Latest news with #NothingOS
Irish Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
I tested Nothing Phone 3 to see if it's the best €849 handset you can buy
Nothing looks like Phone 3. 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. READ MORE: DJI Mic Mini review: is this the best compact wireless microphone set-up for most people? READ MORE: We tested Nothing Headphone 1, the most unique looking over-ear cans on the market 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 However, for Phone 3 this has been replaced by a new monochrome circle in the top right corner with a micro-LED grid with 489 tiny lights displaying icons, animations and patterns.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 and Harvey Norman. 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Sydney Morning Herald
13-07-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
The anti-doomscroll phone that wants to mix it up with Apple
'When you talk about spec wars, we're not there fighting to win that. We're making holistic products that for the majority of users are really wonderful, well-balanced experiences,' said Nothing global marketing director Hollie Bishop. 'We truly believe that NothingOS is the best operating system for consumers, and for us as users as well. People might do comparisons, but how can you compare the Glyph Matrix experience? It doesn't exist anywhere else in the industry.' 'It's very functional, it still sits within our mission of making tech fun, but also making tech work for your life, instead fuelling the addiction of 'I need to pick up my phone every five seconds',' Bishop said. The current version of NothingOS is built on top of Android 15, though a version built on Android 16 is due later this year. Its key differentiator from other flavours of Android is its range of features designed to manage your screen time. App icons can be automatically made monochrome or hidden in themed folders, while Nothing's widgets and sound effects all evoke the LCD displays and low-fi bloops of pre-internet tech. The company has shied away from integrating AI as a creative tool, in contrast to basically every other phone maker, but it does allow you to make use of Gemini or ChatGPT if you choose. It also launched its own AI suite this year called Essential Space, where you can store screenshots, photos or voice notes about things you want to remember, and have them automatically categorised, turned into reminders or suggested as calendar entries. With Phone 3, Nothing is introducing Essential Search, which can surface information from your files and apps but can also answer questions using the web, with reference links provided. Bishop said the phone had benefited from expansions in Nothing's hardware and camera teams and was competitive as a flagship experience, but that its more joyful elements and software offerings would continue to evolve as it would receive major updates for at least five years. 'We're a four-year-old company – the strides we've made in such a short time we're super proud of,' she said. 'And the only way we're able to do that is because we're still agile – we're not trapped within multiple layers of process or held down through bureaucracy, which shows in our AI road map, from Essential Space opening in March, to Essential Search already being available.' Meanwhile, the new Headphone 1 is a set of $550 noise-cancelling cans designed to hold up against the more expensive offerings from Apple and Sony. They have enthusiast-favourite features that are often left out of expensive commuter headphones, such as support for wired high-res sound over USB-C or 3.5mm cable, and have custom drivers tuned by iconic British audio firm KEF. When paired with a Nothing phone, they can integrate with Essential Space, but they also fully support AI voice assistants and a full array of settings and equaliser customisation on iPhones and other Androids. The headphones feature a transparency mode to hear the world around you, and can intelligently adapt the level of noise-cancelling to save battery; with NC off, Nothing said they should last 80 hours on a charge. Both devices carry Nothing's trademark approach to industrial design, with transparent panels exposing textured, overlapping elements, some of which represent the tech underneath and others of which are pure whimsy. The controls also strike a balance between function and play; this is, after all, the same company that puts spinning fidget dials on the cases of its wireless earbuds. The Headphone 1 forgoes the touch controls and multifunction buttons of most rival over-ears, instead going for tactile controls that feel like something off a '90s disc player or compact synth. There's a roller for volume, a paddle for skipping tracks, a switch for power and a button that can summon an AI assistant or be set to any other function. On Phone 3, aside from the expected smartphone controls, there's a glossy pill-shaped button to interact with Essential Space and a hidden pressure-sensitive zone on the back of the phone for activating the Glyph Matrix. Nothing began in earbuds and moved to phones, and most recently waded into the burgeoning category of open-ear audio before tackling over-ear. Bishop said that the company's design team was full of ideas to put the Nothing spin on various products, but that it planned to be strategic. 'For us, it's a considered growth. We are very confident in our audio offering. A lot of the team internally have pleasure projects in the audio space; we've got a lot of DJs at the Nothing team. So we've made these products that we want to use, and that we don't think exist in the way that we see them in the industry,' she said. 'We could make anything. We have fan renders of laptops, tablets, all of these things. And we do have a road map of where we want to go. We've got a few other things coming up in the future that are more experimental and more playing into potentially new categories, or a new take on a current category.' Loading But on the subject of fans, some of the online Nothing community have had a viscerally negative reaction to Phone 3, variously blasting it as underpowered, criticising the price relative to previous Nothing products, complaining about the loss of the glyph lights, and rejecting the visual design as ugly. Bishop said that the team enjoyed seeing any discussion of the aesthetics ('design should make you feel something, if it doesn't, then we're doing something wrong'), but that some of the reaction was an understandable response to the device targeting a different market. 'It's a stake in the ground. If [we're going to be] a tech company that really is different, we need to have a product offering for all consumer types. The choices we've made with Phone 3 is a flagship experience. If it's [not for you] we have the 3a, and the 3a Pro,' she said. 'We've recognised that we have different markets with different needs, and there are certain more price-sensitive markets that have been very vocal about Phone 3. But we're a global company, so we're open to hear the feedback, and we're always learning.' Specifically regarding the Glyph Matrix, Bishop said she expected reactions to adjust once the phone was in the wild. The original Glyph Lights had been ridiculed before launch but had since seen significant use. She said the system would continue to evolve, and future products could potentially return to the lights or feature something new. 'We're not in a box – we can be dynamic and evolve. Depending on the product offering or the price point offering, or what the consumer's need is, we can offer different options which still have the same foundation: making tech that is more for your life.
