Nothing Phone (3) in review – bold, different, hot

Nothing Phone (3): Design

It's rare that a smartphone design truly surprises me, but the Nothing Phone (3) certainly did. Instead of relying on smooth symmetry and a glossy aesthetic, the Phone (3) presents itself as angular, playful, and unusually composed.

The camera layout on the back is particularly striking. The lenses aren't arranged in a row or module like many other models, but are seemingly randomly distributed. Yet behind this apparent disorder lies a clear concept. The asymmetrical design deliberately stands out, attracts attention, and breaks with the demand for visual perfection that pervades many current flagships.

The glass on the back still offers a glimpse into the internals, but the new LED system steals the show from the Glyph strips of its predecessors. Instead of long light strips, there's a monochrome LED display (Glyph Matrix) in the upper right corner, opening up new possibilities. More on that in a moment.

The whole thing also fits together haptically. The recycled aluminum frame is more angular than its predecessor, the casing sits snugly in the hand, and the glass back feels pleasantly grippy. The slightly recessed display glass adds a striking finishing touch. For everyday use, there's also IP68 protection against water and dust, making the Phone (3) surprisingly robust despite its extravagance.

Design is always a matter of taste, no question. Some will shake their heads at the sight of the Phone (3). Others see it as a bold statement. All of this evokes a feeling last felt in the unusual cell phone experiments of the early 2000s. Devices like the Nokia 7280, which could be rotated like a lipstick, or the quirky Siemens Xelibri come to mind.

Even though the Phone (3) is technically far removed from that, it evokes similar reactions and sends a little wink to those who are content with generic smartphone design. The Nothing Phone (3) is guaranteed to be experimental, and that's precisely the brand's DNA.

Nothing Phone (3): Glyph Matrix

Technically, however, the matrix represents an exciting advance. Instead of the traditional light bars distributed across the housing, the new system consists of 489 individually addressable LEDs that together form a kind of mini-display. This can be adjusted to four fixed brightness levels or operated in automatic mode.

The glyph matrix is ​​controlled via the touch-sensitive glyph button, which is invisibly embedded in the back. It's located exactly where the index finger usually rests when holding the device in the right hand. This makes the button easily accessible for right-handed users. Left-handed users, on the other hand, have to change their grip or think differently, as the button is positioned much more awkwardly for them.

The Glyph button toggles between the so-called Glyph Toys. At the time of testing, nine such "toys" were available. These included a digital clock, a mirror, a battery indicator, and games like rock-paper-scissors, spin the bottle, and Magic 8 Ball. More are to follow, as Nothing is providing the community with an SDK (Link) is available. Developers can use it to program and submit their own Glyph experiences.

As charming as the concept of the new Glyph Matrix is, it brings with it a problem that also affected the Glyph Strips of its predecessors. Most people automatically place their smartphone face down on the table, which causes the Glyph Matrix to disappear from view.

Anyone who wants to exploit its full potential will have to adapt their usage habits. Lay the device face down more often, perhaps even use a case. A transparent silicone case is included in the package.

A few things could also be improved. For example, an always-on mode would be desirable. A permanently visible time or charging indicator would not only be practical, but given the low LED power consumption, it should also have a minimal impact on the battery.

The Glyph button itself also seemed a bit awkward during testing. While it's easy to feel, it requires quite a bit of force when pressed. If the sensitivity could be individually adjusted, it would improve usability somewhat.

Nothing Phone (3): Display

As for the front, Nothing stays grounded. The Phone (3) features a flat 6,67-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2800 × 1260 pixels and a pixel density of 460 ppi.

At just 1,87 mm across the entire screen, the bezels are pleasantly narrow. The refresh rate reaches 120 Hz, combined with a high touch sampling rate of 1000 Hz. This makes content appear fluid, and the panel responds quickly to inputs.

Instead of relying on a power-efficient LTPO panel that could dynamically adjust the refresh rate down to 1 Hz, Nothing uses a traditional AMOLED with fixed refresh rates. Especially with always-on features or static content, an LTPO display would have been more efficient and likely improved battery life. Especially since that's exactly what you'd expect in this price range.

