Motorola Edge 70 Pro vs OnePlus Nord 6 vs Nothing Phone 4a Pro: Which is the Best Phone Under Rs 40,000

The Motorola Edge 70 Pro has officially entered India's premium mid-range smartphone segment, bringing a strong combination of flagship-inspired features, sleek design, and aggressive pricing to the sub-Rs 40,000 category. With its powerful hardware and refined software experience, the Edge 70 Pro aims to stand out in one of the most competitive smartphone segments in the country.\

That said, the competition is far from easy. The OnePlus Nord 6 and Nothing Phone 4a Pro are already among the strongest contenders under Rs 40,000, offering premium specifications, capable cameras, and unique user experiences. So, does the Motorola Edge 70 Pro have what it takes to outperform these popular rivals and become your next sub-40K smartphone? Let's find out.

Motorola Edge 70 Pro vs OnePlus Nord 6 vs Nothing Phone 4a Pro

Design, Build, Display

All three phones follow unique design formulas. The Motorola Edge 70 Pro maintains its sleek design and fabric or marble finish. It also continues with the curved screen, which gives it a bezel-less look. Motorola doesn't skimp on the build either, featuring MIL-STD-810H military-grade durability, an IP68 and IP69 rating, and an aluminium frame.

The Nothing Phone 4a Pro stands out as the most visually distinctive device among the three, thanks to its bold rectangular camera module and secondary Dot Matrix display on the rear panel. It also delivers the most premium in-hand feel with a metal frame, aluminium rear panel, and Gorilla Glass 7i protection on the front. However, its relatively weaker IP rating remains one of the few compromises in an otherwise premium design package.

Meanwhile, the OnePlus Nord 6 features a stylish holographic ribbon-inspired finish paired with a metallic camera island that slightly rises from the back panel. The smartphone uses Crystal Guard Glass on the front, which OnePlus claims offers protection comparable to Gorilla Glass Victus+, alongside a matte glass rear panel. Although it comes with a plastic frame, the device makes up for it with IP68 and IP69K ratings, providing strong resistance against dust and water.

All three phones have similar 1.5K AMOLED displays, although the Nord 6 is slightly faster, but the jump from 144Hz to 165Hz will be indistinguishable to the naked eye. All three phones feature similar levels of brightness and sharpness. The Nord 6 is protected by OnePlus Crystal Guard on the front, while the Edge 70 Pro and Phone 4a Pro use Gorilla Glass 7i.

Performance, Battery, Software

Both the Motorola Edge 70 Pro and OnePlus Nord 6 offer similar levels of performance on paper, with the latter just edging it. Additionally, the Nord 6 also brings a myriad of features to improve your overall gaming experience. And while the Snapdragon chip on the Phone 4a Pro is a solid option, it does fall short of the competition, falling nearly a million points behind the Nord 6 in AnTuTu.

While all three phones have fairly large batteries that can easily get you through an entire day, the OnePlus Nord 6 obliterates the competition with its 9,000mAh cell. The Edge 70 Pro has a the second largest cell, while the Nothing Phone 4a Pro comes in last place, despite having a larger battery capacity than the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

On the software side all three phones run Android 16 out of the box with their own custom skins on top.

• Motorola Edge 70 Pro: Three years of Android OS updates and four years of security patches
• OnePlus Nord 6: Four years of Android OS updates and six years of security patches
• Nothing Phone 4a Pro: Three years of Android OS updates and five years of security patches

Nothing OS, Hello UI, and OxygenOS each deliver a different take on the Android experience. Nothing OS keeps things simple with a clean, near-stock interface paired with the brand's distinctive Glyph lighting features and minimalist aesthetic. Motorola's Hello UI stays closer to stock Android as well, but adds thoughtful enhancements such as Moto Gestures, smart personalization tools, and useful productivity features that improve day-to-day usability without overwhelming the interface. OxygenOS from OnePlus sits between the two, combining a smooth and fast user experience with a refined design and a practical set of customization and multitasking features.

Overall, OxygenOS offers the most balanced experience, while Nothing OS is ideal for minimalists and Hello UI appeals to users who want a clean interface with handy software additions.

Cameras

For optics, the OnePlus Nord 6 is equipped with a 50MP Sony LYT-600 CMOS primary sensor with OIS and EIS and an f/1.8 aperture and PDAF. The main camera is accompanied by an 8MP OmniVision OV08F ultrawide lens with a 112-degree field of view. Up front, the handset opts for a 32MP selfie camera.

The Nothing Phone 4a Pro also has a stacked camera setup with a 50MP Sony LYT700c primary sensor (OIS, f/1.88 aperture), an 8MP Sony IMX355 ultrawide lens with a 120° FOV, and a 50MP Samsung JN5 periscope telephoto shooter with OIS and 3.5x optical zoom. Up front, the Phone (4a) Pro opts for a 32MP (Samsung KD1) selfie camera with an f/2.2 aperture.

The Motorola Edge 70 Pro features a dual-camera setup on the back with a 50MP Sony LYTIA-710 primary sensor with OIS and an f/1.8 aperure and a 50MP ultrawide lens with an f/2.2 aperture. The Edge 70 Pro also opts for a 50MP selfie camera with an f/2.0 aperture and autofocus.

Overall, the Nothing Phone 4a Pro appears to offer the most versatile camera system thanks to its dedicated periscope telephoto lens and balanced triple-camera setup. The Motorola Edge 70 Pro stands out with its high-resolution ultrawide and selfie cameras, making it appealing for content creators. Meanwhile, the OnePlus Nord 6 focuses on delivering a dependable primary and selfie camera experience with a dated ultrawide lens.

Motorola Edge 70 Pro vs OnePlus Nord 6 vs Nothing Phone 4a Pro: Conclusion

Overall, all three smartphones bring compelling strengths to the premium mid-range segment, but they cater to very different types of users. The Motorola Edge 70 Pro stands out with its premium build quality, excellent durability ratings, versatile cameras, and the unique ability to record 4K 60fps video across all three cameras, including the selfie shooter.

The Nothing Phone 4a Pro, on the other hand, offers the most distinctive design and the best photography flexibility thanks to its dedicated periscope telephoto lens. Meanwhile, the OnePlus Nord 6 remains the all-rounder of the trio, combining top-tier performance, massive battery life, long software support, and a polished OxygenOS experience.

Ultimately, the Nord 6 feels like the safest overall pick, while the other two excel in design and camera-specific use cases.