The Age
13-07-2025
- The Age
The anti-doomscroll phone that wants to mix it up with Apple
'When you talk about spec wars, we're not there fighting to win that. We're making holistic products that for the majority of users are really wonderful, well-balanced experiences,' said Nothing global marketing director Hollie Bishop. 'We truly believe that NothingOS is the best operating system for consumers, and for us as users as well. People might do comparisons, but how can you compare the Glyph Matrix experience? It doesn't exist anywhere else in the industry.' 'It's very functional, it still sits within our mission of making tech fun, but also making tech work for your life, instead fuelling the addiction of 'I need to pick up my phone every five seconds',' Bishop said. The current version of NothingOS is built on top of Android 15, though a version built on Android 16 is due later this year. Its key differentiator from other flavours of Android is its range of features designed to manage your screen time. App icons can be automatically made monochrome or hidden in themed folders, while Nothing's widgets and sound effects all evoke the LCD displays and low-fi bloops of pre-internet tech. The company has shied away from integrating AI as a creative tool, in contrast to basically every other phone-maker, but it does allow you to make use of Gemini or ChatGPT if you choose. It also launched its own AI suite this year called Essential Space, where you can store screenshots, photos or voice notes about things you want to remember, and have them automatically categorised, turned into reminders or suggested as calendar entries. With Phone 3, Nothing is introducing Essential Search, which can surface information from your files and apps but can also answer questions using the web, with reference links provided. Bishop said the phone had benefited from expansions in Nothing's hardware and camera teams and was competitive as a flagship experience, but that its more joyful elements and software offerings would continue to evolve as it would receive major updates for at least five years. 'We're a four-year-old company – the strides we've made in such a short time we're super proud of,' she said. And the only way we're able to do that is because we're still agile – we're not trapped within multiple layers of process or held down through bureaucracy, which shows in our AI roadmap. From Essential Space opening in March, to Essential Search already being available.' Meanwhile, the new Headphone 1 is a set of $550 noise-cancelling cans designed to hold up against the more expensive offerings from Apple and Sony. They feature enthusiast-favourite features that are often left out of expensive commuter headphones, such as support for wired high-res sound over USB-C or 3.5mm cable, and have custom drivers tuned by iconic British audio firm KEF. When paired with a Nothing phone, they can integrate with Essential Space, but they also fully support AI voice assistants and a full array of settings and equaliser customisation on iPhones and other Androids. The Headphones feature a transparency mode to hear the world around you, and can intelligently adapt the level of noise-cancelling to save battery; with NC off, Nothing said they should last 80 hours on a charge. Both devices carry Nothing's trademark approach to industrial design, with transparent panels exposing textured, overlapping elements, some of which represent the tech underneath and others of which are pure whimsy. The controls also strike a balance between function and play; this is after all the same company that puts spinning fidget dials on the cases of its wireless earbuds. The Headphone 1 foregoes the touch controls and multifunction buttons of most rival over-ears, instead going for tactile controls that feel like something off a 90s disc player or compact synth. There's a roller for volume, a paddle for skipping tracks, a switch for power and a button that can summon an AI assistant or be set to any other function. On Phone 3, aside from the expected smartphone controls, there's a glossy pill-shaped button to interact with Essential Space and a hidden pressure-sensitive zone on the back of the phone for activating the Glyph Matrix. Nothing began in earbuds and moved to phones, and most recently waded into the burgeoning category of open-ear audio before tackling over-ear. Bishop said that the company's design team was full of ideas to put the Nothing spin on various products, but that it planned to be strategic. 'For us, it's a considered growth. We are very confident in our audio offering. A lot of the team internally have pleasure projects in the audio space; we've got a lot of DJs at the Nothing team. So we've made these products that we want to use, and that we don't think exist in the way that we see them in the industry,' she said. 