When it comes to brightness, Nothing goes all out, achieving 800 nits in normal use, up to 1600 nits in sunlight, and even 4500 nits with HDR content. These are decent values ​​even in the high-end segment. One minor criticism here is the automatic brightness control, which sometimes reacts a bit slowly. It takes a while to settle, especially when switching to dark environments.

Thanks to HDR10+ and 10-bit color depth, the panel supports over a billion colors and delivers rich contrast with a 1.000.000:1 ratio. Unlike the back, which uses Gorilla Glass Victus, the front is protected by Gorilla Glass 7i.

Nothing Phone (3): Performance

Just like the design, the choice of processor also raises eyebrows for many. While other manufacturers use the Snapdragon 8 Elite in their current flagships, Nothing deliberately opts for the more affordable Snapdragon 8s Gen 4. A decision that seems like a compromise on paper and immediately raises the question of whether this is even a true high-end smartphone.

In fact, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 isn't based on Qualcomm's own Oryon cores, but rather on classic ARM reference cores. Performance, however, suffers little as a result. According to Qualcomm, CPU performance is around 31 percent higher than its predecessor, and the GPU is a whopping 49 percent higher.

This has a noticeable positive impact in everyday use. The Phone (3) responds to inputs lightning fast, apps open without lag, multitasking runs smoothly, and even image editing or 4K video editing doesn't cause the device to break a sweat.

Mobile gaming is no problem for the Phone (3), and the frame rate remains stable even in graphics-intensive games. However, in very demanding scenarios or after long gaming sessions, the back gets quite hot, with temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius (XNUMX degrees Fahrenheit). This quickly becomes uncomfortable to hold. However, we didn't experience any heat-related performance drops or stuttering in our tests.

The combination of the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4, up to 16 GB LPDDR5X RAM and fast UFS 4.0 storage delivers everyday performance that doesn't have to hide from devices with the elite chip and in some places even feels more agile than many other flagships.

connectivity

With Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, tri-band support, and a full 5G stack including eSIM, the Phone (3) is technically at the cutting edge. Positioning is fast and precise. Supported technologies include GPS (L1+L5), Galileo, Glonass, BDS, and NavIC.

It's a bit of a shame that Nothing doesn't have a fast USB-C 3.1 port, opting for USB-C 2.0 instead. This means transferring large amounts of data via cable takes a bit longer. This may be acceptable for many, but it's still not ideal in this price range.

Audio and fingerprint scanner

In terms of audio, the Phone (3) offers a solid stereo setup with clear highs and a sufficient bass foundation. Two microphones record speech with good quality. It lacks a headphone jack, which is now standard.

The in-display fingerprint sensor is accurate, but like many optical sensors, it's sensitive to moisture or oblique angles. For the ultimate flagship experience, an ultrasonic sensor would have been expected here.

Nothing Phone (3): Software

With the Phone (3), Nothing takes the next step with its proprietary Nothing OS user interface. It comes pre-installed with Nothing OS 3.5, based on Android 15, and features a minimalist aesthetic, no bloatware, and clean lines.

The design language remains reduced, but scores points with many small animations, a standalone widget system and the typical dot matrix look that runs through the entire system and sets the user interface apart from the Android monotony.

Essential Space, Search, Recorder

Nothing is also increasingly turning to AI and has further expanded the Essential Space, first introduced with the 3a series. In the Essential Space, content such as screenshots, voice memos, or camera recordings can be directly stored, organized, and summarized with AI support.

New to the system is Essential Search, a system-wide, intelligent search. It not only searches apps and contacts, but also delivers results from files, notes, calendars, and the web.

Also new is the Essential Recorder, which automatically transcribes conversations and voice memos. Pressing the Essential button on the side during recording lets you mark important moments. These will be highlighted in the subsequent transcript, making it much easier to structure and edit meetings or interviews.

