{"id":25277,"date":"2025-07-27T05:33:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T05:33:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/25277\/"},"modified":"2025-07-27T05:33:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T05:33:13","slug":"nothing-phone-3-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/25277\/","title":{"rendered":"Nothing Phone 3 Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nothing bided its time before releasing the Nothing Phone 3. Where the Nothing Phone 2 was a solid mid-ranger, and Nothing\u2019s Phone 2a and 3a<\/a> were pushing the upper limits of the budget phone<\/a> market, the Nothing Phone 3 comes in with a $799 price tag to go squarely against flagship phones<\/a> from Apple, Google, Samsung, and OnePlus. That\u2019s no easy task for a still fairly recent upstart with less than five years to its name, but Nothing does an impressive job delivering a quality phone with respectably all-around performance and a quirky design that some may enjoy.<\/p>\n

Nothing Phone 3 \u2013 Photos\"\"Nothing Phone 3 \u2013 Design and Features<\/p>\n

The Nothing Phone 3 puts style first. Whether you like its style is a different matter, but the phone certainly goes for a remarkable and unique look. Its clear back offers some insight as to what might be going on inside, though the actual internals are still all covered up, so it\u2019s not quite like the clear side panel of a gaming PC. It\u2019s also no longer clear to show a host of different LEDs spattered around the phone. Now, there\u2019s just a small coin-sized dot matrix display in one corner, which Nothing is calling the Glyph Matrix. <\/p>\n

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The 489-pixel screen is interesting, though something we\u2019ve already seen done in slightly different fashion on the Asus ROG Phone 9<\/a>. This can display some fun little gimmicks, like a spin-the-bottle game, notification animations, or a magic eight ball. It has some more useful features as well, like a battery meter, spirit level, and a selfie mirror \u2013 though this last feature was rather confusing to use, requiring me to cycle through the options to it, long press to activate it, and then long press again to take the photo (it doesn\u2019t open the camera app on the other side of the phone, doesn\u2019t work with the volume buttons, and doesn\u2019t appear when taking a photo normally). Some features of the Glyph Interface are still pending, like per-contact notification visuals. <\/p>\n

Beyond that special display and transparent back, the only quirky thing about the Nothing Phone 3\u2019s design is its camera layout. The modules are simply laid out unusually, with the wide and ultra-wide sensors sitting side by side, albeit at some distance from each other, and the telephoto sensor sitting offset from either of these. Folks who favor 90-degree angles and straight lines will likely be put off by this.<\/p>\n

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The rest of the phone is a mix of mid-range and high-end design. The Nothing Phone 3 is slightly thick at 8.99mm and heavy at 218 grams, up from the 8.5mm of competitors like the OnePlus 13<\/a> and Pixel 9 Pro<\/a>, which are 210g and 199g respectively. Its dimensions are otherwise reasonable for a phone packing a 6.67-inch display. The phone boasts an aluminum frame typical of devices in this category and uses Gorilla Glass 7i for scratch and drop protection. It\u2019s tough to say how that stacks up to the higher-end Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on something like Pixel 9 Pro, but Nothing at least includes a preapplied screen protector with the phone. The device is also IP68 rated to keep up dust and survive dips in 1.5 meters of water for up to 30 minutes. For an $800 phone, I\u2019d expect no less. <\/p>\n

The display on the Nothing Phone 3 is excellent. It’s a modest size, and with 1260×2800 pixels, it’s perfectly sharp. Nothing may not be at the cutting edge of bezel thinness, but they\u2019re even and narrow all the way around. The screen is satisfyingly bright in outdoor conditions and boasts the color and contrast I\u2019ve come to love on AMOLED displays, making for especially poppy HDR content while watching TV, movies, or YouTube. The display can reach up to a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth visuals, and it will dynamically lower its speeds to conserve power necessary. In my testing, it always felt smooth. <\/p>\n

The display is flanked by speakers on either side that offer respectably loud audio and are reasonably balanced between the sides for clean stereo sound. On the bottom of the phone, you\u2019ll also find a tray that can hold a pair of SIM cards, though the phone also supports eSIM, providing some pleasing flexibility. That is disappointingly set next to a USB-C port that only offers USB 2.0 transfer speeds. I\u2019m not sure what excuse Nothing has for that, but I\u2019m sure it can\u2019t be a good one in 2025 \u2013 a full 16 years after USB 3.0 was introduced. <\/p>\n

