British tech company Nothing is challenging the Android status quo of Samsung, OnePlus and Google by releasing a new flagship smartphone in the same price range but with a boldly different design with a second screen on the back and a refreshing approach to phone software.
Founded in 2020, Nothing has launched its seventh Nothing-branded phone, the Nothing Phone 3, which it says is a “true flagship”. At £799, it’s the most expensive phone the brand has released, the same price as the Samsung Galaxy S25 (the Google Pixel 9 is £799, while the OnePlus 13 is £899).
But you’d never mistake the Phone 3 for a Samsung phone. Nothing has opted for a thoroughly asymmetrical design with three camera lenses, a flash, a touch sensitive button and a circular dot matrix display all jostling for place on the top half of the transparent rear glass of the device, available in black or white.
“Tech has become boring; every phone looks the same, feels the same, does the same,” said Carl Pei, CEO of Nothing, who added Phone 3 was two years in the making.
“At Nothing, we don’t follow trends, we build with intention, and we build with our community.”
The phone has a 6.67-inch AMOLED screen with zippy 120Hz refresh rate, a large 5150mAh battery that uses new silicon-carbon tech and charges at up to 65W speeds, full IP68 dust and water resistance, Gorilla Glass Victus on the back (version 7i on the front) and a welcome five years of Android updates and seven years of security patches, taking support into 2032.
All four cameras, including the selfie camera, are 50MP shooters. The 50MP periscope zoom lens goes up to 3x optically and can zoom using AI to enhance the image at up to 60x. In a fun addition, the red square on the back of the phone flashes when you’re recording video.
The processor used is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4, which is technically less powerful than the high-end Snapdragon 8 Elite seen on the Galaxy S25 series and other so-called ‘flagship’ Android phones. Nothing says this chip was chosen for its balance of power, efficiency and thermals.
But it’s the fun touches Nothing has added to this phone that make it stand out from the crowd. The back design leads the way, with the dot matrix display replacing the flashing lights of older Nothing phones. It can be used to display the time, flash for certain programmed notifications or even to play a tiny version of spin the bottle. Nothing is opening the tech up for fans and developers to make similar ‘toys’ for the display.
The phone comes with Android 15 and Nothing OS 3.5, a software whose monochrome stylings are impossible to confuse with another Android brand’s. You can set app icons to be black and white, which the firm has said helps you to use your phone less for mindless scrolling.
The Phone 3 also has a button on the side called the Essential Key, which when pressed takes screenshots and puts them in the Essential Space app to help you collate them. Long pressing it records a voice note, which is then transcribed for you.
New is also Essential Search, a “universal smart search” that searches not only your phone but also the web to display information without needing to go into apps.
£799 gets you 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, while an £899 model has 16GB RAM and 512GB storage. The Phone 3 will be available for pre-order from Nothing on July 4, with general sales starting on July 15.