Update policy

Nothing promises five years of Android updates and seven years of security patches. This is more than many competitors, but still lags behind the seven years currently promised by Google and Samsung. Android 16 with Nothing OS 4 is scheduled for the third quarter of 2025. 

Nothing Phone (3): Camera

Cameras at a glance

With four 50 MP sensors, the Nothing Phone (3) confidently sets a new standard for cameras. Here's an overview:

•  50 MP main camera with f/1.68 aperture, 1/1.3" sensor, PDAF and OIS
•  50 MP periscope telephoto camera with f/2.68 aperture, 1/2.75" sensor, 3x optical zoom, 6x in-sensor zoom, 60x digital zoom, PDAF and OIS
•  50 MP ultra-wide-angle camera with f/2.2 aperture, 1/2.76" sensor and 114° field of view
•  50 MP front camera with f/2.2 aperture, 1/2.76" sensor and 81.2° field of view

main camera

The main camera on the back uses a large 1/1.3-inch sensor with optical image stabilization and captures noticeably more light than its predecessor. The results are particularly impressive in daylight, with excellent sharpness, dynamic range, and color balance. Even in difficult lighting conditions, details are well preserved.

Subjects can be beautifully captured with the lossless zoom levels of 1.5x and 2x. While the quality doesn't quite match that of top cameras like the Pixel 9 or Galaxy S25 Ultra, the image performance of the main camera is absolutely impressive for a €799 phone.

Periscope telephoto lens

Things get exciting with the new periscope telephoto lens. Here, too, Nothing relies on a 50 MP sensor, with 3x optical zoom and up to 6x lossless magnification. Those who want to get even closer can use the 60x AI zoom, although this mode, as expected, heavily interpolates and significantly reduces quality.

In practice, the telephoto lens is suitable for sharp portraits with pleasing bokeh and for distant subjects with a surprisingly high level of residual sharpness. However, there are occasionally visible deviations in color and contrast compared to the main camera, which can be distracting in mixed zoom shots. Hopefully, Nothing will make some software adjustments here.

Ultra wide angle camera

The ultra-wide-angle camera also offers 50 MP with a 114-degree field of view. In good lighting, it takes solid shots, but the quality is noticeably lower than the main camera. Details appear softer, edges lose sharpness, and the dynamic range is more limited.

There are also some significant color differences compared to the main camera, making the overall image appear inconsistent. Just like with the periscope telephoto lens, some software fine-tuning would be desirable here.

Front camera

The front camera also has 50 MP. Selfies are crisp, skin tones are reproduced pleasantly neutral, and the exposure remains balanced even in backlight. This is a plus for content creators, as the front camera also supports 4K videos at 60 fps.

Those who prefer using the main camera for selfies could theoretically use the Glyph Matrix. The mirror toy displays the image from the main camera on the LED display, thus serving as a focus aid on the back. However, you can't take a photo with it (yet), as the Glyph toy automatically deactivates as soon as the camera app is launched. In the future, however, this would be a useful addition with real added value for selfie fans.

Video and TrueLens Engine 4

The entire camera setup supports 4K at 60 frames per second, including HDR10+ and Ultra XDR video. The latter uses Dual Exposure to deliver particularly high-contrast images with natural lighting. Videos appear richer and more dynamic without looking overly artificial.

Rounding out the whole package is the new TrueLens Engine 4, which, according to Nothing, enables significantly faster image processing. Our tests show that the camera starts up quickly, focuses reliably, and processes images noticeably faster than its predecessor. Only with burst shots or complex HDR scenes can you experience brief delays.

Nothing Phone (3): Battery life and charging

Nothing has installed a 3 mAh silicon-carbon battery in the Phone (5.150), which offers noticeably more battery life than its predecessor. With intensive use (camera, navigation, video streaming, and gaming), the device will reliably get you through the day. If you take it easy, you can even go two days without a power outlet.

Charging via cable is possible at up to 65 W. This is enough for almost 50 percent in under 20 minutes and a full charge in less than an hour. Wireless charging (Qi 1.2) is possible at 15 W, and smaller devices such as headphones can be charged via reverse charging at up to 5 W.