If you thought Nothing was done poking at the smartphone status quo with blinking lights and clean software, think again. The Nothing Phone (3) is here, and while it keeps the signature transparent aesthetic, it swaps out the old Glyph strips for something far geekier: a 489-LED dot-matrix display slapped right on the back. And yes, it plays spin the bottle. We’ve officially entered the programmable rave badge era of smartphones.
Announced on July 1 with global availability from July 15, the Phone (3) comes in either black or white, and pricing starts at US$799 for the 12 GB + 256 GB variant or US$899 if you want 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage. No microSD slot, of course. You knew that already.
Under the hood is a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 built on a 4 nm process, paired with a 6.67-inch AMOLED display pumping out 1.5K resolution at 120 Hz refresh and an eye-searing 4,500 nits peak brightness. Backing that up is a 5,150mAh battery (or 5,500 mAh if you’re in India), with 65 W wired and 15 W wireless charging.
Camera-wise, it’s triple 50s across the back—main, periscope telephoto (3x optical), and ultrawide—and a 50MP front cam that does 4K60. If you somehow take bad photos with this, that’s on you.
The new Glyph Matrix display isn’t just for show. It now supports custom notifications, pixel-style clocks, and touch-controlled mini-games. It’s operated via a rear-mounted touch button, because of course it is. Also onboard is the new Essential Key, launching the AI-powered “Essential Space”, which pulls summaries, translations, and smart suggestions out of thin air.
It ships with Nothing OS 3.5 (Android 15), with Nothing OS 4.0 (based on Android 16) promised later this year. And yes, it still has no headphone jack, but you do get spatial audio and upgraded haptics.
The Nothing Phone (3) isn’t just another spec sheet with a logo. It’s weird, tactile, and unapologetically flashy—in all the right ways. But here’s the thing. Nobody is a fan. I have never seen so many negative comments on its YouTube channel regarding the phone. So, yeah, the phone blew my mind, but not in a good way. Personally, I thought it looked nice. However, I do object to the price. It feels like Carl Pei is taking Nothing along the path of OnePlus, which he once helmed. It is an underdog until it is not.
Images: Nothing.
