Nothing Phone 3 Review: A Flagship for Nothing?

The Nothing Phone 3, priced at $800, has just launched, prompting a thorough review to evaluate its value. This analysis delves into its polarizing design, display capabilities, impressive battery, camera system, hardware performance, and the unique Nothing OS to determine its standing in the market.

Key Points Summary

• Design

  The Nothing Phone 3 features a highly subjective, asymmetrical design, described by some as 'ugly' but lauded for its uniqueness. It retains a transparent back, though without the signature flashing lights of previous models. The phone incorporates Gorilla Glass Vectus 2 on the rear, houses three asymmetrical lenses with a red blinking video recording light, and includes a 489-LED display that shows black and white pixels for data. Its construction features an aluminum frame with a noticeable 9mm thickness, an IP68 dust and water resistance rating, and a 7-inch front panel with normal bezels and a punch-hole selfie camera. The material design offers an attractive matte finish and well-placed physical buttons.

• Display

  The device sports a 1 billion color, 120 Hz OLED display, which lacks LTPO technology, meaning its refresh rate switches between 30 and 120 Hz rather than offering a broader, more dynamic range. It features a resolution of 1280 x 2700/2800 with 18-bit color, delivering beautiful, bright, and clean visuals. While peak brightness reaches 4000 nits (around 1600 nits in normal use), it falls short of flagship standards due to the absence of LTPO and using Gorilla Glass 7 instead of Vectus Plus.

• Battery Performance

  An impressive 5150 mAh global version battery provides approximately 13 to 14 hours of screen-on time, potentially lasting up to three days with normal use. It supports 65-watt fast charging, though the adapter is sold separately. Playing Call of Duty for one hour drains the battery by about 19%. A notable drawback is the lack of modern Qi wireless charging support.

• Security

  The Nothing Phone 3 is equipped with an incredibly fast under-display fingerprint sensor for security.

• Camera System

  The phone features three 50-megapixel sensors for its main, ultrawide, and telephoto cameras. The main sensor boasts a large Q3 size, delivering amazing photos with excellent dynamic range, exposure, and natural color quality, though its large sensor can sometimes cause subject softening that may require software optimization. It exhibits some noise in low-light conditions and processes images slightly slower than competitors like the iPhone 16 or Samsung S25. The 50-megapixel ultrawide and telephoto (3x optical, up to 6x digital) sensors also produce great photos, despite minor sharpness issues across all three lenses and slight color discrepancies between them. The telephoto lens can also capture macro photos. Portrait mode effectively separates subjects from backgrounds when they are people, but less consistently with objects. Video recording is capable across all lenses at 4K 60fps, offering attractive videos with good optical image stabilization on the main sensor, consistent color, and effective light metering. The 50-megapixel selfie camera captures incredible detail, good dynamic range, extremely low noise, and supports 4K 30fps video. Overall, the camera package is highly satisfactory for most users but does not fully meet flagship expectations.

• Hardware and Performance

  Powering the device is a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor, which, while capable of handling demanding games like Call of Duty at high settings without lag, is not considered a top-tier flagship chip and can be found in more affordable phones. The phone experiences heating and performance degradation during prolonged heavy gaming (e.g., 40-50 minutes of Genshin Impact). It uses a third-generation USB Type-C port, which offers slower data transfer compared to higher-end flagship devices.

• Software and User Interface (Nothing OS)

  The phone runs on Android 15 with the Nothing OS 1.5 user interface, which is highly praised for its unparalleled clarity, lightness, softness, and extensive personalization options, including custom icon packs and UI element adjustments. Its camera app integrates AI-related background features. The UI incorporates cool, detailed animations, such as unlocking and locking sequences, providing a unique user experience. A minor criticism includes the 'Essential Space' feature, deemed largely useless.

• Unique LED Display and Features

  The 489-LED display on the phone's back, operating in black and white, integrates a touch-sensitive button similar to 3D Touch. This display shows battery percentage, time, and timers, and offers various 'tricks' like games (rock-paper-scissors, spin the bottle), a level, and a sun position indicator. It allows for personalized notifications and calls, displaying unique shapes for specific contacts, even serving as a basic camera viewfinder. Despite developer access, its utility is questioned, with some considering it a novel but ultimately unused gimmick.

• Audio

  The Nothing Phone 3 delivers clean stereo sound through its unique speakers, described as very good, though slightly short of flagship-level audio.

• Value and Conclusion

  Priced at $800, the Nothing Phone 3 is deemed overpriced, with a suggested ideal price point closer to $600. Its direct competitors include the iPhone 16 and Samsung S25, with the S24 and iPhone 16 often considered superior within their respective ecosystems. While not a true flagship in every aspect, it distinguishes itself with a unique design, a high-quality screen, an excellent battery, a satisfactory camera, and a reliable processor. Its standout feature is the Nothing OS, making it appealing to those seeking a distinctive Android experience.

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