'We could make anything. We have fan renders of laptops, tablets, all of these things. And we do have a roadmap of where we want to go. We've got a few other things coming up in the future that are more experimental and more playing into potentially new categories, or a new take on a current category.' Loading But on the subject of fans, some of the online Nothing community have had a viscerally negative reaction to Phone 3, variously blasting it as underpowered, criticising the price relative to previous Nothing products, complaining about the loss of the glyph lights, and rejecting the visual design as ugly. Bishop said that the team enjoyed seeing any discussion of the aesthetics ('design should make you feel something, if it doesn't, then we're doing something wrong'), but that some of the reaction was an understandable response to the device targeting a different market. 'It's a stake in the ground. If [we're going to be] a tech company that really is different, we need to have a product offering for all consumer types. The choices we've made with Phone 3 is a flagship experience. If it's [not for you] we have the 3a, and the 3a Pro,' she said. 'We've recognised that we have different markets with different needs, and there are certain more price-sensitive markets that have been very vocal about Phone 3. But we're a global company, so we're open to hear the feedback, and we're always learning.' Specifically regarding the Glyph Matrix, Bishop said she expected reactions to adjust once the phone was in the wild. The original Glyph Lights had been ridiculed before launch but had since seen significant use. She said the system would continue to evolve, and future products could potentially return to the lights or feature something new. 'We're not in a box – we can be dynamic and evolve. Depending on the product offering or the price point offering, or what the consumer's need is, we can offer different options which still have the same foundation: making tech that is more for your life.
Man of Many
10-07-2025
- Man of Many
Does the Nothing Phone (3) Justify its AUD$1,509 Price?
By Dean Blake - Review Published: 10 Jul 2025 Share Copy Link Readtime: 11 min Every product is carefully selected by our editors and experts. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more. For more information on how we test products, click here. I don't think anyone expected the first 'flagship' phone launched by UK's Nothing to be quite as controversial as it has been, but then again, people have always been hot or cold on the brand's design-led thinking. With the Nothing Phone (3), however, it's less about the look—although that certainly still plays a part in the conversation—and more about what you're getting for the hefty AUD$1,509 price tag. For what it's worth, the phone itself is perfectly fine. If what you're after is a solid daily driver that'll take nice photos, with a nice screen, and a bold design, it'll serve that role admirably. But so will the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro, which is almost half the price and seems to only be missing the more gimmicky parts of the Phone (3)'s repertoire. To it's credit, the Phone (3) does have a beautiful 6.67'' screen, and does feel high-end in the hand. It's weighty enough to play the premium part, and the camera system is solid, with four 50MP cameras powering it. The custom-built Nothing OS is a lightweight, minimal variant of Android that doesn't lose any of the major functionality of its base OS, but simply cuts away the bloat and delivers a very solid experience. The phone is snappy, fast, and, honestly, a pleasure to use. But in 2025, and for AUD$1,509, is that really enough? Nothing Phone (3) | Image: Dean Blake/Man of Many Comparing the Competition Nothing Phone (3) iPhone 16 Google Pixel 9 Samsung Galaxy S25 Price From AUD$1,509 From AUD$1,399 From AUD$1,349 From AUD$1,399 Display – 6.67' OLED Display – 2800 x 1260 resolution – 120Hz Max Refresh Rate – Corning Gorilla Glass 7i – 6.1' Super Retina OLED Display – 2556 x 1179 resolution – 60Hz Max Refresh Rate – Ceramic Shield Glass – 6.3' Actua OLED Display – 2424 x 1080 resolution – 120Hz Max Refresh Rate – Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 – 6.2' Dynamic LTPO AMOLED Display – 2340 x 1080 resolution – 120Hz Max Refresh Rate – Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 Operating System Nothing OS 3.5 Android 15 iOS 18 Android 14 One UI 7 Android 15 Internals – Processor: Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 – RAM: 12GB, 16GB – Storage: 256GB, 512GB – Processor: A18 – RAM: 8GB – Storage: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB – Processor: Tensor G4 – RAM: 12GB – Storage: 128GB, 256GB – Processor: Snapdragon 8 Elite – RAM: 12 GB – Storage: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB Networking – 5G – Wi-Fi 7 – Bluetooth 6.0 – NFC Capable – 5G – Wi-Fi 7 – Bluetooth 5.3 – NFC Capable – 5G – Wi-Fi 7 – Bluetooth 5.3 – NFC Capable – 5G – Wi-Fi 7 – Bluetooth 5.4 – NFC Capable Camera Front: 