{"id":21370,"date":"2026-07-07T12:45:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T11:45:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovatenews.site\/index.php\/2026\/07\/07\/hands-on-nothing-phone-4b-is-a-better-budget-phone-at-an-impossible-price-video\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T12:45:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T11:45:57","slug":"hands-on-nothing-phone-4b-is-a-better-budget-phone-at-an-impossible-price-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/innovatenews.site\/index.php\/2026\/07\/07\/hands-on-nothing-phone-4b-is-a-better-budget-phone-at-an-impossible-price-video\/","title":{"rendered":"Hands-on: Nothing Phone (4b) is a better budget phone at an impossible price [Video]"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The topic Hands-on: Nothing Phone (4b) is a better budget phone at an impossible price [Video]<\/strong> is currently the subject of lively discussion \u2014 readers and analysts are keeping a close eye on developments.<\/p>\n

This is taking place in a dynamic environment: companies\u2019 decisions and competitors\u2019 reactions can quickly change the picture.<\/p>\n

The Nothing Phone (4b) is here and, with it, what feels like a better attempt at building an even-cheaper budget phone than what came before, though it is a lot more expensive this time.<\/p>\n

Nothing\u2019s journey in smartphones brought it to the release of Phone (3a) Lite last year, which was a pretty confusing and, frankly, messy launch. The device was a rehash of the cheaper CMF Phone 2 Pro, with the notable downside of including lockscreen ads that were strange, to say the least. \u201cLock Glimpse,\u201d as we reported, existed to send users to a truly bizarre and sketchy blog of what appeared to be AI-generated clickbait found across a host of different websites, with a questionable privacy policy to top it all off.<\/p>\n

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Nothing has largely walked back lockscreen ads and, on Phone (4b), they\u2019re not in place at all (at least on our review unit), and that\u2019s just the start of what feels like a better attempt as a lower-market budget phone from Nothing.<\/p>\n

The Nothing Phone (4b) is a pretty simple step down from Phone (4a). It has a 6.77-inch 120Hz AMOLED display (2344\u00d71088) that looks good in person, a Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 chipset that feels fast enough in general use, 8GB of RAM, 128GB or 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage, and a 5,200 mAh battery (except in India, where it\u2019s 6,000 mAh), all with Android 16 out of the box (with 3 years of OS updates and 6 years of security updates \u2013 not bad at all).<\/p>\n

Cameras include 50MP primary, 8MP ultrawide, and 16MP selfie shooters.<\/p>\n

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All in all, it\u2019s pretty good. In using the device, I\u2019ve been perfectly satisfied with its performance and build. The blue color is gorgeous in person \u2013 this is easily my favorite blue since Google\u2019s \u201cReally Blue\u201d on the original Pixel \u2013 and by no means does this feel like a \u201ccheap\u201d phone.<\/p>\n

Nothing Phone (4b) will sell for \u00a3299 \/ \u20ac329. That\u2019s \u00a350 \/ \u20ac80 more than the Phone (3a) Lite, and merely \u00a350 \/ \u20ac20 less than Phone (4a). With so little in between these phones in price, it becomes harder to accept the downgrades. Phone (4a) has three rear cameras including a 50MP telephoto, a better selfie camera, a higher-resolution display, a faster processor, faster storage, and more water resistance.<\/p>\n

But, that\u2019s probably not what the goal was. \u201cRAMageddon\u201d has put tons of products like this in an impossible situation, all trying to find impossible prices. Nothing publicly acknowledged this just a few weeks ago regarding the cancellation of a new CMF device. Phone (4b) was going to have a tough time finding a real spot in the lineup, no matter what Nothing tried to do about it.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s virtually no reason for anyone to buy this device, at least in markets such as Europe. Promotions and sales \u2013 and an increasingly inevitable Phone (4a) price hike \u2013 will surely make this device more attractive than it is today, but it\u2019s in a tough spot right now. I like the device, just not the place it\u2019s been forced into \u2013 thanks AI companies.<\/p>\n

Nothing Phone (4b) won\u2019t be sold in the US, with Phone (4a) Pro remaining the brand\u2019s most affordable device in the States.<\/p>\n