If you put the best phones side by side on a table, could you tell them apart? As smartphones have become increasingly homogenous, companies are searching for different ways to ensure their products stand out, and chief amongst these is Nothing.
The nascent London-based company has made design a key staple of its product portfolio, and the result has been some of the most unique designs in tech, including the Nothing Phone 3a Pro earlier this year. Key to the Nothing experience has been the Glyph Interface, a series of programmable light bars that are designed to notify you when your phone is face down on a table.
Like every phone maker, designs evolve, and today, Nothing has unveiled the Nothing Phone 3 with a key feature that will be new to most smartphone users. I went hands-on with the Phone 3 — complete with its polarizing design — and this is why it’s better than I first expected.
Polarizing design and the evolution of the Glyph
Nothing’s most recent smartphones have often delivered excellent core specs and functionality paired with a polarizing design. The result is that, while it may not be for everyone, you can easily spot a Nothing phone while walking down the street.
The Phone 3 continues this trend with a polarizing design, but it looks far nicer in person than it did in the previously leaked renders. Yes, the cameras aren’t uniformly spaced like other smartphone makers, but they are uniform within the context of Nothing’s new three-column layout on the rear.
Next to the cameras, you’ll find the new Glyph interface. This evolves the Glyph lights feature into a micro-LED display that offers far more functionality and utility than the previous light bars. The result is a feature that makes the Phone 3 truly stand out from the competition.
Meet the new Glyph Matrix interface
Had you told me that Nothing was going to drop the glyphs in favor of a micro-LED display, I would have said that I thought it was a bad idea. Having now used the Phone 3, I take that back: the glyph interface is the natural next step for the Glyph interface, especially combined with Nothing’s new Glyph toys.
These are essentially mini apps that can run on the small Glyph Matrix display. Some of these provide obvious utility — for example, being able to see the remaining timer and your notifications — but others will come in handy when you least expect it.
Want to decide who pays the bill at dinner, or just have some fun with friends? The spin the bottle glyph toy is ideal and will replace the need to spin an actual bottle. Seeking inspiration or the wisdom of a magic 8-ball? Nothing also has you covered there. Building something and need a spirit level in a pinch? There’s also a glyph toy for that.
Beneath the glyph matrix, you’ll find two design features that look like buttons. Only one of these is an actual button, and as it’s beneath the Gorilla Glass Victus rear, it’s somewhat hard to press. However, it’s core to the Glyph Matrix experience as you press it to cycle through the different AI toys and, in the case of features like spin-the-bottle or the magic 8-ball, you press and hold the button to activate the feature.
More than just glyphs, with four 50MP cameras
While the Glyph Matrix is one of the highlights of the Phone 3, the other is likely to be the cameras. The Phone 3 features a triple-camera array on the rear, and all three cameras offer 50MP resolution. This is paired with a further 50MP camera on the front, and this setup is the best we’ve seen on a Nothing Phone yet.
The 50MP main camera features a 1/1.3” sensor that takes in 44% more light than the Nothing Phone 2. Like every smartphone maker, Nothing is also utilizing in-sensor cropping to achieve 1.5x and 2x lossless zoom. Additionally, there’s the new 50MP telephoto camera, which features a 70mm focal length and offers 3x optical zoom and 6x in-sensor zoom.
The telephoto lens also enables the Phone 3 to zoom up to 60x by combining information captured by the sensor with AI. The three rear cameras feature OIS, while the selfie camera uses electronic stabilization. Testing the Phone 3’s camera briefly at Nothing’s briefing this morning, I was impressed, and it’s clear that this is the best camera in a Nothing phone yet.
The rest of the flagship specs sheet
Ahead of the Phone 3 launch, Nothing teased endlessly that the Phone 3 would be its first true flagship smartphone. Powering the whole package is the new Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor, which is Qualcomm’s latest processor, but one step below the Snapdragon 8 Elite used in the best Android phones. However, the Phone 3 is fast and smooth thanks to the 12GB or 16GB of RAM.
The Phone 3 features a 6.67-inch AMOLED display that is vibrant and looks outstanding, as well as an IP68 rating for dust and water protection. The display features a 1.5K resolution and offers up to 4,500 nits of peak brightness. The display features a dynamic refresh rate of up to 120Hz and also supports the HDR10+ standard.
To keep the Phone 3 going for a whole day and more, it is equipped with a 5,150 mAh battery that uses Silicon Carbon technology for the first time. This is paired with 65W charging and 15W fast wireless charging. Nothing claims that this enables the Phone 3 to charge to 50% in around 20 minutes, but we’ll test this as part of our upcoming review.
A true flagship without the price
I’ve used many smartphones over the past few years, but the Nothing Phone 3 has one of the most unique phone designs I’ve used in years. It feels premium and has all the features you would want from a flagship phone.
Crucially, the Phone 3 also follows Nothing’s model of offering excellent value for money. Available to pre-order from July 4, the Phone 3 is launching on July 12. The 256GB model will cost $799 in the US (£799 / €799 in the UK and Europe), while the 512GB model costs $100 more.
As far as specs and value for money are concerned, the Phone 3 offers a lot of bang for your buck. Unlike previous Nothing phones, it’ll also be more broadly available in the US through Nothing’s store and other partners.