50MP Rear: 50MP (wide), 50MP (ultrawide), 50MP (periscope telephoto) Can record up to 4K@60fps Front: 12MP Rear: 48MP (wide), 12MP (ultrawide) Can record up to 4K@60fps Can record slow motion 1080@240fps Front: 10.5MP Rear: 50MP (wide), 48MP (ultrawide) Can record up to 4K@60fps Can record slow motion 1080@240fps Front: 12MP Rear: 50MP (wide), 12MP (ultrawide), 10MP (telephoto) Can record up to 8K@30fps, 4K@60fps Can record slow motion 1080p@240fps Battery 5,150mAh 3,500mAh 4,700mAh 4,000mAh Other features – Single USB 2.0 Type-C port – Fingerprint reader – Wireless Charging Compatible – IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins) – Essential Space – Single USB 2.0 Type-C port – Face ID – Qi2 Wireless Charging Compatible – IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 6m for 30 mins) – Apple Intelligence – Single USB 3.2 Type-C port – Fingerprint reader – Qi Wireless Charging Compatible – IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins) – Google Gemini – Single USB 3.2 Type-C port – Fingerprint reader – Qi2 Wireless Changing Compatible – IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins) – Samsung DeX – Galaxy AI Scroll horizontally to view full table Why Trust Us Here at Man of Many, we use a wide variety of technology. We're not fans of any one brand, like to get our hands on the latest-and-greatest tech before we call it the next-best-thing, and we've built up extensive experience in reviewing tech as a publication over the past 10 years. The author of this article, Dean Blake, is Man of Many's technology journalist, and has followed the industry for years. He's reviewed a fair bit of the competition, and was provided the product by Nothing for the purposes of this review. No money exchanged hands, and all opinions expressed are those of the author and haven't been seen by Nothing ahead of time. For more information on our independence, testing and review guidelines, you can read our full editorial policies here. Price to Performance Nothing has often touted itself as a brand doing tech differently, and has focused more on the mid-to-low range of devices in order to ease the barrier of entry. It's been a company that focuses more on delivering new ideas to a loyal customer base, and has done so without breaking their banks in the process. That has changed with the Nothing Phone (3). Yes, Nothing is still definitely doing some things differently (design, mostly), but it has well and truly decided that it is time to enter the specs race with a fully-functional flagship phone, and has priced it accordingly. The only issue is that the insides of this thing aren't really flagship parts, and the phone doesn't quite stand up to competition in its price bracket. The Nothing Phone (2) with it's new brother, the Nothing Phone (3) | Image: Dean Blake/Man of Many We're comparing the Phone (3) to the Apple iPhone 16, the Google Pixel 9, and the Samsung Galaxy S25 —all fantastic phones in their own right, and all delivering incredibly solid performance for the higher, flagship cost. With the Phone (3), though, everything is just a bit behind its competition, and yet it starts at a higher price. The Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor is enough for most people, don't get me wrong—but so are the processors it the iPhone 16e, the Pixel 9a, and the Samsung Galaxy A56, and all of those phones are quite a bit cheaper than the Nothing Phone (3), and if I bashed the iPhone 16e for being overpriced I think it's only fair to do so here as well. Hell, if all you need is a phone that gets the job done, Nothing's own Phone (3a) and (3a) Pro are some the best entry-level and mid-range phones on the market and costs way, way less than the Phone (3), and share the same operating system and much of the software. Nothing Phone (3) | Image: Dean Blake/Man of Many The new phone does add a new and so-far exclusive features over the previous phones running Nothing OS, though: Essential Search, a universal search function that can help navigate your phone or tap into AI to answer questions; and Flip to Record, a feature that allows you to start an audio recording from the back of a face down phone. It also has access to Essential Space, Nothing's in-house AI-powered quasi-scrapbooking feature that serves to act as your 'second brain', and has the essential button on the side of the phone to prove it. Now, I tested the new Essential Search, and even logging into the phone with an Australian Google account, and giving the phone permission to track my location which could correctly ping me as being in Sydney, when I asked Essential Search about the weather, it gave me responses generated specifically for the United States: several times, in fact. When I specified that I lived in Sydney, it didn't give me a nice, AI-powered write up about my local weather as it had when it assumed that I had lived in the US, but showed me a widget of my weather app instead. 