Nothing Phone (3) review: An ambitious experiment with mixed results

Time of India

29-07-2025

The Nothing Phone (3) is perhaps the brand's most daring device yet a smartphone that wears its ambition on its transparent sleeve. With its head-turning design, including an interactive rear display and the evolving Glyph Interface, Nothing is clearly chasing a future where your phone looks and feels unlike anything else on the market. But in its pursuit of standing out, has it delivered a truly cohesive flagship experience? We took our time with this review, cutting through both the hype and the criticism to evaluate the Phone (3) with a clear head especially from the perspective of the Indian smartphone buyer.
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12GB RAM + 256GB Storage
₹79,999
16GB RAM + 512GB Storage
₹89,999
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Design
The Nothing Phone (3) arrives with a design that undeniably pushes boundaries, yet our assessment is that the design team may have ventured a step too far in their pursuit of a distinct aesthetic. Building upon the much-lauded and now recognizable Glyph Interface, Nothing has introduced a secondary, interactive display on the phone's rear. While this new element certainly offers intriguing possibilities, such as glanceable notifications (incoming calls, messages, app alerts without flipping the phone), enhanced camera previews for high-quality main camera selfies, quick access to widget-like information (time, weather, battery), customizable visual flair, and a clear charging status indicator, its integration comes with a significant caveat. The absence of a clear, intuitive guide for understanding and utilizing this new display creates a steep learning curve for users, leaving much to be discovered through trial and error.
This design direction is, without question, polarizing for a significant portion of potential buyers. The blend of the established Glyph lights with an additional rear screen feels less like a seamless evolution and more like an attempt to layer innovation for innovation's sake. This audacious approach makes the Nothing Phone (3) a challenging recommendation, particularly when considering its price point in the competitive smartphone market. While the enthusiastic side of our professional perspective commends Nothing for its unwavering commitment to its unique design philosophy and willingness to experiment, the rational, pragmatic voice holds us back from a wholehearted endorsement.
Despite these reservations, it must be stated that the build quality of the Nothing Phone (3) is unequivocally solid. The device feels remarkably premium in hand, exuding a sense of robust craftsmanship that belies some of the more experimental design choices. It's a testament to Nothing's manufacturing capabilities, even if the overall design might not resonate with everyone.
The Nothing Phone (3) feels premium and well-built, despite its bold design.
The Nothing Phone (3) introduces an "Essential Key," a dedicated physical button on the frame, a feature also seen on the Phone (3a), (3a) Pro, and CMF Phone (2) Pro. While it serves as a customizable shortcut for basic actions, our opinion is that it feels notably half-baked; its true potential remains untapped, with many advanced functionalities yet to be integrated across this broader lineup.
Display
The display on the Nothing Phone (3) immediately makes a strong impression, delivering a palpably premium and interactive feel. With a generous 6.7-inch AMOLED panel, it provides ample screen real estate, while the quality of the panel is indeed top-notch, rendering vibrant colors, incredibly deep blacks, and sharp detail that makes content consumption a pleasure. Its 120Hz refresh rate contributes to smooth scrolling and a fluid user experience, living up to modern flagship expectations in terms of responsiveness. Furthermore, the display boasts a high peak brightness of around 1600 nits, ensuring excellent visibility even in challenging bright outdoor conditions.
However, a technical choice within this premium panel raises questions, particularly when considering the device's price point. While the display offers adaptive refresh rates, it utilizes LTPS technology rather than LTPO. In everyday use, a regular user might not explicitly notice the nuanced difference in power efficiency between these two. Yet, the very debate surrounding LTPS versus LTPO is ignited by the phone's premium positioning, as many competitors in this price bracket do incorporate the more advanced and typically more power-efficient LTPO panels. This decision feels like a conscious trade-off that, while not impacting visual quality, hints at underlying cost considerations.
The most notable point where the display package falls short, particularly for a device aiming at a flagship experience, is the in-display fingerprint sensor. The Phone (3) relies on an optical unit, diverging from the more robust ultrasonic technology prevalent in most high-end flagship devices. While the optical sensor generally functions, it is slower compared to the ultrasonic units on Samsung Galaxy S series devices.
In essence, the Nothing Phone (3)'s display delivers a visually excellent and responsive experience across its 6.7-inch panel with impressive brightness. However, while its core features are strong, certain underlying technological choices and the implementation of the optical fingerprint sensor introduce points of contention that temper its overall appeal, especially when weighed against its cost and the expectations set by competing devices.
Software
The software experience on the Nothing Phone (3), driven by Nothing OS atop Android 16, remains, in our opinion, the brand's most significant strength. It's a strength that, unfortunately, Nothing itself doesn't seem to leverage enough in its marketing efforts. The clean, uncluttered nature of Nothing OS is genuinely easy on the eyes, offering a refreshing departure from heavily skinned Android interfaces. Coupled with superbly smooth animations, the user experience feels fluid and responsive. Crucially, the ad-free environment contributes significantly to a premium, flagship-tier feel, a distinction that truly enhances daily usage.
The Nothing Phone (3) runs a clean, ad-free Android 16 with smooth, minimal Nothing OS.
Nothing has committed to providing 5 years of Android OS updates and 7 years of security updates for the Phone (3), a commendable policy that offers long-term software longevity, aligning it more closely with Google's own Pixel flagships.
