BEST Midrange Phone 2025? - Galaxy A56 vs Pixel 9a vs iPhone 16e vs Nothing 3a Pro

In a world of expensive flagship phones that all look the same year after year, the midrange phone has quietly been catching up. In fact, almost a month ago, I switched to one of these four phones as my everyday phone and to my surprise, I actually don’t really miss my flagship S24 Ultra. Don’t get me wrong, there are benefits, but the midrange experience is closer than you might think if you choose the right one. So in this video, I want to compare these four phones which offer much of the flagship experience at nearly half the price. Latest prices & colors (affiliate links help the channel) Samsung Galaxy A56 👉 https://amzn.to/4lFoBZ1 iPhone 16e 👉 https://www.apple.com/iphone-16e/ Nothing 3a Pro 👉 https://mikeobrienmedia.com/nothing3aPro Google Pixel 9a 👉 https://amzn.to/4cRiXPC Follow me on social media! (it's always just @mikeobrienn) Instagram:   / mikeobrienn   Twitter:   / mikeobrienn   TikTok:   / mikeobrienn   About me: https://mikeobrienmedia.com Please comment below with any questions you might have. Thank you all for watching! I appreciate you! Disclaimer: This video is purely based on my experiences, research, and opinions. You and only you are responsible for your actions. I made this channel to advise viewers and I truly hope to help you all out. I love making these videos and connecting with my viewers! One or more of the products shown in this video may have been sent to me at no cost. This does not influence my opinions; I always cover both pros and cons. This channel is monetized via YouTube ads as well as some affiliate links. If a purchase is made after clicking the link, I will receive a small commission at no extra charge to the buyer. Thank you all for watching! ADDITIONAL NOTES: PRICES Samsung Galaxy A56 - $439 on Amazon (purchased) Pixel 9a - $499 (loaner) iPhone 16e - $599 (loaner) Nothing 3a Pro - $459 (gifted) Also, the Nothing 3a $379 Now you'll notice throughout this video. There's a comment theme. There are two schools of thought on mid-range phones. You could either do everything that a flagship does, but at a slightly less good level. Or you could do fewer things but at a flagship level DESIGNS Nothing 3a Pro Extra button IP64 Glyph interface Glass back, plastic sides - feels weird to me Pixel 9a Ultra slim, no major bump! Polycarbonate back Aluminum rails CHUNKY bezels are hard to un-see IP68 A56 Aluminum frame Gorilla glass victus back IP67 iPhone 16e Slim no bump Glass and aluminum Opposite buttons is nice Action button is useful IP68 Wobble test I’ll have links below if you want to see the colors of each BIOMETRICS Pixel optical sensor is frustrating but face unlock usually beats me to my pin so :) Face ID on iphone DISPLAYS Nothing 3a Pro = 3000 nits, 6.77” 120Hz AMOLED FHD+ Galaxy A56 = 1900 nits, 120Hz, FHD+ Super AMOLED 6.7” Pixel 9a = 6.3” actua display 60-120Hz also 1080p iPhone 16e = 6.1” 60Hz TrueTone display CAMERA COMPARISON Primary - all 4 Ultrawide - only 3 Telephoto - only 3a Pro Macro - only A56. Others can get close with other lenses though SOFTWARE Satellite sos on iphone FEATURES Nothing: Essential Space SPEAKERS iPhone rattles, maybe dust in there? Otherwise it sounds really good Otherwise minimal differences SPEED App open test Nothing = Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 5G - feels surprisingly snappy thanks to the aminmations iPhone has A18 with 2 fewer cores than Pro, but still top notch Pixel has Tensor G4, same as flagships A56 feels the slowest with Exynos chip but is not that slow BATTERY Nothing = 5000mAh battery, claimed 26 hrs of youtube. 50W fast charging, NO WIRELESS Galaxy = 5000mAh, claimed 29 hrs playback, 45W wired charging. NO WIRELESSS?! Pixel = 5100 mAh battery, claimed 30 hrs, pretty legit. 23W charging, also qi wireless iPhone 16e = 26 hrs claimed, 7.5W wireless, 15/20W wired Wireless charging? Again, do it best with wired, or do both mid-level (slower) LONGEVITY 6 OS upgrades for Galaxy, iPhone will likely get 5 years, 7 years of OS upgrades for Pixel, and 3 OS upgrades for Nothing TIMESTAMPS: 0:00:00 Introduction (Rise of mid-range phones) 0:00:38 Prices 0:02:28 Design 0:06:40 Biometrics 0:08:59 Displays 0:10:20 Cameras 0:12:22 Software 0:16:52 Speed Test 0:17:57 Battery