TECH/REVIEW | Nothing Phone (3): Exploring the playful, elegant, bold
Leave it to Nothing when it comes to bringing fun phones back—this time for their first true flagship, the Nothing Phone (3). As someone who has been closely following the release of Nothing phones, seeing this one arrive in the mail made me extremely excited.
Needless to say, the Nothing Phone (3) feels fresh and unique—weird even! However, there is a catch to the Nothing Phone (3) that leaves it up to you to decide whether this phone is for you or not. An astounding design, optimal power, great cameras—let’s see how the Nothing Phone (3) works.
Build
First of all, we have to talk about how visually distinct the Nothing Phone (3) looks. It comes in two colors (White and Black), featuring the same rationally harmonious design and intentional Nothing aesthetics.
The back still sports Nothing’s signature transparent design, now sporting the new Glyph Interface they’re calling the Glyph Matrix—instead of the Glyph lights their previous phones have been known for.
Unique was the first word that came to mind when I saw this design. It’s really different from the usual designs I’ve seen—especially with how interestingly placed this phone’s camera setup is.
Weighing at 218 g, you’ll feel the phone when carried, but it’s just the right amount of heft that feels premium. Both its front and back feature a durable Corning Gorilla Glass 7i with a premium aluminum frame, adding more to how premium and compact this phone feels.
The phone’s also fully protected against dust and water, bearing an IP68 rating.
Nothing Staples
As we’ve mentioned earlier, the Nothing Phone (3) also features the new Glyph Matrix on its back. In its core, it’s another display composed of individual dots that displays different animations for both functional and fun things.
This Glyph Matrix can display a variety of things, from the current time, your battery percentage, and a timer. As long as it can be turned into dots, the Glyph Matrix will work it out for you. One of my favorite features is the Glyph Mirror, which displays a live preview of what your back camera captures for perfectly framed selfies.
You can even use it for fun party tricks like spin the bottle, magic 8 ball, and even play rock, paper, scissors with your phone.
Display
I’ve already said this in my previous Nothing write-ups, but I’ll say it again—Nothing never misses when it comes to display. As for the Nothing Phone (3)’s display, it features a 6.67-inch AMOLED display.
With a peak brightness of 4500 nits, you’ll have no trouble seeing its display outdoors. Reaching up to a 120Hz refresh rate, every scroll and swipe feels silky smooth. It displays full color, which doesn’t feel too vibrant or too dull. It’s everything I expected it to be—crisp, bright, and tastefully vibrant.
Processor and Storage
The Nothing Phone (3) runs on the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4. Not the most high-end chip out there—something we did not expect, especially for its price.
I appreciate how smooth the phone is, regardless of whether I’m multitasking or simply scrolling before bedtime.
It also comes in 12 GB+256 GB and 16 GB+512 GB, which provide ample RAM and storage regardless of which one you choose to get.
Moreover, it had no trouble running less demanding games like the usual MOBA games, and I was able to run Genshin Impact on the phone in its high graphics setting without displaying an “overclocked” tag. My overall Genshin playthrough using the phone was smooth and consistent, which could also be said for my overall experience of using the phone.
Battery
For its batteries, the Nothing Phone (3) boasts a massive 5,150mAh battery. Now, it is definitely a two-day phone if you want it to be. It even comes with a 65W fast charging, so you can ensure a speedy top-up for when the battery runs low.
Moreover, the phone also comes with wireless charging (15 W) capabilities as well as reverse charging (5 W wireless, 7.5 W wired) capabilities.
Camera
The Nothing Phone (3) sports an all-50 MP camera setup (50 MP main camera, 50 MP periscope camera, 50 MP ultra-wide, and 50 MP front camera). The brand says it’s their most advanced camera system to date, especially compared to the Nothing Phone 2.
Moreover, it even comes with TrueLens Engine 4, elevating photos with Nothing’s advanced AI and powerful image processing. This, combined with the phone’s bigger sensors, results in clear, vibrant, and true-to-life photo results.
I’ll leave this one up to you, but photos taken using the phone have this smooth look built into it that I personally would like less of. It’s totally a matter of preference, and I happen to like my photos sharp and crisp.
Additionally, this red square on the phone’s back actually lights up when you’re recording a video. Nothing crazy, but something worth putting out there.
Overall Thoughts
The Nothing Phone (3) is solid overall—definitely the best if you’re looking at the rest of Nothing’s current lineup. It’s a phone that looks and feels flagship, but for this price, I kinda wish they had gone for more. But I understand where Nothing’s priorities lie; the phone looks cutting-edge and speaks for itself. I am also excited to see where they take the new Glyph Matrix in the future.
Priced at P44,999 (12GB+256GB version) and P50,999 (16GB+512GB), you can now enter the matrix and grab your own Nothing Phone (3). Available through online participating stores (Nothing PH Shopee Mall, Digital Walker website, Digital Walker Shopee Mall) and select Digital Walker and open_source retail stores.
