I tested Nothing Phone 3 to see if it's the best €849 handset you can buy
In a smartphone market where almost every non-folding device looks the same, the Carl Pei led firm's latest Android handset bucks the trend and continues its peerless run of unique looking phones that stand out from the crowd.
The London-based tech upstart has delivered some of the best affordable smartphones of 2025 already - Phone 3a, Phone 3a Pro and Phone 2 Pro by its budget brand CMF by Nothing.
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Now it's entering the premium market with an €849 smartphone that competes in the same pricing sphere as 2025 releases such as iPhone 16e (€859 for the same 256GB storage), Honor 400 Pro (€699 at Harvey Norman for 512GB), Oppo Reno 13 Pro (€699in Currys for 512GB), Redmagic 10 Air (€649 for 512GB storage) and Samsung S25 (€969 for 256GB).
Phone 3 arrives two full years after its predecessor and, as you might expect after such a lengthy hiatus, it is a huge step up from that device. Nothing Phone 3 in everyday use The slick Nothing OS offers this minimalist monochrome home screen that I love (Image: Mark Kavanagh)
Until now, the Nothing Phone series identity was built around its unique Glyph lights interface. However, for Phone 3 this has been replaced by a new monochrome circle in the top right corner with a micro-LED grid with 489 tiny lights displaying icons, animations and patterns. Nothing calls it the Glyph Matrix and it works in conjunction with the touch sensitive Glyph button on the rear of the device.
It reminds me a little of the dot matrix on the rear of the last couple of ROG Phone gaming handsets. I never place my smartphone face down, ever, so this unique feature is not aimed at me but I tested it and liked the ability to show the time, the stopwatch, the volume and the charge status.
Aside from the Glyph lights, Nothing handsets (and earphones) have always stood out from the crowd with their unique design language - on the phones the semi-transparent rear that reveals some components has evolved its look with each device.
On Phone 3, the lack of Glyph lights means the quirky shapes and elements in view look a little threadbare in comparison to the device's predecessors. However, I have warmed to its retro-futuristic aesthetic and in particular the asymmetric camera module layout that seems to have divided opinion. Whether you are a fan or not, Nothing should be applauded by everyone for at least trying out new ideas, unlike so many of its competitors. Nothing OS organises your app drawer into helpful categories (if you wish) (Image: Mark Kavanagh)
Rest assured, this is a robustly made (and quite chunky 218g) smartphone built to last, as its IP68 rating for dust and water resistance testifies. I like how secure and well made it feels in the hand.
Around the front, it looks like a regular handset, with slim and symmetrical bezels surrounding the gorgeous crisp and colourful 6.7in OLED display that can reach 4,500 nits of peak brightness and has HDR10+ support.
Under the hood is Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chip, which is a step down from the highest-end Snapdragon 8 Elite processor used in Android flagships such as OnePlus 13, Magic 7 Pro and Galaxy S25 Ultra. But you won't notice any slightly weaker performance in everyday use as it breezes through most tasks with the exception of sustained gaming on the most graphically intense titles.
Nothing OS 3.5 sits atop last year's Android 15, and the easily customisable slick software is one of the most pleasing aspects of using the device although bear in mind you can also get in on the firm's much cheaper 3a and 3a Pro devices. The rear camera module and Glyph Matrix on Nothing Phone 3 (Image: Mark Kavanagh)
The company's nod to AI, Essential Space, has its own button for instant access. It collects screens, notes and recordings and uses AI to summarise them. It is still a work in progress but with Phone 3 it now includes the ability to voice-record while face down with an animation on the glyph screen and transcription using a cloud service. While the all-new Essential Search is an AI-powered search of content across your phone and data and it can answer simple queries.
Battery life from the 5,150mAh power pack is superb. Most users will get two days of stamina easily. You get support for 65W wired charging so you can fully recharge in about 55 minutes. The phone also supports 15W wireless charging.
The pleasing triple camera system features a 50MP 1/1.3in main camera sensor, a 50MP ultrawide lens and a 50MP periscope telephoto lens with optical image stabilisation. All three, along with the 50MP front facing camera, do a decent job in good lighting conditions but consistency is not as strong as it might be. Nothing promises seven years of security updates and five years of OS upgrades (Image: Mark Kavanagh)
Video quality looks equally sharp and as with the stills you get plenty of detail, accurate colours and pleasing levels of contrast and dynamic range. The telephoto camera is a bit softer on video, but its 4K footage is still decent enough.
Nothing promises an upgrade to Android 16 before the end of September and will provide five years of Android version updates and seven years of security updates. Nothing Phone 3 verdict
If you want an eye-catching handset with fast and fluid software, Nothing Phone 3 delivers plenty of bang for your buck. There is plenty of competition at this price point but no other smartphone looks or feels this refreshingly unique. Pricing and availability
Nothing Phone 3 costs €849 from nothing.tech and Harvey Norman.
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