The consistency of tech giants Samsung and Sony are hard to rival when it comes to smartphones and headphones respectively. The Galaxy S line up is a go-to brand when it comes to upgrading your phone, while Sony’s new WH-1000XM6 may have a terrible name, but continue the audio excellence the previous five versions established to make them a top choice for premium-priced cans.
But sometimes it’s fun not to go with the status quo. If that sounds like you then you might want to put July 1 in your diary as a British firm seems poised to challenge Samsung, Sony and other major Android and audio brands with a double-header tech launch of a new smartphone and headphones.
London-based Nothing has confirmed it will fully unveil its flagship Android phone, the Nothing Phone 3, on July 1, alongside its first pair of over-ear headphones, the Nothing Headphone 1.
Nothing CEO Carl Pei confirmed the existence of headphones on stage at the SXSW London Festival, and Nothing’s social media channels are now fully teasing the two products. The below post teases an announcement for July 1 at 6pm UK time:
The new headphones are set to join Nothing’s growing line up of wireless earbuds. I’ve tested several pairs, and have been particularly impressed with the Nothing Ear a, the firm’s £89 buds that pack in great sound and noise cancellation at a level you wouldn’t expect for the price.
It’ll be intriguing to see the design and price of the Nothing Headphone 1, and whether Nothing has decided to try and match the might of Sony and Bose at a more affordable price. That’s what it is likely trying to do with the Phone 3, which will replace 2023’s Phone 2 as the company’s most premium, high-spec phone.
Nothing took the unusual step of launching the Phone 3a and 3a Pro, mid-range devices, before the Phone 3 existed. As part of Google’s recent Android Show, Pei announced the Phone 3 will cost about £800 when it launches.
That’s significantly more than the £629 Nothing Phone 2, and a chunk more than the £329 and £399 Phone 3a and 3a Pro.
If the Phone 3 uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip seen in the Galaxy S25 and other top Android handsets, Nothing’s phone could represent one of the cheapest ways to get the processor. The S25 is sold for £799.
Design is also a main pillar for Nothing, and a recent post on the company’s X account says “We killed the Glyph Interface.” This is the lights it has put on the back of most of its phones that flash in time to notifications and have other programmable features. This looks set to disappear from the Phone 3.
It’s a bold move given Nothing’s small legion of fans are very vocal and opinionated, and we’re all waiting now to see what the company will change about this next phone to make it different to the many Nothing phones that have come before it.
I’m a fan of what Nothing is doing, particularly the affordability of products like the Ear a and Phone 3a, which punch well above their price points. Come July 1, we’ll see if this young British firm has the chops to truly take the fight to Samsung and Sony and provide tech buyers with fresh-faced alternative products to those of the incumbent brands.