Performance
The Nothing Phone (3) for the Indian market comes equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor, paired with robust RAM and storage configurations, including 12GB and 16GB of RAM and up to 512GB of internal storage. These storage options are certainly generous, ensuring users have ample space without complaint.
In everyday use, the device performs admirably across all tasks. For general navigation, app usage, and even moderate multitasking, the Phone (3) feels consistently fluid and responsive. Indeed, in daily scenarios, one would rarely discern that it isn't running the absolute top-tier, 'Elite' version of a flagship processor. However, when pushed to its limits—such as during extended, demanding gaming sessions or when handling heavier, sustained workloads—there is a tendency for some minor stutters or slowdowns to emerge. While not debilitating for average use, this nuance distinguishes it from the most unyielding performers in the segment.
Battery life is a notable strength. With a substantial 5,500mAh battery, the Phone (3) comfortably delivers over 6 hours of screen-on time with ease, making it a reliable companion for a full day of moderate to heavy usage. Furthermore, it does support 15W wireless charging and 5W reverse wireless charging, adding convenient flexibility to its power management. That being said, the wired charging speed remains a significant point of contention. In a market where many flagship devices, including some sporting the very same Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset, now offer blistering 100W or even higher wired charging speeds, Nothing's choice to stick with 65W wired charging for the Indian variant is a notable miss. For a device positioned as a premium flagship, this feels like a compromise that simply doesn't align with current industry expectations and the rapid charging capabilities offered by its direct competitors.
One decision that stood out to us was Nothing's bold move to exclude a charging brick from the box especially in the Indian market. While many premium smartphones have adopted this trend, Nothing recently went the opposite route with the CMF Phone (2) Pro, which did include a charger. That contrast makes this choice feel more deliberate. Yes, it's fair to assume that flagship buyers may already have compatible chargers or can afford one, but brands like OnePlus and Xiaomi still include them. At this price point, offering a charger with the Indian variant could've made a more compelling case.
Camera
The Nothing Phone (3) presents an ambitious camera system, featuring a triple 50MP rear setup and a high-resolution 50MP selfie camera. On the rear, we have a 50MP main wide-angle camera (reportedly utilizing an OmniVision OV50H sensor with OIS), a 50MP ultrawide lens (likely a Samsung ISOCELL JN1 sensor), and a 50MP periscope telephoto lens (with a Samsung ISOCELL JN5 sensor, offering 3x optical zoom and up to 60x digital zoom, also with OIS).
In everyday photography, the Phone (3) performs commendably. The main 50MP sensor consistently captures detailed, vibrant images with good dynamic range. Colors tend to be natural, avoiding the overly saturated look some competitors adopt. This makes it reliable for general snaps in well-lit conditions. The ultrawide camera provides a broad perspective, useful for landscapes and group shots, and its high megapixel count helps retain detail, though some edge distortion is occasionally present. The telephoto lens is a welcome addition, delivering crisp 3x optical zoom shots that are genuinely usable, providing versatility for distant subjects or tighter compositions.
The Nothing Phone (3) features a triple 50MP rear camera system, comprising a main, ultrawide, and periscope telephoto lens.
When it comes to low-light photography, the main sensor, aided by OIS and Nothing's computational photography, manages to pull in a good amount of light, preserving shadow detail and producing images with acceptable noise levels. However, while good, it doesn't quite reach the benchmark set by the very best in class, which often leverage larger sensors or more aggressive processing for truly stunning night shots. The ultrawide and telephoto, as expected, see a more noticeable drop in quality in challenging low-light scenarios, though they remain usable.
The 50MP selfie camera is a highlight. It consistently delivers sharp, detailed self-portraits with pleasing skin tones. Even in less-than-ideal lighting, the large megapixel count and Nothing's processing help maintain quality. It's a strong performer for both individual and group selfies.
For video capabilities, both the front and rear cameras are well-equipped. The rear setup can record up to 4K resolution at 60 frames per second (fps) across all three lenses, a significant achievement for versatility. Stabilization (OIS and EIS) is generally effective, producing stable footage for most casual shooting. The front selfie camera also supports 4K at 60fps video recording, which is excellent for vlogging or high-quality video calls. While the video quality is strong overall, some competitive flagships might offer slightly better low-light video performance or more advanced cinematic modes.
In summary, the Nothing Phone (3)'s camera system is a versatile and generally capable package. The inclusion of three 50MP sensors across the board, including a dedicated telephoto, makes it a highly flexible tool for photography and videography. While its low-light performance doesn't always break new ground, and some computational aspects could see further refinement, it delivers a robust and enjoyable camera experience for the everyday user, and a particularly strong showing for video creators.
Verdict
The Nothing Phone (3) is bold, beautiful, and brimming with ideas but not all of them land. Its standout design, secondary rear display, and clean software offer genuine appeal, but key compromises in performance tuning, charging speeds, and the learning curve of its rear UI hold it back. While its cameras, display, and battery life perform solidly, the overall experience leans more experimental than polished. For those who prioritize aesthetics and uniqueness, it's a compelling option. But if you're seeking a well-rounded flagship with no major caveats, there are more balanced choices at this price point.