The last few years have seen several smartphone makers pull back or totally abandon their mobile efforts. UK-based Nothing Technologies, however, is still trying to carve out a niche in the increasingly competitive smartphone market. Its tools have been quirky designs and glowing lights, along with a focus on markets outside the US. With the Nothing Phone 3, the company has brought its "first flagship" phone stateside.
Nothing didn't swing for the fences with the Phone 3's specs, but this device can hold its own with the likes of OnePlus and Google. Plus, it has that funky Nothing design aesthetic. There's a transparent back, a tiny dot matrix screen, and a comprehensive Android skin. But at the end of the day, the Nothing Phone 3 is not treading new ground.
Designing Nothing
Despite Nothing's talk about unique designs, the Nothing Phone 3 looks unremarkable from the front. The bezels are slim and symmetrical all the way around the screen. Under a sheet of Gorilla Glass 7i, it has a 6.67-inch 120Hz OLED screen with an impressive 1260 x 2800 resolution. It hits 4,500 nits of brightness, which is even higher than Google and Samsung phones. It's more than bright enough to be readable outdoors, and the touch sensitivity is excellent—sometimes too excellent, as we've noticed a few accidental edge touches.
Specs at a glance: Nothing Phone 3a SoC Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 Memory 12GB, 16GB Storage 256GB, 512GB Display 1260 x 2800 6.3" OLED, 120 Hz Cameras 50MP primary, f/1.7, OIS; 50MP ultrawide, f/2.2; 50MP 3x telephoto, f/2.7, OIS; 50MP selfie, f/2.2 Software Android 15, 5 years of OS updates Battery 5,150 mAh, 65 W wired charging, 15 W wireless charging Connectivity Wi-Fi 7, NFC, Bluetooth 6.0, sub-6 GHz 5G, USB-C 3.2 Measurements 160.6 x 75.6 x 9 mm; 218 g
Like many other phones, the Nothing Phone 3 has an optical fingerprint sensor under the display. It's quick and accurate, but it's a bit too low (barely a pinky finger's width from the bottom of the device). As an optical sensor, it's also very bright in a dark room. Similar phones from Google and Samsung have faster and less disruptive ultrasonic fingerprint sensors.