'Look it up yourself', the phone said. This is exactly the kind of half-baked AI implementation I've come to expect from most tech companies at this point, and it's disappointing to see it come from a brand that constantly talks about how deliberate it's being with the implementation of AI to ensure interactions are 'simpler, smarter, and more human', and which is designed not in Silicon Valley, but in the UK. I wonder if British users are given simpler, smarter, and more human interactions than us Down Under. The polarising design of the Nothing Phone (3) | Image: Dean Blake/Man of Many Enter the Matrix Okay, let's get back on track. The first major thing you'll notice about the Phone (3) is the design. That's always been Nothing's goal, and in this case, I'd say the design team there has had mixed success. Yes—it doesn't look like any other phone on the market, but it's also pretty damn ugly. That's a subjective stance, and I'm sure there are people out there that look at this thing and think it's a work of abstract art, but for me the way the cameras, flash, and new glyph matrix are positioned make me feel strangely uneasy. I can see the grid-based design at play, but I still don't particularly like it. As people, we tend to gravitate toward simplistic design a lot of the time—even maximalists are still seeking to create some level of balance between the abundance—but here, it feels like things are off. I think that largely has to do with the placement of the three rear-facing cameras, which are placed in an off-centre triad, and which extend out of the phone in varying heights. I've wanted phones to ditch the camera bump ever since they became a staple in flagship design, but not like this. Nothing Phone (3) | Image: Dean Blake/Man of Many Beyond the design, though, let's talk about that glyph matrix. It's about the size of a AUD$2 coin (if that means anything to you), and holds hundreds of micro-LEDs that, with the right software, can do some interesting stuff. Like, allow you to play spin the bottle, or, if you and another friend both have a Nothing Phone (3) you can use it to play rock, paper, scissors. Or you can use it to check your phone's battery while it's face down, or set a timer, or check the time. Or you can set it up to a custom display to come up when a certain person attempts to contact you How do you control it? Well, there's a little button about half way down the back of the device that essentially only registers if you're touching it—a short press which turn the matrix on or switch to the next game, whereas a long press will activate whatever function you're currently using: spinning the bottle, for example. The use cases are pretty narrow right now, but it's more than I can do with the back of an iPhone, and the fact that Nothing has such a close and open relationship with a pretty dedicated community of makers and programmers means that, given some time, we'll see a bunch of new ideas sprout from the brand's fanbase. Nothing Phone (3) | Image: Dean Blake/Man of Many While the ability to generate new ideas from your community is nice, and bolsters the future of Nothing Phone (3) updates with some additional and totally-optional user-generated content, I do kind of lament the loss of the more 'traditional' glyph interface. I never thought it was particularly useful, and honestly turned it off during my time testing the Nothing Phone (2) and the Phone (3a), but it was so entrenched in Nothing's design language that not having it feels like the new phone lost something in the upgrade. Community response has been considerably mixed as well: while the launch of any new phone these days invariably brings haters to the gate, Nothing's own community forums are filled with people wondering just what the hell they're paying for with the Phone (3)—the Glyph Matrix is a fun feature, for sure, but it's largely a gimmick that can't justify what many are seeing as an unjustifiable price increase over prior Nothing models. Man of Many's Verdict on the Nothing Phone (3) After reading back the past 1000-odd words, I realise I've come off pretty negatively on the Phone (3), but I do view this as more of an average product rather than a bad one. Nothing's main goal is to provide tech enthusiasts with something a bit more fun—more like a toy—to bring some level of joy back into the world. It's honestly not unlike the general strategy of Nintendo, and the way it When that experience doesn't cost an arm and a leg, and I think Nothing totally delivers: it's just the asking price here doesn't match the output, unless you absolutely adore the idea of playing scissors, paper, rock with your phone while waiting for the bus or something. I think if it were priced a bit more aggressively, the Nothing Phone (3) would be a fantastic challenger phone to the iPhones, Pixels and Galaxys of the world in the same was the Nothing Phone (2) was. But that's not what it is today.
