Could the Nothing Phone 3 secretly be the best Android phone of 2025?

Android Authority

17-05-2025

Damien Wilde / Android Authority
We're nearing the halfway point of 2025, and there's still a decent amount of major Android phone releases we're anticipating. The Galaxy S25 Edge will hit store shelves by the end of the month, while the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 should arrive later this summer. There's also the Google Pixel 10 series and maybe new Edge phones from Motorola. And that's not even mentioning any of phones that have already launched this year, including the Galaxy S25 series, the excellent Pixel 9a, and the OnePlus 13/13R.
Despite how packed 2025 has already been (and still remains), there's one Android phone that may stand a very good chance of besting all of them: the Nothing Phone 3.
Nothing has already released its own fair share of Android phones this year, but the upcoming Nothing Phone 3 stands to not only be Nothing's best phone of the year, but also one of the best Android phones of 2025 overall.
How excited are you for the Nothing Phone 3?
0 votes
I can't wait!
NaN %
I'm interested, but I'm not 100% sold yet.
NaN %
I don't care about it.
NaN %
Other (let us know in the comments).
NaN %
What's all the hype about?
Ryan Haines / Android Authority
That's a bold way to talk about a phone that's still a few months out from launch, but between the latest rumors and tidbits already confirmed by Nothing itself, it's hard for me to come to any other conclusion.
Up until this point, all of Nothing's smartphones have focused on the low- and mid-range segments of the market. Last year's Nothing Phone 2 was a decidedly mid-range phone at $600, the Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro released this year targeted the sub-$400 range, and the CMF Phone 2 Pro defies expectations for an Android phone that costs less than $300.
To be clear, this hasn't been a bad thing. Nothing has done an excellent job of offering generous feature sets, spec sheets, and wholly original designs all within the confines of limited price ranges. What it's pulled off with $600 and $280 phones is nothing short of impressive, and it's made those more affordable markets a lot more exciting because of them.
Damien Wilde / Android Authority
But the more Nothing excels with these low and mid-tier phones, it's left me wondering what the company could do without anything holding it back. What it could do with a higher, premium price point that would give the company room to go all out in a way we haven't seen yet. And that's exactly what we're supposed to get with the Nothing Phone 3.
Nothing CEO Carl Pei has said as much himself, saying the Phone 3 is the company's 'first true flagship smartphone.' He's also confirmed the Nothing Phone 3 will cost around $1,000 – putting it right in line with the Galaxy S25's and Google Pixel 10's of the world. And while Nothing hasn't officially said anything about the phone's specifications just yet, the rumor mill is already pointing to a lot of good.
It looks like Nothing is hitting all of the major beats for a 2025 flagship Android phone.
Word on the street is that the Nothing Phone 3 will have a flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon chip, almost certainly the Snapdragon 8 Elite. There should be a flagship quality triple-camera system on the back, the highlights being a large main sensor and a high-quality periscope telephoto one. The battery should also surpass 5,000mAh.
So far, it looks like Nothing is hitting all of the major beats for a 2025 flagship Android phone. Which is great! But what's so impressive about that? So far, that sounds like most other flagship Android phones released this year. But it's the fact that we're finally getting flagship specs paired with everything else Nothing does so, so well.
A flagship Android phone like we haven't seen before
C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
With all of its phones released so far, Nothing has found a way to make its smartphone stand out from everything else on the market. The first, and most obvious, is the company's hardware. What other phones look like Nothing Phones, with their transparent designs and flashing LEDs on the back? Outside of cheap imitators, nothing at all.
While I haven't been a fan of every design decision made by Nothing, I have to give the company credit for always trying something new. Do I love the Nothing Phone 3a Pro's camera bump? Not really, but I appreciate Nothing creating a phone unlike any I've seen before. We can almost certainly assume the Nothing Phone 3 will continue Nothing's bold design tradition, and it should be ever better, too, with Pei saying the Phone 3 will use 'premium materials' not before seen on the company's previous phones.
Beyond the hardware, I'm also excited to see NothingOS running on a flagship device. NothingOS has quickly become one of my favorite Android skins available today. It strikes such a good balance of feeling clean and lightweight while still having its own distinct identity. It doesn't feel overpowering the way Samsung's One UI does, but it's still more unique than something like Motorola's Hello UI. The software runs incredibly well on all of Nothing's phones already, and I cannot wait to see how it runs on a high-end flagship — whether that means more advanced AI features or just smoother overall day-to-day performance.
Ryan Haines / Android Authority
Nothing has achieved so much already with its hardware and software design working within the confines of budget smartphones, so the fact that we'll see what the company can do with these things without price shackles holding it down is really exciting. Especially in a year where Samsung played things so safely with the Galaxy S25 series, and Google seems to be doing the same with the Pixel 10 lineup, having another flagship option from Nothing couldn't come at a better time. And even better yet, the Nothing Phone 3 is getting a true US release — something we haven't seen from any of Nothing's other smartphones this year.
The flagship smartphone market (especially in the US) is overdue for something new, and that's precisely what we're getting with the Nothing Phone 3. Another flagship option from a company that's not Samsung or Google. One (presumably) with a design unlike anything else, excellent software, and capable specs. That sounds like a damn good combination to me, and I cannot wait to see how it all comes together when the Nothing Phone 3 launches in Q3 this year.