Mrwhosetheboss: Nothing Phone (3) - What have you done!?

Nothing company, known for its unique transparent designs, has finally launched its first flagship phone, the Nothing Phone 3, priced at $799. This puts it in direct competition with Samsung's Galaxy S25 and Apple's iPhone 16, both also starting at $799.

The design of the Phone 3 is a departure from previous Nothing phones. While earlier models had a sleek transparent aesthetic, this one feels less refined with uneven spacing and a slightly off camera alignment, giving it an unfinished prototype vibe.

Material-wise, the Phone 3 includes IP68 water and dust resistance and an aluminum midframe, but uses Gorilla Glass 7i instead of the stronger Victus 2 found on Samsung's S25, potentially impacting drop durability.

A standout feature is the Glyph Matrix, a 489-LED tiny second screen replacing the old light bars. It offers more contextual info than before, like widgets and notifications, but opinions are mixed, as it lacks the iconic coolness of the original Glyph lights.

The Glyph Matrix supports interactive 'glyph toys' such as a clock, stopwatch, and games like rock-paper-scissors. While innovative, many of these features feel gimmicky and don't fully solve the problem of needing to flip the phone to see detailed notifications.

One genuinely useful Glyph Matrix function is previewing selfies using the rear cameras, enabling high-quality self-portraits. However, this is a feature that other phones with rear second screens have offered before, so it’s not entirely unique.

Under the hood, the Phone 3 uses the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset, a mid-tier choice compared to Samsung's Snapdragon 8 Elite. This results in a 30-40% performance gap in favor of Samsung, making the Phone 3 less suitable for high-end gaming.

The display is sharp and bright with excellent color reproduction, matching the iPhone 16 in pixel density. However, it uses LTPS technology rather than LTPO, limiting the refresh rate to a minimum of 30Hz instead of 1Hz, which may reduce battery efficiency.

Battery life is a strong suit with a 5,150mAh capacity, larger than Samsung’s 4,000mAh in the S25. Despite the bigger screen and chip, the Phone 3 is expected to outlast competitors, especially during light usage like browsing and video streaming.

Charging is faster on the Phone 3 with 65W support compared to Samsung’s 25W. It also features dual speakers that are decent but not as rich as those on iPhone or Samsung flagships.

The Phone 3 runs Nothing OS 3.5, a clean, mostly stock Android experience with minimal bloatware. Unique features include Essential Space for task management and Essential Search powered by Gemini AI, which offers quick answers and math problem solving directly on the device.

Nothing promises 5 years of major Android updates and 7 years of security patches, which is competitive though slightly behind Samsung’s 7 years of full upgrades. This long-term support adds value to the Phone 3.

Camera performance is impressive, with all sensors at 50MP, surpassing Samsung’s 50MP main, 10MP telephoto, and 12MP ultrawide. The telephoto lens doubles as a macro camera with improved close-focus distance, delivering better quality close-ups than typical ultrawide macro setups.

Overall, the Nothing Phone 3 is a mixed bag. Its unique design and Glyph Matrix have room for improvement, and it falls short in raw performance compared to rivals. However, it offers solid battery life, a clean OS, and strong cameras, making it a competitive choice at $799.