Stuff.tv
08-07-2025
- Stuff.tv
You don't have to like the Nothing Phone 3 – but it won me over, and might win you over too
Stuff Verdict Phone 3 takes Nothing's distinctive design to extremes, for better or worse. It's not your typical flagship handset, but the capable all-rounder has a fun side you just don't see anywhere else. Pros Powerful and long lasting enough to earn flagship billing Capable rear camera trio Glyph matrix LEDs are fun and functional NothingOS software as slick as ever Cons Not everyone will be able to see past the unique styling Rivals either have more power, longer batteries or better cameras Introduction Distinctive. Divisive. discordant. Whatever you call it, there's no denying that Nothing got people talking with its first flagship phone. The firm with a fondness for transparent tech has embraced asymmetry and ditched its signature glyph lighting for a more functional dot matrix display. Phone 3 is also a big leap into premium territory for Nothing, which until now had majored on affordability. With prices starting from $799/£799/€799, Phone 3 is going directly up against heavyweights from Samsung, Google and Apple. In some respects it's up to the task, with three high pixel count cameras and one of the slickest versions of Android around. But Nothing's definition of 'flagship' internals might not tally with yours, and the radical design change most certainly won't be to all tastes. So, is Nothing boldly going where no phone brand has gone before? Or does Phone 3 deserve to be jettisoned out the airlock? How we test smartphones Every phone reviewed on Stuff is used as our main device throughout the testing process. We use industry standard benchmarks and tests, as well as our own years of experience, to judge general performance, battery life, display, sound and camera image quality. Manufacturers have no visibility on reviews before they appear online, and we never accept payment to feature products. Find out more about how we test and rate products. Design & build: the Marmite mobile There's no mistaking Phone 3 for anything but a Nothing creation. The glyph lights might've gone, but the semi-seethrough rear panel remains, in your choice of black or white colours. The lines are more angular and grid-like this time around, except only two of the three rear snappers are aligned to it. The asymmetric telephoto lens feels deliberately provocative, and almost certain to put some potential buyers off. They don't stick out nearly as far as the Nothing Phone 3a Pro's chunky camera island, at least. It's the circular glyph matrix panel that takes pride of place, with white LEDs that flash up app notifications when the phone is placed screen-down. Press the touch-sensitive dot built into the rear casing and it can cycle through countdown timers, remaining battery life and the current time, act as a pixellated selfie camera viewfinder (though there's no way to capture photos in this style), and play a handful of micro-games. That these include spin the bottle should give a clue as to who Nothing is aiming Phone 3 at. A software development kit arrived for community developers when the phone was first unveiled, so I'm betting it won't be too long before there are a bunch of third-party tools and functions to download. The firm also has an update in the works that'll let you assign glyph mirror portraits to your contacts for person-specific call notifications. A long-press will then show the contact name or number. It's a fun addition, and far more functional than the old glyph lights were, but I don't think it has quite the same personality. Asus already puts a similar dot matrix screen on its ROG Phones, so it's not like this is a truly unique feature – however well implemented it might be. The rest of the phone is more in keeping with Nothing's older models, with a flat mid-frame made from recycled aluminium and flat front and rear glass. It's practically the smartphone norm at this point, but that dramatically styled back panel helps the Phone 3 avoid accusations it's merely copying Apple's design beats. The screen bezel is suitably skinny and at 9mm thick there's plenty of purchase at the sides. My biggest issue is the button placement; the left side volume keys are in line with the power and Essential key on the right, so I was constantly taking screenshots by mistake when unlocking the phone. The Essential key doesn't feel different enough from the power button, either, which led to a few accidental activations. Gorilla Glass 7i covers the screen and there's Victus glass around the back, so it should survive small drops and scrapes without any battle scars. IP68 dust and water resistance is also reassuring, if not quite on the level of flagship rivals that have even hardier IP69 ratings. The phone has stayed pristine throughout my week of testing. Screen & sound: clear vision Nothing resisted the urge to go big with with the Phone 3's screen, settling on a relatively palm-friendly 6.67in. Still substantially more than the vanilla Galaxy S25 or Pixel 9, sure, but more compact than the OnePlus 13. It's an AMOLED, of course (because no self-respecting flagship uses LCD these days) and a flexible one at that – necessary to make the outer bezels so slim, not because it curves or folds in any way. The 2800×1260 resolution looks plenty sharp form arms' length, for lots of resolvable detail in images and crisp text. It also won't work the graphics chip quite as hard as some flagship rivals with even more pixels. Colours are rich and vibrant, without straying too far into unnatural territory using the default Alive picture preset. A Standard settings dials things down if you prefer more subdued hues. There's HDR10+ support, so compatible content