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<\/a><\/p>\n$799<\/p>\n
The Good<\/p>\n
- \n
- Unique design<\/li>\n
- Big battery and fast charging<\/li>\n
- Plenty of storage<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The Bad<\/p>\n
- \n
- Weak chipset for the price<\/li>\n
- Flagship rivals have better cameras<\/li>\n
- No more Glyph lights<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The Phone 3 is the first Nothing phone to ditch the Glyph interface, an abstract pattern of LED dots and strips that became Nothing\u2019s design trademark when the Phone 1 launched in 2022<\/a>. In its place is something smaller and subtler: a circular dot matrix display dubbed the Glyph Matrix.<\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nThe Glyph Matrix plays spin the bottle, but don\u2019t you dare call it a gimmick.<\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nNothing says the Glyph Toy range will expand with new community-developed apps.<\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nNothing includes some notification icons of its own design, like this one I used for WhatsApp.<\/p>\n
The Glyph Matrix can display pictures and icons, so instead of trying to remember which light show you programmed for phone calls from your mom, you can set an emoji to represent her (you could even use a photo, but these are just as illegible as the old lights when rendered on the dot matrix). You can use Nothing\u2019s preselected designs or generate your own from an image, but if you want to use a specific emoji or app icon, then you\u2019ll need to get a hold of the image file yourself to convert it. This all needs to be enabled manually, contact by contact, app by app, so it\u2019s a fair bit of work to set up.<\/p>\n
The Glyph Matrix can also do sensible things like display the time or remaining battery, stranger things like run a solar clock or frame a selfie using the rear camera, and downright weird stuff like play rock, paper, scissors or spin the bottle. Practical or not, these are collectively dubbed Glyph Toys, and you can cycle through them using a hidden haptic button on the phone\u2019s rear. You can set the clocks or battery indicator to run perpetually as a form of always-on display, too, which is a boring use case but the best part of it for me.<\/p>\n
The end result is a system that\u2019s a little more practical than it used to be \u2014 though it doesn\u2019t do a whole lot to dispel accusations that it\u2019s a gimmick<\/a> \u2014 but feels less unique, following in the wake of several years of Asus ROG phones<\/a> that have similar second screens.<\/p>\n
It also leaves the rest of the phone\u2019s rear oddly bare. Lots has been written already about the phone\u2019s asymmetric camera placement, but it\u2019s the barren white space that bothers me more. Nothing\u2019s design language is all about details and doohickeys that draw the eye and hint at the hardware underneath. But here, there\u2019s a cramped cluster of cameras and other details at the phone\u2019s top, and at the bottom there\u2019s a whole lot of, well, nothing. I love the look of the company\u2019s other hardware, but the Phone 3 is its first design dud \u2014 too busy at the top and too empty everywhere else.<\/p>\n
![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/nothing-phone-3-07_d56b83.jpg\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\nNothing OS is great, but gray, which can make it hard to use.<\/p>\n
![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/nothing-phone-3-09_f22365.jpg\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\nThis is a beta \u201csmart\u201d layout of the app drawer, with automated categories.<\/p>\n
![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/nothing-phone-3-05_bd2d6d.jpg\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\nYou can use Essential Space to take screenshots of event invites\u2026<\/p>\n
![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/nothing-phone-3-06_f42da8.jpg\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\n\u2026which are summarized and can be synced with Google Calendar.<\/p>\n
Nothing\u2019s distinct design language runs through the software. Nothing OS 3.5, based on Android 15, is minimalist and monochrome, with plenty of customizability \u2014 right down to details like the layout of the quick settings menu. The grayscale looks great, though it\u2019s a little unhelpful when you\u2019re trying to find an app icon in a rush, but you can always switch to Android\u2019s standard colorful icons if you prefer. A new AI-powered global search bar helps, too, pulling up apps, contacts, settings, and more.<\/p>\n
The other big AI features are found in the returning Essential Space<\/a>, triggered by a dedicated hardware key to save screenshots and voice notes, which the AI will analyze to give you reminders about events or tasks, with a new option to add events to Google Calendar. It can also summarize audio recordings, though you\u2019re limited to 300 minutes a month, with no option to buy more, and you only get a summary, not a full transcript.<\/p>\n
![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/nothing-phone-3-04_2d6420.jpg\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\nThe lower half of the Phone 3 is bare compared to the top.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s more to being a flagship than just looking the part. Nothing angered some fans by boasting about the Phone 3\u2019s \u201cflagship\u201d Snapdragon 8S Gen 4 chipset, which is also found in the $399 Poco F7. And sure, this is a chip for the lower end of the flagship space, less powerful than the Snapdragon 8 Elite<\/a> you\u2019ll find in the Galaxy S25<\/a>. But Google\u2019s Pixel line has delivered less pure power ever since the company switched to in-house Tensor chips<\/a>, and the 8S Gen 4 is competitive with that. It hasn\u2019t lagged or stuttered over my couple weeks with the phone, photo processing is fast enough, and it handles gaming comfortably.<\/p>\n
Some specs are strong: 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage are great for the base model, delivering double the space of rivals. The 5,150mAh battery is larger than the alternatives and lasts the day comfortably, while 65W wired charging is the fastest of the lot. The bright 120Hz OLED display doesn\u2019t stand apart from the competition outside of being bigger at 6.67 inches.<\/p>\n
Nothing\u2019s earlier cameras were competent, but that doesn\u2019t cut it for a flagship. Nothing upgraded the Phone 3\u2019s hardware with a triple rear camera that uses 50-megapixel sensors across the board \u2014 including the selfie camera \u2014 outpacing all its rivals on resolution. It says it\u2019s made software tweaks, too, prioritizing richer shadows and natural highlights.<\/p>\n
1\/19<\/strong>The Phone 3\u2019s main camera produces attractive results in good lighting.<\/p>\n
The main camera works well in good light through dusk. Some shots have the flat sheen of excessive HDR effects, removing the contrast and detail, though Nothing\u2019s post-processing is more restrained than some. Results drop off once it gets dark, though, and the camera overexposes highlights and crushes blacks in the process.<\/p>\n
The telephoto is the best feature this camera has going for it, partly because the iPhone 16<\/a> and Pixel 9<\/a> don\u2019t have one. The color tuning differs from the main lens, being flatter and colder, but it takes photos with an attractive, natural bokeh effect, especially in macro mode.<\/p>\n
Overall, the cameras lag a little behind the competition, but this telephoto might be a tempting reason to consider it \u2014 though with the Pixel 10 rumored to jump to three cameras<\/a>, that advantage might disappear.<\/p>\n
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