Nothing Phone (3) review – is it really a worthy flagship?

Over the last few years, Nothing has built a solid name for itself in the tech industry, producing a variety of unique, innovative devices and accessories and selling them for affordable prices. However, on July 1, 2025, the company dropped its first “true flagship” with a price to match. While it certainly is unique, the Nothing Phone (3) has already proven quite controversial due to its steep price, bold aesthetic, and some interesting choices regarding its features and hardware. So, naturally, we had to seize the opportunity to review it and see how it sizes up.

I received the review unit on Friday, July 4, and I’ve spent the last week putting it through its paces in day-to-day life. So let’s take a look at my time with the Nothing Phone (3) so far to see how it compares to the best Android phones on the market, and, of course, whether it lives up to the pricetag.

Aside from the design, the price is certainly one of the most contentious points about this phone. Nothing is known for producing some of the best budget phones, so releasing a flagship-priced phone with a less powerful chip than its competitors in the same price bracket is certainly a choice.

Choosing a price of $799 / £799 puts the Phone (3) in direct competition with some of the biggest devices on the market. For context, the Pixel 9, Samsung Galaxy S25, and the iPhone 16 all launched at this price point, while the latest phone we’ve reviewed with an 8s Gen 4 chip, the Poco F7, sits at only $399 / £389 for the 12+256GB version or $449 / £429 for the 12+512GB version.

The Nothing Phone (3) does offer some other great features and specs that may make the price worthwhile for some, but the asking price does feel quite steep in the current market.

Performance and gaming

Over the past week, my experience with the Phone (3) has been very smooth. I’ve spent a lot of time exploring Shibuya and the Metaverse in Persona 5 X, and have been impressed with the quick loading times and how gorgeous everything looks.

Unfortunately, as mentioned above, the Nothing Phone (3)’s chip is the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 instead of the Snapdragon 8 Elite many of us expected for the price. If you’re unaware, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 is a relatively new and solid chip, but is certainly considered mid-range, and most of the best gaming phones in a similar price range feature the more powerful 8 Elite chip, which gives them about a 30-40% performance lead over the Phone (3). This includes the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, though the Phone (3) is priced lower than both of these currently.

According to Evangelidis, Nothing made this decision as the use of the 8s Gen 4 means the Nothing Phone (3) can provide five years of software updates and seven years of security updates, which is a substantial improvement over the Nothing Phone (2)‘s three years of Android updates and four years of security patches. But, while this prolonged support may be good for the phone’s longevity and value for money, it does introduce limitations for those of you looking to spend all your time playing the best mobile games. As a result, it also makes it tough for the Nothing Phone (3) to stand out against competitors that offer the 8 Elite chip for a slightly higher price.

Luckily, though, I’ve not found the 8s Gen 4 to be underpowered so far – and, as a user, you might not even notice the difference unless you’re planning on getting into super graphically intensive games. Personally, I’ve primarily been using the Nothing Phone (3) to play the best gacha games, and performance has been super smooth up until now. Games like Genshin Impact, Honkai Star Rail, Persona 5 X, and Wuthering Waves all run like a dream on medium to high settings, with quick load times and very little stuttering or performance dips. I’ve also found that the phone has stayed surprisingly cool while playing P5X specifically, even after long gaming sessions during a heatwave, though it does run a little hot when playing Genshin on the highest graphical settings.

Outside of gaming, the Phone (3) is brilliant for day-to-day use, whether you’re using all your favorite apps, watching media, or browsing the web. Everything is slick and quick, and even rotating your phone results in a snappy switchover time. I’ll be back later this week to comment further on the phone’s performance and how it holds up when playing other games, but so far, so good.

As mentioned above, the Nothing Phone (3)’s design has proven quite divisive since its release – even more so than the Nothing Headphone (1), which came out at the same time. Nothing’s previous phones have all featured visually pleasing geometric patterns and the unique Glyph Interface, which has become a signature that fans look forward to with each device. This interface generally features several Glyph lights that come with preset effects tied to different ringtones and notifications, allowing you to tell when you’ve got a notification or call, even when your phone is face down.

However, the slick lights and circular patterns we’ve come to recognize aren’t present this time and are instead replaced with asymmetrical squares and lines under a transparent glass back. The Glyph lights are also replaced with a small circular screen with a dot display known as the Glyph Matrix, which we’ll discuss further in the features and software section of this review.

While the Glyph Matrix is certainly an interesting (though somewhat gimmicky) feature, it seems quite an odd choice to entirely step away from the signature design people have come to love, especially on your first premium-priced handset. I feel the Glyph Matrix would’ve been better received if it were also accompanied by those futuristic light strips and circular patterns sported by the previous devices.

As for the cameras, while their specs are certainly impressive (more on that later), the front camera and ultra-wide camera both protrude quite a bit, which feels a little risky. Perhaps I’m just paranoid, but I imagine it would be quite easy to scratch them or catch them on something while pulling your phone out of your pocket.

