Nothing Phone (3) review: The flagship that isn't one

After two years, Nothing has finally brought out a new flagship smartphone with the Phone (3). The base version with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage costs €799, which is €150 more than its predecessor. After two years of development, I would have expected a real upgrade. The big bang did not happen, but there are a few wild decisions.

Design: Glyph Matrix instead of a glowing back

Nothing was always known for its transparent design and the glowing glyphs on the back. They are gone now. Instead, there is a mini-LED display on the back, the Glyph Matrix, and an additional touch button that you use to switch between functions. I deliberately call them gimmicks: battery level, spirit level, rock paper scissors and spin the bottle.

The only sensible one is the pixelated selfie preview for the main camera. But only outside the camera app: you have to leave the app, activate the preview with the button, and then you can only take a photo with a long press. That is awkward. On top of that, you always have to search for the button because you cannot feel it. I hope an update improves that.

I still like the transparent design a lot. I find the black model prettier, but the fingerprints on it are from another planet, so I am quite happy with the white version. A thin, well-fitting transparent case is included. New is also a red square that lights up while recording video. It looks good and also shows the other person that they are being filmed.

The arrangement of the cameras looks as if it had been rolled with dice. It definitely stands out.

Ad: HBADA E3

In between, I recommend the ergonomic office chair HBADA E3. This is an ad as part of a collaboration.

Camera: really good

There are four times 50 megapixels: main camera, periscope telephoto camera, ultrawide and front camera. Not even Samsung flagships have a setup like that. I find photos, portraits and macro shots really good. For a moment you can see that the images are improved afterward with AI, but as long as they look natural, that is completely fine with me.

• Zoom: up to 60x, and from 30x the AI Super Zoom kicks in.
• Video: 4K at 60 FPS with the main camera, 4K at 30 FPS with the front camera. The footage is smooth, sharp and has a nice natural background blur.
• Criticism: Photos in 9:16 or 16:9 only work at 12 megapixels. At 50 megapixels, it shoots in 4:3. That annoys me as a content creator, maybe it is a bug.

Display and software

The display is 6.67 inches, has thin bezels, a very high resolution, 120 Hz and up to 4,500 nits. The display glass is not the best. The optical fingerprint sensor sits quite low and works accurately, but not always 100%.

Nothing OS 3.5 is based on Android 15 and at its core is stock Android. You can set up the design completely in Nothing style, with widgets and icons in the Nothing look. The apps lose their colors in the process, which takes some getting used to. I think it is really cool. Colorful apps can also be set.

For AI, there are all the Google features with Gemini and Circle to Search. Nothing is working on its own AI model, which is currently limited to Essential Space. That already existed on the Phone (3a) and (3a) Pro. With the Essential Key on the side, you take a screenshot, make a voice recording or open Essential Space. That is where the recordings end up, and the AI summarizes them, for voice recordings for example as an overview of the tasks mentioned, also as a notification on the lock screen. 100 minutes are free for analysis, and I do not know what happens after that.

I find Essential Space confusing. And because the Essential Key sits where the power button is on other smartphones, I have already accidentally saved about 12,000 screenshots there.

Battery, charging and updates

• Battery: 5,150 mAh.
• Charging: 65 watts, from 0 to 50% in 20 minutes. For comparison: Samsung offers only 25 watts. Wirelessly it is 15 watts, plus reverse wireless charging.
• Other: IP68 and Wi-Fi 7.
• Updates: 5 years of OS updates and 7 years of security updates. That is less than Samsung and Google. From my point of view, that is fine, because Android 20 is still a long way off.

Processor: not flagship level

The Phone (3) has the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4, not a Snapdragon 8 Elite like the competitors in the same price class. That is not flagship level, even if everything runs smoothly in everyday use. I wonder how long the processor can keep up with the rapid development of AI.

Verdict

In design, build quality, battery and above all the camera, the Nothing Phone (3) is a real flagship. In the processor, display glass and update guarantee, it is not. It is a cool, edgy smartphone that stands out from the crowd. But you have to be aware that you are not buying a flagship here, no matter how often Nothing uses the word. On top of that, there are lots of buttons you have to get used to.

€799 for the base version is far too expensive. If the price soon lands at around €500, it is a really great smartphone from a manufacturer we can still expect a lot from.