Updated June 20: we originally suggested a design teaser shared by Nothing (further down this article) was for the Phone 3, but new images apparently showing the Headphones 1 link this teaser to the over-ear headphones which will also be announced on July 1.
The Nothing Phone 3 teasers continue to flow, and we’ve just been given a sneak peek at a unique feature the firm’s upcoming flagship handset will be packing.
Nothing posted an update announcing a new feature called ‘Glyph Matrix’ and confirming it will feature on the Nothing Phone 3, which will be announced on July 1.
A short five second video was included in the post, showing a series of dot-matrix style lights illuminating in different patterns in the top corner of a handset.
Taking a closer look at the device in the video, you can see the power switch is on the left, and what appears to be volume keys on the right.
The placements of these buttons suggest we’re looking at the rear of the Nothing Phone 3, so this isn’t an animation which is playing on the front screen of the device.
It’s not clear from the short video whether the Glyph Matrix is a series of individual LED lights, or a small, dedicated display on the back of the phone.
A standalone display would be more power hungry and a series of LEDs, so I’d lean on this not being a screen – but we won’t know for sure until the July 1.
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However it’s been engineered, the Glyph Matrix looks set to offer something truly different in the smartphone world where minimalist slabs of glass and metal have become the norm.
The Glyph Matrix reveal isn’t all that surprising, after Nothing declared the death of its Glyph Interface (the lights on the rear of its current handsets) towards the end of May, while it changed its profile image to the logo you see in the video above on June 4.
While there is a certain element of gimmick surrounding this novel feature, I welcome it with open arms, as Nothing continues to deliver on its promise of designing products which don’t follow the crowd.
In the past Nothing has posted teasing Pokémon images, as it uses the pocket monsters as codenames for its upcoming devices. I mention it because the the Pokémon are displayed in a dot-matrix style.
If I can get my favorite Pokémon to show on the Glyph Matrix I’d be over the moon for teenage me. It’s geeky and gimmicky, but I love the idea and I can’t wait to see how it works (and if Pokémon are possible).
Tactile textures
And that’s not all. Just a day before the Glyph Matrix drop, Nothing gave us a look at a small feature detail for the Headphones 1. The design teaser appears to show a dimpled pattern on a circular pad.
With new leaked images of the Headphones 1 appearing on Instagram, it appears we’re looking at the outside of the ear cups.
This is just the latest in a long line of information Nothing has drip-feeding us in the run up to its July 1 launch event.
Earlier this week we found out the Nothing Phone 3 will come with a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset, providing users with five years of major Android OS updates and seven years of security updates.
And before this week, Nothing co-founder and CEO Carl Pei declared the Phone 3 is the company’s “first true flagship” and revealed it will retail for around £800 – with rumors suggesting the price in the US will be around $799. Nothing has also confirmed the Phone 3 will be available via Amazon, as well as its own website, for US buyers.
With less than two weeks to go before all is revealed, there’s not long for us to wait to find out all about the Glyph Matrix.
