Nothng says this cost-cutting measure is not about cost-cutting (yeah, proper)

C. Scott Brown / Android Authority

TL; Dr

Nothing has issued a blog post to explain why it’s using slower storage on the Nothing Phone 3a series.
The company has claimed that this decision “wasn’t about cutting costs.”
Followers aren’t convinced by this assertion, though.

Nothing issued a blog post this week detailing the reasons why it’s using older UFS 2.2 storage on the Phone 3a series instead of the newer (but not newest) UFS 3.1 standard.

You’d think Nothing would readily admit that this is a cost-related cutback, but this isn’t the case:

Choosing UFS 2.2 for the Phone (3a) series wasn’t about cutting costs, but about putting resources where they matter most. A faster storage standard like UFS 3.1 sounds great on paper, but in everyday use, its benefits are often marginal compared to optimisations in software, battery life, and display quality.

The company further asserts that UFS 3.1 storage is better in benchmarks, but that the combination of storage, RAM, the processor, and software optimization all help make a phone feel fast.

Nothing goes on to say that you aren’t likely to notice the difference between UFS 2.2 and UFS 3.1 storage in most tasks (specifically mentioning web browsing, messaging, social media). It concedes that UFS 3.1 is better for “large game installations and big file transfers,” but argues that these aren’t daily activities for most users.

The company claimed that system-level optimizations allowed the Nothing Phone 3a’s older storage to be competitive with a device running UFS 3.1 storage (left). Check out the firm’s table below.

Smartphone fans hit back

Nevertheless, enthusiasts don’t seem to be buying Nothing’s arguments here. Many users took issue with the company’s claim that it “wasn’t about cutting costs.” Nothing’s claim is patently untrue given that the Phone 3a devices are mid-tier phones and that compromises have to be made somewhere to achieve the desired price point.

It’s not uncommon for manufacturers to use slower storage in their budget phones to ensure they remain affordable. Rival phones like the Redmi Note 14 Pro Plus, Samsung Galaxy A36 5G, and Motorola Razr 2024 have also recently made this decision. We do see some mid-tier devices like the Pixel 9a and Galaxy A56 5G offering faster UFS 3.1 storage, but these phones are typically a little more expensive or make compromises in other areas.

Some users also took umbrage with the brand comparing its Phone 3a to a two-year-old phone (the realme 11 Pro Plus), which has a less powerful chip but UFS 3.1 storage. Meanwhile, a few Twitter and website users claimed that their current Nothing phones exhibited noticeable camera lag, citing these issues as a reason why the manufacturer should’ve used faster storage.

Either way, Nothing’s claim that downgrading the storage wasn’t about costs doesn’t really hold water. Cutbacks are always expected when making a cheap smartphone, and the firm could’ve simply acknowledged this fact with the Phone 3a series and avoided this commotion altogether.

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