is able to really ramp up the brightness; Nothing says the Phone 3 can manage a peak 4500 nits. The High Brightness Mode HBM) tops out at a more realistic 1600 nits, which while less than the best smartphones can manage, is still just fine for outdoor visibility. I had no trouble seeing what was onscreen, even on the sunniest of days. Because Nothing has steered clear of expensive LTPO tech, the screen's dynamic refresh rate flits between 30 and 120Hz. Being able to drop to 1Hz for static content like the always-on display mode would've reduced battery drain, but because the glyph matrix encourages you to put the phone screen side down, I've had less reason to use it. The dynamic switching is fast enough to react to swipes and scrolls, so there wasn't much need to force it to 120Hz full-time. The stereo speakers are a fine match to the screen, with more than enough volume on tap from the earpiece tweeter and down-firing main driver. It's treble-heavy, but not so much it gets peaky or shrill when you crank things up. Cameras: a clearer picture If the Phone 3a Pro set Nothing's photography bar earlier in 2025, now the Phone 3's trio of 50MP rear snappers has to raise it. The firm hasn't gone crazy on sensor size, but the hardware compares favourably with Google, Samsung and Apple's similarly-priced alternatives. You get an optically stabilised lead lens with an f/1.68 aperture, paired to an ultrawide with a generous 114-degree field of view. The questionably positioned periscope telephoto also has OIS and is good for 3x optical zoom. Macro focusing lets it get as close as 10cm from your subject for sharp close-up shots, and it promises to deliver 60x super res shots using AI upscaling – though in my experience image quality falls a long way short of rivals here, and isn't that much different from the cheaper 3a Pro. Better to stick to 6x snaps, which are far more competitive. All three cameras can manage 4K/60fps video. The red LED indicator lighting up on the rear of the phone when you hit the record button is a nice touch. Nothing's mature image processing has impressed me in the past, but now it has to hold its own against top-tier Galaxys and Pixels. An updated camera pipeline that crams in 13 more frames than Phone 2 to generate each HDR photo is a great start. It helps deliver colourful and contrast-heavy shots in a wide range of lighting, with lots of dynamic range. There's great colour consistency across all three lenses, and enough natural depth of field for portraits and close-ups – if nowhere near the level of rival phones with 1in lead lenses. During daylight hours the main camera captures loads of detail and keeps noise to a minimum, though shutter lag isn't the best. Trying to capture cars at a motorsport event proved tricky, especially when using some of the camera app's picture presets. A bit like film simulations on a Fujifilm digital camera, I'm a big fan of being able to download new looks with a QR code to mimic black and white film or light leak retro snaps with a button press. The Action mode speeds things up, but you're restricted to the default preset and locked out of the ultrawide lens. Ultrawide shots are a half-step behind on outright resolved detail, but there's not a whole lot in it. The telephoto holds up equally well, with great clarity and punchy colours. 6x uses sensor cropping and is a little more sensitive to light, and while things don't fall apart at night, noise definitely creeps up the darker it gets. A Pixel 9 does a better job here – and Samsung isn't far behind – but the Phone 3 still puts in a very respectable showing for the price. Tele-macro snaps are easy to pull off and let you get satisfyingly close to your subject; shots stay colourful and noise-free, too. Do I think the zoom lens is a quantum leap forward from the Phone 3a Pro? Not in good light, no – but Phone 3 still compares favourably to rivals within its price bracket here. Low light is where Nothing's cameras struggle to match the best sub-$1000 phones. Static subjects are absolutely fine, with convincing colours, well-controlled noise and contrast that maintains plenty of shadow detail. As soon as you introduce motion, however, things get blurrier. Crisply capturing the crowd at an evening concert proved a challenge. Google's Night Sight processing keeps its edge here. I'd take more noise if it meant sharper shots – maybe Nothing can tweak things with a software update later down the line. As it stands, this is a perfectly capable high-end cameraphone – just one that doesn't compete for class honors. Software experience: where it all comes together Nothing's monochrome, widget-filled operating system continues to be one of my favourite takes on Android. There's a design consistency and level of customisation here that you really don't find anywhere else, and not a piece of preinstalled bloat in sight. The only additions to Google's default app selection are a voice recorder and photo gallery, which match the black and white aesthetic to a T. Essential Space is the headline attraction, using a mix of on-device and cloud-based AI to gather and organise all your screenshots, voice notes and web links together in one place, separate from your camera roll. Squeeze the dedicated button and it'll capture whatever's onscreen; hold it down and it'll record a voice memo; double-press it and you're taken to the hub. I'll admit to not finding much use for the feature when it first launched on the Phone 3a Pro, but the new flip-to-record mode is an absolute gem. Putting the phone face down and press-and-holding the Essential key will record a conversation, with a waveform appearing on the glyph matrix. Press the key when something interesting is said and it'll mark it