Nothing Phone 3a Community Edition ASMR Unboxing & First Look: For the fans, by the fans

When brands claim to “co-create” with their users, it usually means picking a colour or voting on a wallpaper. Nothing’s Phone 3a Community Edition is the rare case where the company actually hands over the steering wheel. What began in March as an open call for fans, designers and developers turned into a full-blown, nine-month experiment where the community shaped the personality of the device from the ground up. On paper, it is a limited-edition run. In reality, it is a design project that escaped the usual marketing filter.

The result is strange in the best way. Playful, nostalgic and intentionally off-centre, it feels like someone took the Nothing design playbook and added scribbles, memories and bold colour notes.

Unboxing the Nothing Phone 3a Community Edition

The moment you pick it up, the difference is obvious. The box arrives in a turquoise sleeve with almost no branding. Pull it off and a minimal white box appears, carrying soft embossed outlines that echo the internals of the phone. It is very Nothing, but with a slightly more handcrafted vibe. The phone sits wrapped in paper instead of plastic, a small reminder of the brand’s sustainability-first choices.

Inside, the essentials stay familiar. A USB-C to USB-C cable, paperwork, and the signature glass-bead SIM ejector tool slotted neatly in place. But the real moment happens when you lift the phone out of the tray.

The translucent turquoise back might be the boldest design Nothing has shipped to date. The matte finish throws you straight back into the early-2000s era of curious transparent gadgets. It has an emotional pull without crossing into kitsch. It feels like an object with history rather than a product chasing nostalgia for effect. The pops of colour around the body only sharpen that feeling. A soft pink ring sits around the flash, the rear mic picks up a bright yellow accent and the essential key switches to glossy pink. None of this exists on the regular Phone 3a. This device is built for people who like personality to be visible from a distance.

Alongside the phone, Nothing is introducing a new accessory for 2025 called Dice. It fits right into their minimal universe. All six sides have numbers styled in the brand’s Ndot 55 font, giving a classic object a clean, digital twist. Ambrogio Tacconi and Louis Aymonod from Reveland created the concept and refined it with Nothing’s internal team.

Why this edition feels different

The overarching theme, Translucent Memories, comes from London-based industrial designer Emre Kayganaci. The idea was to bring back the curiosity that older transparent tech used to trigger. Because the visual direction and detailing were shaped by contributors instead of a boardroom, the phone ends up feeling more expressive than anything Nothing usually ships. The core identity stays untouched. The glyph interface works exactly like the standard Phone 3a. What changes is the attitude.

Specs, price and how to grab one for yourself

The Community Edition uses the same hardware as the regular Phone 3a and comes only in the 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage option. Production is capped at 1,000 units globally. In India, it is priced at ₹28,999 and will be available only through a one-day offline drop on 13 December 2025 at 33&Brew, Prestige Technostar, Doddanakundi Industrial Area 2, Phase 1, Brookefield, Bengaluru between 2 PM and 6 PM IST.