Nothing Phone 3 Review: Not Quite A Flagship

Nothing did things otherwise pinch its 3rd procreation of phones. First came nan midrange Nothing Phone 3a (and 3a Pro), which mixed stylish hardware pinch a competitory price. Now, nan institution has launched nan Nothing Phone 3, which it's calling its first "true flagship." At $799, it's Nothing's astir costly telephone yet, featuring a bigger screen, 4 50-megapixel cameras and a awesome redesign of nan company’s signature Glyph interface, which has evolved into nan much compact Glyph Matrix.

Nothing's hardware creation is what genuinely sets its phones isolated from nan established players, and nan 2025 exemplary is much elaborate and analyzable than ever. At this price, however, it faces stiff title from entry-level flagships for illustration nan Galaxy S25 and iPhone 16. Beyond nan innovations and occasional gimmicks, has Nothing nailed nan fundamentals capable to compete?

Hardware and design

Once again, Nothing has made a telephone that commands attraction for illustration nary other. Everywhere I go, group are funny erstwhile they spot maine utilizing nan Phone 3, and nan Glyph Matrix seems to some confuse and delight them.

Unlike nan protruding camera portion connected nan Nothing Phone 3a Pro, nan Phone 3’s 3 cameras are separately lodged successful nan backmost and jut retired a fraction of a millimeter. The see-through exterior returns, displaying screws and hardware modules organized into 3 vertical rows. This time, it’s much evident that this is simply a creation flourish alternatively than a genuine glimpse into nan phone’s components. For example, a funny semi-circle of frosted solid beneath nan flash doesn't look to person a intent (beyond an artistic one).

Elsewhere, a reddish quadrate adjacent to nan ultrawide camera now acts arsenic a signaling light. It's different charming touch that tin beryllium abnormal successful nan settings if you find it distracting. The off-center telephoto camera lens mightiness besides irk symmetry fans, but it's a prime that I don't peculiarly mind. The Phone 3 is 18 percent thinner than nan Phone 2 and, without nan camera bump of nan 3a Pro, it looks and feels a measurement supra its predecessors.

The main attraction is nan Glyph Matrix: a information dot-matrix show made of 489 LEDs that shows elemental notifications, nan clip and artillery level. While immoderate loyal fans mightiness miss nan bold ray show of erstwhile models, this loop is acold much useful. Instead of a barrage of flashing lights, nan Matrix tin show you who is calling done unsocial patterns and, pinch early updates, civilization creation assigned to your contacts.

Nothing continues to thin into its retro tech creation inspiration, and I'll admit I'm a sucker for it. The dot-matrix matter and numbers align perfectly pinch Nothing's Android skin, making nan full instrumentality consciousness cohesive. A capacitive haptic Glyph fastener beneath nan Matrix lets you rhythm done notifications and tools. Interactions are simple: a short property to move modes aliases a agelong property to commencement devices for illustration nan stopwatch.

Fortunately, you tin usage nan Phone 3’s settings paper to delegate Glyph Matrix devices and "toys." Most of them are playful and frivolous, for illustration Spin The Bottle and Magic 8 Ball, and Nothing is tapping into its organization to create caller Matrix widgets. Hopefully, functionality will grow arsenic much users get involved. Some devices are little useful though, for illustration a level that uses nan phone’s accelerometer for a pixelated readout. It conscionable seems a small imprecise; really overmuch accuracy tin you deduce from little than 500 pixels? Others are rather slick, for illustration a pixelated camera readout for framing selfies.

With Essential Notifications, you tin delegate circumstantial app notifications aliases contacts to a unsocial shape aliases a pixelated photo. However, it's challenging to create thing that doesn't look for illustration a blurry mess. The aforesaid settings paper allows you to set nan Matrix's brightness and really agelong nan notifications persist.

The beforehand of nan Phone 3 is each display, pinch a 6.67-inch surface and a solution of 2,800 x 1,260. If you for illustration a ample screen, this is astir apt its biggest advantage complete nan iPhone 16 and Galaxy S25. It’s besides Nothing’s brightest telephone yet, reaching up to 4,500 nits for HDR contented — noticeably brighter than nan Nothing Phone 3a. It supports HDR 10+ and a 120Hz refresh rate, each protected by Gorilla Glass 7.

Cameras

Nothing has nan fundamentals covered pinch nan Phone 3’s cameras. The triple-camera strategy includes a 50-megapixel f/1.7 main sensor pinch optical image stabilization, a 50MP ultrawide and a caller 50MP telephoto camera pinch 3x optical zoom.