Concerning Moisture<\/p>\n

In testing the Nothing Phone 3, I ran into an issue I\u2019ve heard of on phones but never personally encountered before. After running a demanding test on the phone, I discovered condensation on the inside of the camera lenses. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Moisture buildup inside the camera lenses<\/p>\n

For the primary and telephoto cameras, this condensation didn\u2019t readily show up in photos, but it did cause blurring in areas of the ultra-wide sensor\u2019s photos. After some time, the condensation went away. The weather was a bit extreme, with high temps outside and strong air conditioning inside. And the benchmark test I ran raised the phone\u2019s temperature considerably. While it may have been a fluke or a confluence of extreme factors that led to the moisture inside the cameras, it was no less concerning. <\/p>\n

AI Emphasized<\/p>\n

On the right side of the phone, you\u2019ll find an extra button below the power button. This is for a special AI-centered experience called Essential Space. Tapping the button will take a screen shot and holding it will let you record a voice note for future reference. Notes can also quickly be appended to screenshots for more context. If you flip the phone over and hold the Essential button, the phone will begin to record, showing a sound wave on the Glyph Interface and blinking a red light near the cameras to indicate it\u2019s recording. From there, Nothing will process the recording and provide a summary. <\/p>\n

Google launched a similar screenshot-centric feature with AI analysis on the Pixel 9 lineup. Nothing\u2019s implementation so far seems a little more seamless to dive into thanks to its dedicated button, though it doesn\u2019t appear to work as hard to provide useful insights into things or provide a quick way to dig up old screenshots by searching for them. Some features require use of a Nothing account, like quickly adding to-do list items via voice (something Google Gemini will also do). The service includes 300 minutes of audio analysis per month \u2013 a bad sign for on-device AI inference. <\/p>\n

Nothing Phone 3 \u2013 Software<\/p>\n

The Nothing Phone 3 comes with Android 15 out of the box. This runs Nothing OS 3.5 as a skin of Android, and it\u2019s a clean one. It has some funky icons that aren\u2019t always easy to interpret and a couple of Nothing apps, but otherwise comes with no bloatware that I could see. Some of the hardware controls, like the Glyph Interface, aren\u2019t part of apps but are baked into system settings. It\u2019s not always intuitive where seeings will be or even how to access the full settings when you find the right spot, but overall it\u2019s been at least a clean and pretty Android interface. Impressive for a company that didn\u2019t have very clear support lined up in the past, the Nothing Phone 3 comes with a promise of 5 years of Android updates and 7 years of security patches.That said, a skeptic might note that Nothing hasn\u2019t even been around that long. <\/p>\n

Nothing Phone 3 \u2013 Gaming and Performance<\/p>\n

The Nothing Phone 3 is built around the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 SoC, a notable difference from the Snapdragon 8 Elite floating around in most Android flagship devices<\/a>. While it\u2019s no slouch, it also falls well behind that flagship chip where performance is concerned. In my testing, it tended to line up closer with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s not the worst news, as that was also a high-performing chip and gave phones running it speeds competitive with Apple\u2019s latest iPhone 16 family. The Nothing Phone 3 also puts up that kind of performance. In Geekbench 6\u2019s CPU and GPU tests, the Nothing Phone 3 is a worthy rival to the OnePlus 13R, RedMagic 9 Pro, and OnePlus 12, albeit about 10-25% slower in single-core performance. It also outpaces the Pixel 9 Pro. It puts up solid gaming results in 3DMark\u2019s various graphical benchmarks, continuing to nip at the heels of these other phones, even if it generally doesn\u2019t overtake them.<\/p>\n

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The Nothing Phone 3 can struggle a bit with heat, though, and it\u2019s been inconsistent in this regard. After running a benchmark stress test, I measured a 115 degree Fahrenheit hotspot near the cameras and 100-105 degree points along the frame near that end of the phone. The phone also aborted multiple runs of the Steel Nomad Light stress test because of overheating. It only once successfully completed the test in a cafe with especially cold air conditioning, and there it got a surprisingly high 80% consistency score. By comparison, the OnePlus 13 didn\u2019t struggle to finish the benchmark when it was tested (not in that cafe) but had only a 65% consistency as its score range started with a high of 2524 points and sank as low as 1662 \u2013 that low, notably, being close to the Nothing Phone 3\u2019s highest score of 1799. <\/p>\n

That heat can crop up some in everyday use. Of course, it built up while gaming. I felt the phone get a bit uncomfortable, though not intolerable, after a couple rounds of Delta Force. And even while watching a show on Netflix, I noticed the phone getting warm. On other occasions, the phone didn\u2019t seem to be unduly warm. <\/p>\n