Luckily, the phone does come with a pre-applied screen protector and a clear silicone case with raised edges for protection. As a side note, I was also pleasantly surprised by the quality of the SIM tray ejector tool, which, rather than a simple (and bendable) pin, is pretty solid and comes with a clear plastic grip for ease of use.

Like the Headphone (1), the Phone (3)’s unique design looks better in real life, and it’s definitely grown on me since seeing it in person. I think if I’d seen this device without Nothing’s previous phones to compare it to, I would’ve been even more impressed.

However, the sometimes unfinished lines, misaligned cameras, and the half-covered screw at the top do look a little odd. It certainly has a divisive aesthetic, but I’m still happy to see Nothing sticking to its motto of creating innovative and interesting designs. Whether you love it or hate it, it’ll certainly turn heads while you’re out and about.

Like previous Nothing phones, the Phone (3) also features an additional side button. Located on the right side of the phone, this button is known as the ‘essential key’, and you can use it to take quick screenshots, record voice memos, and use AI analysis via the Essential Space App. I like the functionality of being able to take a quick screenshot or record a voice memo on the go, but it doesn’t really feel useful enough to warrant its own dedicated button. In fact, I can’t say I’ve found myself using it very much at all. At least, not intentionally. The essential key being located below the lock screen button makes it feel a lot like a volume rocker, and has certainly led to a lot of accidental presses as I’ve been getting used to the phone.

On top of that, the Nothing Phone (3)’s screen features a touch sampling rate of 1,000 Hz, which surpasses even the ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro, resulting in incredible responsiveness. This is particularly useful when playing the best FPS games, where every moment counts.

It’s very much a flagship screen, boasting the same pixel density as the iPhone 16. However, it does use the slightly cheaper LTPS tech as opposed to the LTPO tech employed by most flagship Android phones. This means that, while other phones are capable of lowering their refresh rate all the way down to 1 Hz, the Phone (3) can only go as low as 30Hz.

This doesn’t really impact how the display looks, and you likely won’t notice it at all, but it does have an impact on the phone’s battery life. Luckily, it can handle that lower power efficiency because, as we’ll highlight later, the battery here is a real powerhouse.

The only other thing to note is that the Phone (3)’s display is protected by Gorilla Glass 7i, which is once again a midrange option when compared to other flagships’ more durable Gorilla Glass Victus or Victus 2. Like other features, this likely won’t make a big difference to most of you, but considering the fact that the Glyph Matryx wants you to keep your Phone (3) face down most of the time, it feels a bit of a risky choice.

Cameras

The Nothing Phone (3) boasts four 50MP cameras, which is really quite impressive. As a result, you’re guaranteed to get high-quality photos no matter which camera you’re using. The TrueLens Engine 4 makes snapping professional-style shots a breeze, boasting a portrait optimizer, motion capture mode, macro mode, and more. The zoom is brilliant, allowing for some very clear shots from afar, and the UI is very intuitive and easy to navigate.

The larger sensor with shallow depth of field does mean that you’ll sometimes find details coming out a little soft when you zoom into photos you’ve taken, and this softness can also carry over to the telephoto lens. However, the latter is the main source of your macro shots, and allows you to snap some really sharp and detailed close-up shots. On the other hand, the ultrawide and selfie cameras are easily the most consistent of the four, and you can get some really sharp and stunning shots with them.

In terms of video, the Nothing Phone (3) supports ultra XDR video recording at 60 or 30 FPS, 1080p ultra XDR video recording at 60 or 30 FPS, and slo-mo in 1080p at 240 or 120 FPS. It also supports time-lapse recording at 4K/1080p.

Overall, the cameras are really solid, offering pretty much everything most users will want. They don’t fully compare to the likes of the best Google Pixel phones, but with a bit of fine-tuning, they’re definitely up there.

Considering the price of the phone, it would’ve been nice to get an adapter for wall charging, but it works well with my iPhone plug, and that’s a small complaint really.

For around the same price as the Phone (3), you can get the 128GB version of the Samsung Galaxy S25, complete with the more powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. While the specs are a bit of a step down in some other areas, this little beauty is currently one of the most powerful flagships on the market, offering a top gaming experience in a smaller package. Check out our full Samsung Galaxy S25 review to learn more.

iPhone 16

Sticking to a similar price bracket, Apple’s iPhone 16 is an incredibly solid iOS phone with top-tier performance, excellent cameras, and reasonable performance. Once again, it’s a step down from the Phone (3) in some areas including battery and display, but it’s a great option for daily use and gaming alike, and it often goes on sale. Check out our full iPhone 16 review to learn more.

And that’s everything I’ve got on the Nothing Phone (3). If you’re still on the hunt for a new device, be sure to check out our top picks for the best Samsung phones, the best iPhone, and the best Xiaomi phones to learn more about the Nothing Phone (3)’s competitors.