The Nothing Phone (4b) launched in India at ₹34,999 for the base 8GB/128GB model, or an effective ₹29,999 once you stack the bank discount and exchange bonus, the same trick every brand is leaning on right now to make sticker shock look smaller. For that money you get a Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 chip, a 6.77-inch FHD+ AMOLED display, a 6,000 mAh battery capped at 33W charging, and Nothing’s usual transparent design with the miniaturized Glyph Bar on the back.
It’s a fine phone. The design still turns heads, the software is clean, and the battery is decent. But “fine” is a tough sell when you’re competing against a mid-range segment in India that’s stacked right now, and where several rivals either beat it on hardware, undercut it on price, or both. Here are five phones I’d actually put ahead of it.
Nothing Phone (4b) Alternatives
1. realme GT 7T
The GT 7T is priced at ₹30,499 for the base 8GB/256GB variant, already cheaper than the Nothing Phone (4b)’s actual sticker price, and it comes with double the storage as standard. It also runs the MediaTek Dimensity 8400 Max (with UFS 4.0), a stronger chip than the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 (UFS 2.2) in the Phone (4b), paired with a 7,000 mAh battery and 120W charging that gets you a full charge in well under half an hour. Oh, and the charger is included in the box unlike the Phone (4b).
The 6.8-inch 1.5K AMOLED display running at 120Hz also out-resolves the Phone (4b)’s FHD+ panel. Launched on Android 15, it also gets 4 years of OS updates and 6 years of security updates, putting it in line with the Phone (4b). The software itself can be bloated, but it takes less than 5 minutes to clean it up.
As for cameras, the hardware is undoubtedly stronger on the realme GT 7T. It has a much bigger main sensor and a 32 MP selfie camera that also shoots in 4K, unlike the Phone (4b) which caps out at 1080p. If the performance, cameras, and charging speed matter more to you than the Glyph Bar’s party tricks and Nothing’s software, this is the easy pick.
2. Motorola Edge 70 Fusion
Motorola’s Edge 70 Fusion starts at ₹26,600 to ₹27,999 depending on the retailer, and for less money than the Phone (4b) you get a Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chip (more powerful, with UFS 3.1), a 144Hz 1.5K AMOLED display that hits a claimed 1,800 nits of HBM brightness, and a 7,000 mAh battery with 68W charging (charger included in the box).
As for the software, the Edge 70 Fusion is promised to get 3 OS updates and 5 years of security updates, putting it in line with the Phone (4b). Again, the cameras on the Edge 70 Fusion are better—a 1/1.56” main camera, 13MP ultra-wide camera with AF, and a 32MP selfie camera with 4K video support. There’s support for NFC as well, something that the Phone (4b) lacks.
It also carries IP68 and IP69 ratings plus MIL-STD-810H certification, which puts its durability well ahead of the Phone (4b)’s basic IP64 splash resistance. The quad-curved display and linen-textured back finish also make it feel more premium than its price suggests. This one is genuinely cheaper and better on nearly every spec sheet line that matters.
3. Redmi Turbo 5
This is the one with an asterisk. The Redmi Turbo 5 launched at Rs 35,999 for the 8GB/256GB variant in June, and has since crept up to around ₹37,999, a price hike of about ₹2,000 tied to the same memory-cost pressures hitting the entire industry. Even with that increase, it’s worth considering over the Phone (4b) because the spec gap is wide enough to absorb it.
You’re getting a Dimensity 8500 Ultra chipset, a 7,540 mAh silicon-carbon battery with 100W charging (included in the box), UFS 4.1 storage (against UFS 2.2 on the (4b)), and 256GB as the base storage tier against the Phone (4b)’s 128GB starting point.
The Redmi isn’t just about performance, though. The camera hardware is also quite capable—in fact, better than the Phone (4b)’s. It uses a larger 1/1.95-inch main sensor paired with a brighter f/1.5 aperture, as opposed to the 1/2.76-inch f/1.8 setup on the Phone (4b). The ultra-wide camera on the two is the same, and the selfie camera is slightly better on the Phone (4b), although neither phone can shoot in 4K from the front.
The Redmi also takes the lead when it comes to durability, with IP68 and IP69 ratings, an aluminium frame, and also NFC support. Its software update policy is stronger than the Phone (4b)’s as well, with 4 years of OS updates and 6 years of security updates promised. HyperOS isn’t the most optimized or polished Android skin out there, but it’s definitely not a dealbreaker when the hardware is this good.
4. realme P4 Power
If your priority is never thinking about your charger again, the realme P4 Power is hard to beat. It starts around ₹25,999 to ₹27,999 depending on when you catch it, and it packs a 10,001 mAh battery, India’s largest on a standard-format phone, alongside a 144Hz 1.5K AMOLED display and the Dimensity 7400 Ultra chipset (less powerful than the 6 Gen 4).
The camera setup includes a 1/1.95-inch sensor for the main camera and the rest of the setup similar to the Phone (4b)—an 8MP ultra-wide and a 16MP selfie camera. There’s IP69 for dust and water resistance, and the phone is promised 3 years of OS updates plus 4 years of security patches.
realme claims over 32 hours of YouTube streaming or nearly 12 hours of continuous BGMI on a single charge, and it still ships with an 80W charger in the box. You do lose NFC and get a fairly thicker phone in exchange, but for anyone who treats battery anxiety as a daily annoyance, this trades away features the Phone (4b) doesn’t excel at anyway.
5. OnePlus Nord CE6
The Nord CE 6 launched at ₹29,999 and has also seen a price bump recently, now sitting closer to ₹32,999 to ₹33,999 after a roughly 5% hike tied to the same component costs affecting Redmi.
Even after that adjustment, it undercuts or matches the Phone (4b) while offering an 8,000 mAh battery with 80W SUPERVOOC charging, a 144Hz AMOLED display hitting 1,800 nits of HBM brightness, and a proper quad IP rating (IP66/68/69/69K) with MIL-STD-810H certification.
As for cameras, the Nord CE6 has a similar 1/2.88-inch f/1.8 setup for the main camera but no ultra-wide, plus a superior 32MP selfie camera with 4K video recording. The software, although bloated, can be cleaned up in less than 5 minutes, and is smoother and more feature-rich than the Phone (4b)’s Nothing OS. It lags behind in update policy, though, with only 2 OS updates and 3 years of security updates promised.
The Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chip isn’t dramatically more powerful than the Phone (4b)’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 4, but the combination with UFS 3.1 storage makes it feel like the more complete phone for similar money.
Where This Leaves the Phone (4b)
None of this makes the Nothing Phone (4b) a bad phone, it’s a reasonable option if the design and Nothing’s software experience are what you’re actually buying into. But on pure spec-for-rupee value, it’s getting squeezed from every direction: realme and Motorola beat it on price, Redmi and OnePlus beat it on hardware even after their own hikes, and realme’s P4 Power beats it on the one thing most people actually complain about, battery life. If design and a “clean” version of Android are the priority, keep the Phone (4b) on your list. If you’re optimizing for value, there’s a stronger case for looking elsewhere first.
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