Thankfully, the phone generally behaves well. It has more than enough performance for everyday use and plenty of memory (I was sent the 16GB configuration for testing) for quick app switching. Even after gaming for a while, I was able to go back to an app I hadn\u2019t used for hours and pick back up instantly. <\/p>\n

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Wireless connectivity is also a strong point. Not every phone plays well with the carriers in the U.S., like Poco and RedMagic. But in my testing, the Nothing Phone 3 generally had a solid and speedy connection to T-Mobile much like I\u2019d get, generally topping 40Mbps and sometimes ramping up upwards of 100Mbps. The phone also supports tri-band Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.0, which gives it a good degree of future proofing<\/p>\n

Nothing tops off all this generally decent performance with a solid battery. You won\u2019t find anything mindblowing, with the Nothing Phone 3 sporting just a 5150mAh battery. But that\u2019s ample for all-day use and will likely last all but heavy users well into a second day. The phone can juice back up on a 65W wired charger, which is just peachy if you have a USB-C laptop charger. Wireless charging is a bit slower at just 15W. <\/p>\n

Nothing Phone 3 \u2013 Cameras<\/p>\n

On a lot of phones, cameras can be a bit of an afterthought, or overhyped without the hardware and software to actually deliver. Nothing seems to have really put some effort into their camera stack with a full setup of quality sensors, not pulling a fast one with one good sensor and a handful of throwaway sensors to pad the specs. Here\u2019s what the Nothing Phone 3 includes:<\/p>\n

50MP Wide, f\/1.68, 1\/1.3\u201d, OIS, EIS, PDAF50MP ultrawide, f\/2.2, 114-degree FOV50MP telephoto, f\/2.68, 3x optical, OIS, EIS 50MP Selfie, f\/2.2, 81.2-degree FOV<\/p>\n

The Nothing Phone 3 starts off on a good footing. The main sensor captures lovely photos with clear details, plenty of light gathering potential, and lifelike color. In very bright sunlit environments, it wants to overexpose the scene, but this is quickly dialed back with a simple slider in the camera app. It\u2019s not always spot-on with focus, especially for close-up shots, but it performs well enough. <\/p>\n

Nothing Phone 3 \u2013 Main Camera Samples\"\"<\/p>\n

The ultra-wide manages to provide consistent lighting and color, not straying too far from the main sensor. But it suffered from hard-to-miss distortion and aberrations to the image. It also struggled to focus close-up. While it can capture a larger field of view, its issues hold it back from being a solid addition to the setup.<\/p>\n

Nothing Phone 3 \u2013 Ultrawide Camera Samples\"\"<\/p>\n

The telephoto proves more worthy. It\u2019s able to punch in nicely on distant subjects with a 3X optical zoom. 5X would have been more impressive, but 3X still helps. It shifts colors slightly from the main sensor, so there\u2019s not a perfect consistency there, but it\u2019s still fairly close. More importantly, the telephoto makes for some sharp shots. Whether you\u2019re trying to shoot a far-off subject or a close-up, the telephoto sensor comes into play. When switching to macro mode, it\u2019s actually the sensor used, and it does a good job bringing out texture. Nothing\u2019s computational photography isn\u2019t great at digital zoom, with the photo quality dropping off quickly even when pushing to just 6X zoom.<\/p>\n

Nothing Phone 3 \u2013 Telephoto Camera Samples\"\"<\/p>\n

The selfie camera also does a solid job. It captures sharp images with bold contrast. Interestingly, it appears to perform better than using the main sensor to take a selfie with the Glyph Mirror. While there\u2019s no easy way to account for subtle differences changing how the camera processes a photo, it appears that photos are noisier and more washed out when using the Glyph Mirror to take selfies. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Selfie Camera Sample<\/p>\n

Overall, it\u2019s a good camera system, but doesn\u2019t quite push into exceptional territory. It may have higher resolution sensors than the OnePlus 13 and Google Pixel 9 Pro, but Google and OnePlus just do a better job processing and matching images between its sensors. And the Google Pixel 9 Pro has better zoom. <\/p>\n

Purchasing Guide<\/p>\n

The Nothing Phone 3 is available<\/a> in White or Black and comes with either 256GB of storage and 12GB of memory or 512GB of storage and 16GB of memory. The base configuration costs $799, and opting for extra memory and storage adds $100 to the price. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nothing bided its time before releasing the Nothing Phone 3. Where the Nothing Phone 2 was a solid…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25278,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[64,63,203,105],"class_list":["post-25277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mobile","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mobile","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25277\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}