in the recording; another press-and-then completes the recording and files it to Essential space to be transcribed and summarised automatically. The new AI-powered Essential Search could perhaps use a little more time in the oven. I like that it can replace the stock home screen's Google search bar, and taps into your apps list, calendar, contacts book and gallery images, but it can't pull straight from Essential space yet. Nothing was quick to commit to Android 16, saying an update for Phone 3 would arrive before the end of the year. That's part of the firm's commitment to five years of new Android generations, on top of seven years of security patches. A small step behind Samsung and Google, perhaps, but still a great showing for anyone wanting long term support. Performance & battery life: what more do you need? Nothing is no stranger to chipset controversy, having rattled a few cages when picking MediaTek power for the Phone 2a. This time the online flame wars have been over whether Phone 3's Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 silicon is deserving of flagship status – especially now the Poco F7 comes similarly equipped for less than half the price. It's true that raw performance places the Nothing behind rivals with Snapdragon 8 Elite power, whether you get the entry-grade model with 12GB of RAM or the pricier 16GB variant. Single-core benchmark tests show a narrower margin, but there's a 15-25% gulf in the multi-core results. It's a similar story on the GPU side, if you just focus on synthetic tests. That could be a sticking point for anyone wanting maximum grunt for minimal outlay, though keep in mind this still comfortably out-drags the Google Pixel 9 across the board. Real-world performance is a different story. I can honestly say there was no point during testing where I felt like I was down on power. The Android interface feels instantly responsive, apps open rapidly, multi-tasking was never a chore, and my current rotation of mobile games all played at a smooth frame rate. Unless you're using your phone to churn out 4K video edits on the regular, there's zero reason to feel short-changed over the choice of processor. Nothing Phone 3 benchmark scores Geekbench 6 single-core 2093 Geekbench 6 multi-core 6485 Geekbench AI 3670 3DMark Wild Life Extreme 4156 3DMark Solar Bay 7902 The one area I thought the Phone 3 did underwhelm a bit was battery life. Nothing has adopted silicon carbide chemistry, but stated conservative on capacity, so you're getting a 5150mAh cell. Or if you pick up the Indian variant, 5500mAh. No, I don't know why either. The global model's battery is a fair bit bigger than Phone 2's was, sure – but it's still a long way short of slightly more expensive rivals like the OnePlus 13, with its sizeable 6000mAh. While I did manage to last all day from a full charge, it was touch-and-go by bedtime and needed the power saving mode enabled. That was with a mix of video streaming, photography, social scrolling and gaming, but largely sticking to Wi-Fi. On a travel day with more 5G connectivity and some GPS navigation thrown in for good measure, I had to plug in mid-afternoon to guarantee I'd make it through to the end of the night. I saw similar with the Pixel 9 and Galaxy S25, but if longevity is a must-have the OnePlus 13 can manage two days per top-up for not a lot more cash. Things did improve after a couple of days of testing, but most days still ended in the high 20% range. 65W wired charging is quicker than anything Google or Samsung will sell you, and good for 0-50% in less than twenty minutes. And while the rear panel doesn't incorporate a charging coil into its design any more, there definitely is one underneath; it'll manage 15W top-ups from a compatible pad. Nothing Phone 3 verdict This is comfortably Nothing's highest-end handset to date, but is that enough to make the Phone 3 a true flagship? It isn't trying to challenge the Ultras and Pro Maxes on the hardware front: the chipset isn't quite top-tier enough for that. Or rather it isn't for anyone who puts a lot of stock in spec sheets. Personally, I don't see that as a stumbling block. There's ample everyday performance here, with well-optimised and highly customisable software to match. The rear cameras take engaging photos and the battery can go all day. The alternatives might have more muscle, last even longer, or have superior snappers – but few have them all at once for this kind of cash. Without the buying power of megacorps like Samsung, Nothing has carefully picked components to make this a competent everyman underneath the flashy glyph features. The divisive looks aren't going to be for everyone, end of story. But if you like your tech to stand out, it's a tempting left-field alternative to the major players. Stuff Says… Score: 4/5 Phone 3 takes Nothing's distinctive design to extremes, for better or worse. It's not the textbook definition of a flagship handset, but the capable all-rounder has a fun side you just don't see anywhere else. Pros Powerful and long lasting enough to earn flagship billing Capable rear camera trio Glyph matrix LEDs are fun and functional NothingOS software as slick as ever Cons Not everyone will be able to see past the unique styling Rivals either have more power, longer batteries or better cameras Nothing Phone 3 technical specifications Screen 6.67in, 2800×1260 AMOLED w/ 30-120Hz CPU Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 Memory 12/16GB RAM Cameras 50MP, f/1.7 w/ PDAF, OIS + 50MP, f/2.2 ultrawide + 50MP, f/2.5 telephoto w/ 3x optical zoom, PDAF, OIS rear 50MP, f/2.2 front Storage 256/512GB Operating system Android 15 w/ NothingOS 3.5 Battery 5150mAh w/ 65W wired, 15W wireless charging Dimensions 161x76x9mm, 218g
