Nothing is shaking things up again with its third-generation phones. Forget incremental upgrades; they unleashed the Phone 3a (and the rumored 3a Pro) first, a bold midrange contender blending head-turning design with a price that doesn’t break the bank. Now, brace yourselves for the Phone 3, Nothing’s unapologetic dive into flagship territory.
At $799, it’s a statement piece, the most premium Nothing yet. Think bigger, bolder, and brimming with cutting-edge tech: a sprawling display, a quartet of 50MP cameras ready to capture everything, and the Glyph interface reborn as the Glyph Matrix – a sleeker, more powerful evolution of Nothing’s signature lighting. This isn’t just a phone; it’s a declaration.
Nothing dares to be different. It’s not just about specs; it’s about a design philosophy that screams, “Look at me!” The 2025 model pushes this ethos to the limit, boasting a hardware aesthetic that’s part art, part engineering marvel. But does audacity translate to victory in a market dominated by titans like the Galaxy S25 and iPhone 16? Innovation is intriguing, sure, but can Nothing deliver the core experience needed to truly challenge the status quo?
Nothing / Engadget
Nothing Phone 3
Is the Nothing Phone 3 the real deal flagship we’ve been waiting for? It’s a definite leap forward from the Phone 2, boasting a bigger, brighter screen, a beefier battery, and a dazzlingly redesigned Glyph Matrix. But hold on – the camera can be a wild card, and that price tag whispers promises of a processor with more punch. Is it a flagship, or just flirting with the idea?
Pros
- Big, bright display
- Unique hardware and software design
- Big silicon-carbon battery
Cons
- Camera performance is erratic
- Middling processor
$799 at Nothing
Hardware and design
Image by Mat Smith for Engadget
Nothing has done it again. The Phone (3) isn’t just a phone; it’s a conversation starter. Heads turn everywhere I go, eyes drawn to the Glyph Interface, a mesmerizing dance of light that sparks equal parts curiosity and sheer delight.
Forget camera bumps, the Phone 3 embraces the subtle protrusion. Its three lenses, individually nestled into the phone’s back, barely peek out – a whisper of tech, not a shout. The transparent exterior returns, a familiar window into Nothing’s soul. This time, however, the organized chaos of screws and modules, arranged in neat vertical lines, feels less like raw exposure and more like deliberate art. Take, for instance, that enigmatic frosted semi-circle lurking beneath the flash. Functionally ambiguous, aesthetically intriguing. A visual riddle wrapped in glass.
Beyond the expected, a crimson square now glows beside the ultrawide lens, a subtle “recording” beacon. A delightful detail, easily silenced in settings if its presence proves too insistent. The telephoto lens, deliberately askew, might twitch the eye of symmetry devotees, though I find its placement forgivable. Shedding bulk, the Phone 3 slims down, boasting an 18% leaner profile compared to the Phone 2. Free of the 3a Pro’s camera bulge, it feels elevated, a clear stride forward in both form and feel.
Forget garish light shows. Meet the Glyph Matrix: a mesmerizing constellation of 489 LEDs orbiting the camera. More than just eye candy, this circular dot-matrix display delivers essential information at a glance. Imagine, subtle animations whispering the caller’s identity, discreetly showcasing the time, or elegantly illustrating your battery reserves. While past iterations pulsed with vibrant, attention-grabbing illumination, the Glyph Matrix speaks a more refined language – a personalized visual shorthand that promises custom contact art with future updates. It’s notification reimagined, delivered with artistry and purpose.
Nothing’s retro-tech aesthetic? I’m hooked. The dot-matrix display isn’t just a design choice; it’s a statement. It syncs seamlessly with Nothing’s Android skin, a digital harmony that screams thoughtful design. Below, the Glyph button – a capacitive marvel – pulses with possibilities. Short press? Mode shift. Long press? Stopwatch unleashed. It’s intuitive interaction, distilled.
Image by Mat Smith for Engadget
The Phone 3’s Glyph Matrix isn’t just lights; it’s a playground. Dive into the settings and unleash a collection of whimsical “Glyph Matrix tools and toys.” Think digital Spin the Bottle and a pixelated Magic 8 Ball – pure, delightful frivolity. Nothing is handing the reins to its community, promising a future brimming with user-generated Matrix widgets.
While some features, like the pixelated spirit level (accuracy via 500 pixels?), feel more novelty than necessity, others genuinely shine. The pixelated camera readout for perfectly framed selfies is a stroke of genius.
Unleash a personalized notification symphony with Essential’s customizable light patterns and pixelated contact portraits. While crafting a masterpiece beyond a charmingly retro blur can be tricky, the settings offer granular control. Fine-tune the Matrix’s brilliance and notification duration to orchestrate your perfect visual alert.
Prepare to be captivated. The Phone 3 unveils a breathtaking 6.67-inch canvas, a sprawling vista of 2,800 x 1,260 pixels that dwarfs the displays of its rivals, the iPhone 16 and Galaxy S25. If immersive visuals are your desire, look no further. But the Phone 3 is more than just size; it’s Nothing’s most radiant creation yet. Blazing with a peak brightness of 4,500 nits for HDR content – a luminous leap beyond the Phone 3a – every image explodes with life. HDR10+ support and a silky smooth 120Hz refresh rate are standard, all shielded by the unyielding Gorilla Glass 7. Experience a screen that doesn’t just show, but truly stuns.
