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Nothing's caller flagship telephone is its astir costly and risky merchandise yet. At $799, the Nothing Phone 3 nary longer undercuts its midrange competitors. Instead, the handset takes connected the likes of the iPhone Pro, Pixel Pro, and Galaxy S phones of the satellite with a striking design, functional AI features, and good bundle tuning.
Also: I tested Nothing's archetypal over-ear headphones, and they made my AirPods Max look boring
And it does truthful portion sacrificing its astir iconic feature, the Glyph Lights, which person present been replaced by a much subtle and unsocial Glyph Matrix interface. More connected that later.
I went hands-on with the Phone 3 astatine Nothing's motorboat lawsuit successful London, and here's wherefore it's poised to marque a splash successful an ever-competitive market.
Putting the 'fun' successful functionality
As a tech enthusiast, I couldn't assistance but spot the assorted Nothing Phone 3 renders that were leaked up of launch, and went into the hands-on league with lowered expectations. I wasn't expecting overmuch from the asymmetric design, but the Phone 3 has amazed maine for the better. Dare I say, I emotion its weirdness.
The caller Glyph Matrix connected the backmost screen adds a playful interaction to what would different beryllium different slab phone, and I'd reason it's much functional than the Glyph Interface of past models.
Also: Why I urge this $280 Android telephone implicit inexpensive models from Samsung and Google
The Glyph Matrix consists of 489 idiosyncratic mini-LEDs, which are controlled by a carnal Glyph Button connected the back. You tin power betwixt utilities similar a stopwatch and Glyph Mirror, ambient interactions similar artillery indicator and clock, and games similar Magic 8 Ball, oregon wholly crook disconnected the LEDs for a much understated look.
A carnal fastener to crook the LEDs connected and disconnected and power betwixt antithetic functionalities is simply a astute determination - truthful overmuch truthful that I'd telephone the Glyph Button the biggest summation to Nothing's plan this year. In the past, determination person been times erstwhile the Glyph Lights were triggered unwillingly successful nationalist places, and I had to conflict to crook them disconnected done the quick-setting tile. The caller plan saves maine from doing that.
In addition, there's a reddish quadrate underneath the transparent backmost screen that blinks erstwhile you're signaling audio oregon shooting a video. It's a bully interaction for ambient information.
Is this the Android telephone to person iPhone users?
The Nothing Phone 3 is an costly proposition astatine $799, but I don't privation to disregard it conscionable yet. At 218 grams, Phone 3 isn't the heaviest flagship phone. You get level sides with curved corners and a solid sandwich plan that feels ergonomic to clasp and supports IP68 particulate and h2o resistance.
It features a 6.67-inch LTPS AMOLED display, which goes from 30Hz to 120Hz alternatively of going each the mode down to 1Hz similar LTPO panels. The second is much artillery efficient, but Phone 3's 5,150mAh artillery should beryllium capable to past an full day. I could lone interact with the Nothing Phone 3 successful indoor lighting, truthful I person nary comments connected outdoor legibility yet.
Unlike different flagships, the Nothing Phone 3 is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset, which doesn't person the caller Oryon CPU cores. By specs alone, expect the show to beryllium connected par with past year's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset.
Nothing says that going with 8s Gen 4 implicit the 2024 flagship SoC helped them perpetrate to longer bundle support. The Phone 3 is promised to person 5 years of Android OS updates and 7 years of information updates.
The Nothing flagship features 3 50MP cameras connected the backmost and a 50MP selfie camera connected the front. Its 1/1.3-inch main camera is claimed to present "lossless 35mm (1.5x) and 48mm (2x)" shots, and it's paired with a 3x optical zoom-capable periscope sensor and a 114-degree ultrawide space camera.
From near to right: Nothing Phone 3a Pro, Phone 3, and Phone 2.
The Nothing Phone 3 supports TrueLens Engine 4, which is said to process photos 125% faster than Phone 2. It besides helps amended HDR performance, real-time country segmentation, little noise, and smoother motion.
It runs Android 15-based Nothing OS and is promised to get Android 16 aboriginal this year. It comes with my favourite AI feature, Essential Space, which houses everything that you grounds with the Essential Key and more. There's besides a caller diagnostic called Flip to Record, which records and transcribes audio recordings erstwhile you enactment the telephone look down.
Also: The champion phones to bargain successful 2025
Based connected my aboriginal impressions, the Nothing Phone 3 seems similar a coagulated telephone for $799, contempt the lack of the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Going by my past experiences, I similar Nothing's bundle tuning and animations. If the Phone 3 tin present the aforesaid fluid bundle acquisition alongside improving camera performance, it'll apt beryllium contending with the champion phones connected the marketplace passim the remainder of 2025.
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