Nothing Phone 3 Review: They Lied!

Quick Overview

The Nothing Phone 3 is marketed as a flagship phone at $799, but it employs a strategy of using slightly less premium components like the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chip and Gorilla Glass 7i to cut costs while maintaining a premium feel and unique design, making it an upper mid-range device priced like a flagship.

Summary

Key Points: Nothing Phone 3 is priced at $799 USD, positioning it against true flagship phones like the Samsung Galaxy S25 and Pixel 9. The phone uses the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chip, which is a powerful upper mid-range chip, not the top-tier Snapdragon 8 Elite found in true flagships. Its display is a large, bright, high-refresh-rate AMOLED, but it uses LTPO technology, which is less power-efficient than LTPO. The phone features a massive 5500mAh silicon-carbon battery, offering genuinely two-day battery life and fast 65W charging. The triple 50MP camera setup is good but often produces slightly soft images, especially with the main sensor, indicating it's a notch below mainstream flagships. The unique Glyph Interface has been replaced by a smaller Glyph Matrix display on the back, offering limited but customizable notifications and gimmicky "Glyph Toys." Nothing OS 3.5 (soon 4.0) provides a clean, smooth, and responsive Android experience with useful features like a universal AI-powered search box.

Context: Nothing, a tech company known for its unique transparent designs and Glyph Interface, has released the Nothing Phone 3, positioning it as their first "true flagship" phone. This review by MKBHD examines whether the phone's hardware and features justify its $799 price tag, comparing it to established flagship devices and Nothing's previous mid-range offerings.

Detailed Analysis

The Nothing Phone 3, priced at $799, is presented by Nothing as its first true flagship, a claim the reviewer largely disputes. While the phone boasts a premium aesthetic with its unique transparent back and no camera bump (achieved by engineering a hole in the PCB for the telephoto lens), its internal components reveal a strategic cost-cutting approach. It features the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chip, which offers significant performance improvements over previous Nothing phones (40% better CPU, 90% better GPU than Phone 2) but is still an upper mid-range chip, not the top-tier Snapdragon 8 Elite found in competitors like the Samsung Galaxy S25 or Pixel 9. The large 6.67-inch AMOLED display is bright (1600 nits outdoor, 4500 nits peak HDR) and smooth with a 120Hz dynamic refresh rate, but it uses LTPO technology, which is less power-efficient than the LTPO panels in true flagships. Despite this, the phone's massive 5500mAh silicon-carbon battery provides excellent two-day battery life and supports 65W fast charging, wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging. The triple 50MP camera system, while featuring Nothing's largest main sensor yet (1/1.3 inches), often produces slightly soft images, suggesting tuning issues, though the ultrawide and selfie cameras are more consistent. The signature Glyph Interface has been replaced by a smaller, pixelated Glyph Matrix display on the back, offering limited utility for notifications and gimmicky "Glyph Toys" like a timer or Magic 8-ball. However, Nothing OS 3.5 (soon 4.0) remains a highlight, offering a clean, smooth, and responsive Android experience with useful additions like a universal AI-powered search box. Ultimately, the Phone 3 prioritizes its distinctive design and software experience over raw, bleeding-edge specifications, making it a unique choice for those who value aesthetics and a refined user interface over absolute top-tier performance.