Cameras
Image by Mat Smith for Engadget
The Phone 3 isn’t just playing the camera game; it’s rewriting the rules. Forget incremental upgrades, Nothing unleashes a trifecta of 50MP power. The main camera, a 50MP f/1.7 marvel with OIS, grabs stunning detail. Widen your world with a vibrant 50MP ultrawide. And for the first time, pull distant subjects into sharp focus with a dedicated 50MP telephoto lens boasting 3x optical zoom. Get ready to capture your vision, amplified.
Forget standard zoom; the Nothing Phone 3 boasts a periscope lens – a rarity in its class – cleverly tucked away for a nearly flush design. But the real magic? A 50MP sensor powering a crisp 3x optical zoom, letting you punch in without sacrificing detail. Need to get even closer? A tap on the 6x zoom button utilizes intelligent cropping, while pixel-binning tech works its low-light sorcery, delivering vibrant, 12MP shots even when the lights are low.
Nothing Phone 3 review sample photos
Images shot on the Nothing Phone 3.
The Phone 3’s camera: a tale of two cities. In Amsterdam, it was a virtuoso, capturing the delicate details of wildlife and the grandeur of architecture with breathtaking clarity. Its Action mode was pure magic, blurring the world around my speeding subject while keeping it tack-sharp. Then, reality hit. Cityscapes that should have popped with vibrant color turned dull and lifeless. Street art, a kaleidoscope in person, became a muted echo in pixels. A psychedelic cat mural, exploding with color in real life, was rendered flat and lifeless, betrayed by an inexplicably high ISO – a setting I thought smartphones had banished to the digital dark ages. The three lenses? They seemed to be in a constant competition, producing images so different, it was as if I’d swapped phones between shots, especially under the vast, unforgiving expanse of the Dutch sky.
Image by Mat Smith for Engadget
Forget megapixels – the Phone 3’s telephoto lens is where therealmagic happens. I’m obsessed with playing with perspective, and this camera delivers zoom capabilities that blow the iPhone 16 and Pixel 9’s paltry 2x efforts out of the water. We’re talking a crisp 3xopticalzoom, with the option to push it further with a clever crop. But here’s the kicker: it doubles as a stunning macro lens. No more awkward shadows from getting too close – just zoomed-in, beautifully lit detail.
Software
Image by Mat Smith for Engadget
Nothing’s phone boasts an Android skin as unique as its name. Ditching the expected, it plunges into a monochrome world of serif elegance and playful dot-matrix designs. Setup was instant love – I dove headfirst into this stark aesthetic. The only snag? Hunting down familiar app icons now camouflaged in grayscale. A stylish sacrifice, perhaps?
Nothing’s Essential Key: Still the most intriguing part of their software, even if my thumb disagrees. Initially launched with the Nothing Phone 3a, this dedicated hardware button now juggles Google Calendar events, task reminders, and audio summarization like a digital circus performer. The problem? My muscle memory is failing me. I keep mistaking it for the power button. A size difference, or even just a more tactile feel, would save me from accidentally shutting down instead of summoning my digital assistant. Think of it: the potential unlocked if my fingers could just tell the difference!
Performance and battery life
The Phone 3 wields a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4, delivering capable performance. However, don’t expect the blistering speed of true flagships packing Snapdragon 8 Elite or Apple A18 chips. Critics might quibble, pointing out that the 8s Gen 4 powers phones far cheaper than a “true flagship.” Yet, this silicon punches above its weight, handling demanding games (even with ray tracing!) and everyday tasks with ease. It’s not the fastest, but it’s undeniably potent.
The Nothing Phone (3) packs a 5,150mAh silicon-carbon battery, placing it among the pioneers we’ve tested with this cutting-edge technology. Imagine a battery that can hoard more lithium ions than its conventional lithium-ion cousins – that’s the promise here. Nothing claims this translates to a 10% energy density surge compared to the Phone (2). Did I feel a cooler phone? Not particularly. But the real test? Our battery rundown. The Phone (3) streamed video for a marathon 23+ hours. A hair’s breadth behind its predecessor, which, remember, sported a smaller display.
Fueling the Phone 3 is a blazing-fast 65W wired charging system, catapulting you from 0% to 100% in under an hour with the right adapter. Cord-free convenience comes standard with 15W wireless charging, and you can even juice up your earbuds on the go with reverse wireless charging. One head-scratching omission? Qi2 support, a feature that feels conspicuously absent on what’s otherwise positioned as a top-tier device.
Wrap-up
Image by Mat Smith for Engadget
Can Nothing’s Phone 3 dethrone its rivals? This phone boasts a massive 6.67-inch display, a battery built for endurance with rapid charging, and a spacious 256GB of storage. That’s twice the base storage you’ll find in the upcoming Pixel 9 and Galaxy S25 – could this be the edge Nothing needs to conquer the competition?
Beneath a stylish exterior and innovative software lies a frustrating truth: this phone’s ambition is hobbled by a mid-tier chipset and a camera that can’t consistently deliver. While the Glyph Matrix offers genuine utility, eclipsing the novelty of its predecessors’ light shows, its design feels somewhat subdued. The hope remains that the company will continue to unlock the full potential of this intriguing feature.
The Phone 3: a bold step forward, or a $200 stumble? It eclipses the Nothing Phone 2, that’s undeniable. But with the price hike comes heightened scrutiny. Every flaw feels magnified under the spotlight. Nothing’s innovative spirit is admirable, but before chasing more moonshots, perhaps it’s time to fix the camera.
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