release software builds, this device follows standard retail update channels rather than immediate developer preview rings. For most everyday buyers, this will not matter in the slightest, but it is a factor for early adopters who want instant access to upcoming operating system test builds.
• Internal Portfolio Spacing:With Nothing expanding its lineup across multiple tiers, the price and performance brackets between models are getting closer together. Buyers will want to evaluate whether their priority is maximum battery endurance and lighter weight, or paying a little extra for higher tier processing power.
• A Packed Value Market: The sub-$700 category is intensely contested with dozens of competing devices, which makes standing out on retail shelves a tough challenge regardless of how good the hardware is.

Price and availability

The Nothing Phone (4b) is available globally following its official release in mid-July. It occupies an aggressive entry-level price point, delivering significant value for its feature set.

Pricing starts at A$629 from Nothing for the base 8GB RAM and 128GB storage configuration, available directly through official retail channels.

Overall

The Nothing Phone (4b) proves that budget phones do not need to look or feel boring. By bringing over the iconic aesthetic, a practical Glyph interface, a gorgeous 120Hz display, and multi-day battery endurance, Nothing has built one of the most characterful budget devices on the market.

Backed by three major Android OS upgrades and six years of security patches, it offers tremendous peace of mind.^{If you are a student, a tech enthusiast on a budget, or simply someone who wants an affordable daily phone that stands out from the crowd, the Nothing Phone (4b) is an easy recommendation.}