As we noted successful our Nothing Phone 3a review, telephoto cameras are uncommon connected much affordable smartphones. On nan Phone 3, there’s a periscope zoom, keeping nan camera portion svelte and hardly protruding from nan device. It’s besides awesome to spot a 3x zoom paired pinch a high-resolution 50-megapixel sensor, which allows you to harvest into images while retaining fidelity. Nothing moreover added a 6x zoom fastener successful nan camera app that crops nan image further. The app besides uses pixel-binning for much meticulous colour and amended low-light pictures by default, which results successful them being saved arsenic 12-megapixel images.

Overall, nan camera strategy tin beryllium a small inconsistent. During a picnic successful Amsterdam, nan Phone 3 captured crisp images of wildlife and architecture. Its Action mode was peculiarly impressive, effortlessly adding mobility blur to shots while keeping nan taxable sharp. However, astatine different times, what should person been vibrant cityscape shots and thoroughfare creation came retired muted and grainy. For example, psychedelic feline artwork that was incredibly vibrant successful personification looked level successful nan photos. The metadata revealed nan telephone had cranked up nan ISO, a mounting I haven't had to manually set connected a smartphone successful years.While immoderate colour variety betwixt nan 3 lenses is expected, images often looked arsenic if they were taken connected different phones, thing that was particularly evident successful scenes pinch bluish skies.

The telephoto camera is nan standout characteristic connected nan Phone 3. I emotion nan expertise to play pinch zoom, and nan 3x optical zoom (plus nan further crop) makes this a much useful camera than those connected nan iPhone 16 aliases Pixel 9, which apical retired astatine 2x zoom. It’s besides an fantabulous macro camera, utilizing nan zoom to forestall nan telephone from casting a protector connected nan subject.

Software

Nothing erstwhile again outfits its telephone pinch its ain unique Android skin. The artistic is each monochrome, serif fonts and dot-matrix touches. I instantly chose this tegument erstwhile mounting up nan telephone for nan first time, though uncovering immoderate app icons tin beryllium much challenging without their original colors.

Essential Space, pinch its dedicated hardware button, remains Nothing’s astir absorbing package addition. Since launching connected nan Nothing Phone 3a, it tin now adhd events to your Google Calendar, punctual you of tasks and summarize audio recordings. My biggest issue, however, is accidentally hitting nan powerfulness fastener alternatively of nan Essential Key, aliases vice versa. The keys request to beryllium a different size aliases astatine slightest person a much chopped feel.

Performance and artillery life

With a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor, nan Phone 3 performs solidly, but it’s not arsenic snappy arsenic a instrumentality pinch existent flagship silicon, for illustration nan Snapdragon 8 Elite aliases Apple A18. Some mightiness reason that nan Phone 3 isn't a "true flagship" because its processor tin beryllium recovered successful sub-$400 devices, but nan spot is still powerful capable for astir tasks and games, and tin moreover present ray-traced graphics.

Nothing opted for a 5,150mAh silicon-carbon battery, making it 1 of nan first phones we’ve tested pinch this caller technology. It tin shop much lithium ions than accepted lithium-ion batteries, which Nothing claims adds a 10 percent boost successful power density compared to its predecessor. I didn’t consciousness immoderate notable quality of nan Phone 3 moving cooler, however. In our artillery rundown test, nan Phone 3 was capable to play a video record for conscionable complete 23 hours. That falls somewhat awkward of nan Phone 2, but that has a smaller screen.

The Phone 3 besides gets flagship-level charging speeds, supporting 65W wired charging that gets nan instrumentality from quiet to afloat successful nether an hr (with a compatible charger). It besides supports 15W wireless charging and reverse wireless charging for earbuds. However, nan deficiency of Qi2 support seems for illustration an oversight for a "true flagship."

Wrap-up

How does Nothing’s flagship telephone stack up against likewise priced smartphones? The Phone 3 offers a large 6.67-inch screen, a ample artillery pinch accelerated charging and 256GB of retention — double nan magnitude recovered successful nan guidelines Pixel 9 and Galaxy S25.

However, a less-than-flagship chipset and inconsistent camera capacity detract from nan entreaty of an different intriguing telephone pinch slick package and a unsocial design. The Glyph Matrix is overmuch much useful than nan flashing lights of nan Phone 3’s predecessors, moreover if nan creation isn’t rather arsenic bold. I conscionable dream nan institution continues to germinate nan devices disposable connected it.

The Phone 3 is simply a overmuch amended telephone than nan two-year-old Nothing Phone 2, but it's besides $200 much expensive, making immoderate shortcomings much apparent. While I want Nothing to proceed experimenting pinch its phones, it should astir apt prioritize shoring up nan camera capacity first.