The Nothing Phone 3 has arrived, and it’s making waves in the smartphone industry as the company’s most refined and powerful device yet. With significant upgrades across the board, from performance to design, this phone aims to challenge established players like Apple and Samsung. But in a market saturated with high-end flagships and budget-friendly alternatives, does the Nothing Phone 3 do enough to stand out?
Let’s dive deep into what makes this phone special, where it falls short, and whether it’s worth your hard-earned money.
Design & Build: A Refined Aesthetic
The Nothing Phone 3 continues the brand’s signature transparent design, but with subtle yet meaningful improvements. The Glyph Interface—a series of LED lights on the back—has been upgraded with more customizable lighting patterns and better integration with notifications. The phone feels premium, thanks to its aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection, making it both sleek and durable.
Compared to its predecessor, the Phone 3 is slightly slimmer and lighter, improving one-handed usability. The matte finish reduces fingerprint smudges, a common complaint with glossy-backed phones. While the design won’t appeal to everyone, it’s undeniably unique in a sea of lookalike smartphones.
Display: Smooth, Vibrant, and Adaptive
The Nothing Phone 3 features a 6.7-inch LTPO AMOLED display with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, ensuring buttery-smooth scrolling and responsiveness. With a peak brightness of 1,600 nits, outdoor visibility is excellent, and HDR10+ support makes streaming content a joy.
The bezels are thinner than ever, giving the phone a near edge-to-edge look. Unlike some competitors, Nothing has stuck with a flat display, which many users prefer for easier screen protector application and reduced accidental touches.
Performance: Flagship-Level Power
Under the hood, the Nothing Phone 3 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, paired with up to 12GB of RAM. This combination delivers flagship-level performance, handling everything from multitasking to high-end gaming with ease. Benchmark scores put it on par with the Samsung Galaxy S24 and iPhone 15 Pro, making it a true powerhouse.
Storage options range from 128GB to 512GB, though the lack of expandable storage might be a downside for heavy users. Thermal management has also improved, with better heat dissipation ensuring sustained performance during long gaming sessions.
Software: Clean, Fast, and Feature-Packed
Nothing OS 3.0, based on Android 14, is one of the cleanest Android skins available. It’s bloatware-free, with minimal pre-installed apps, and offers a near-stock Android experience with a few thoughtful additions. The Glyph Interface now integrates more deeply with notifications, allowing users to assign unique light patterns to different contacts and apps.
Nothing promises three major Android updates and four years of security patches, which is decent but still lags behind Samsung’s and Google’s update commitments.
Camera: Good, But Not Class-Leading
The Nothing Phone 3 sports a dual 50MP rear camera setup (wide + ultrawide) and a 32MP front camera. While the hardware is solid, the camera performance is more mid-range than flagship. In good lighting, photos are sharp and vibrant, but low-light performance is inconsistent, with some noise and loss of detail.
The ultrawide camera suffers from distortion at the edges, and the lack of a telephoto lens means zoomed shots are purely digital. Video recording maxes out at 4K 60fps, with decent stabilization, but it’s not as polished as what you’d get from an iPhone or Pixel.
Battery Life & Charging: All-Day Endurance
A 5,000mAh battery powers the Nothing Phone 3, providing solid all-day battery life even with heavy use. With moderate usage, you can easily stretch it to a day and a half. The phone supports 65W wired charging (0-100% in about 45 minutes) and 15W wireless charging, though it lacks reverse wireless charging—a feature found in many competitors.
Pricing & Competition: Is It Worth It?
The Nothing Phone 3 starts at $699 for the base model, positioning it as a premium mid-range device. At this price, it competes with the Google Pixel 8, Samsung Galaxy S23 FE, and OnePlus 12R.
Pros:
– Unique, eye-catching design
– Excellent performance
– Clean, bloat-free software
– Great display
– Solid battery life
Cons:
– Camera performance lags behind rivals
– No telephoto or periscope zoom
– Limited software update commitment
– No expandable storage
Final Verdict: The Best Nothing Phone Yet, But Is That Enough?
The Nothing Phone 3 is undoubtedly the company’s best offering to date, with significant improvements in performance, display, and battery life. However, in a market dominated by giants like Apple, Samsung, and Google, it still falls short in key areas like camera quality and long-term software support.
If you prioritize a unique design, clean software, and flagship-level performance, the Nothing Phone 3 is a compelling choice. But if camera excellence and long-term updates are critical, you might want to look elsewhere.
For those interested in cutting-edge design and a fresh take on smartphones, the Nothing Phone 3 is worth considering. Check out the latest deals here and see if it fits your needs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Does the Nothing Phone 3 have wireless charging?
A: Yes, it supports 15W wireless charging but lacks reverse wireless charging.
Q: How many Android updates will the Nothing Phone 3 receive?
A: Nothing promises three major Android updates and four years of security patches.
Q: Is the Nothing Phone 3 waterproof?
A: It has an IP54 rating, meaning it’s splash-resistant but not fully waterproof like IP68-rated phones.
Q: Does the Nothing Phone 3 support 5G?
A: Yes, it has full 5G support across most major carriers.
Q: How does the Nothing Phone 3 compare to the Google Pixel 8?
A: The Pixel 8 has a better camera and longer software support, but the Nothing Phone 3 offers a more unique design and slightly better performance.
For more in-depth comparisons and expert reviews, explore our smartphone buying guide today.