The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro mid-range smartphone has been spotted in an official certification body for the first time, all but confirming its existence.

As spotted by the website Smartprix, the follow-up to the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro has appeared in the IMEI database under the model number A069P.

For reference, the aforementioned Phone (3a) Pro went under the model number of A059P, so the identity of this phone is quite clear even if the name isn’t spelled out.

Unfortunately, that’s it for firm details. We don’t get any specifications to accompany that model number – merely confirmation of the phone’s existence.

Don’t expect an official announcement any time soon. These IMEI database appearances tend to occur some way out from a full release, and the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro only hit the market in late March.

We’re likely a good five or six months out from a reveal. However, you can see what this fan-made concept of the (4a) Pro design looks like…

What we hope to see

There’s plenty for Nothing to be working on in the meantime. While we liked the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro, it didn’t quite offer the same value proposition as the Nothing Phone (3a).

For its significantly higher asking fee of £449, we didn’t feel that the Pro’s camera system (the main point of differentiation) was sufficiently impressive.

What it did bring to the mid-range smartphone party was a dedicated 3x telephoto camera, which isn’t something you see every day. Not south of the £500 mark, at any rate.

We also appreciated the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro’s excellent battery life, gorgeous AMOLED display, and slick software. NothingOS 3.1 is one of the slickest and most customisable Android skins around.

So, a solid hardware and software foundation, but with ample scope for improvement? Those are grounds to look forward to the (now all but official) Nothing Phone (4a) Pro, in our book.