Nothing Phone (3) Unboxing, First Impressions, Camera Samples - Flagship enough?
We look closer at the Nothing Phone (3) with a 6.67-inch Flexible OLED, a triple 50MP rear camera, and a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 SoC.
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| Nothing Phone (3)'s three-pillar design |
In a surprising move, nothing's new smartphone forgoes its iconic Glyph Interface LEDs for a circular Glyph Matrix while retaining its see-through design. The Glyph Matrix is a quarterized monochromatic disc of 489 LEDs.
Inside are the 4nm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4, Adreno GPU, 12GB/16GB RAM, 256GB/512GB storage, and a 5,150mAh battery with 65W fast wired charging, 15W wireless charging, 5W reverse wireless charging, and 7.5W reverse wired charging.
It is IP68 dust and water-resistant. At the back are the triple 50MP cameras, and in front is the 50MP selfie camera.
Other features include a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, NFC, WiFi 7, 5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 6.0, GPS, GlONASS, and dual-SIM support.
In the Philippines, the price starts at PHP 44,999 for the 12GB/256GB model
Let's take a look at it.
Unboxing/Accessories
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| Nothing Phone (3) packaging |
The Black variant comes in a dark box with a high-resolution close-up photo of the camera module and the new Glyph Matrix.
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| Box inclusions |
Inside the box are the Phone (3), a USB-C to USB-C cable, SIM ejector, silicone case, and documentation.
Unfortunately, the box does not include earphones or a wall charger.
Build Quality/Design
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| Nothing Phone (3) forgoes Glyph Interface for Glyph Matrix |
At first glance, the phone is immediately eye-catching because of its unique see-through design. Nothing claims that it is called a tri-column design, which is inspired by the New York City Subway map's lines and shapes. This divides the rear into three vertical segments to organize components like the camera modules, Glyph Matrix, and internal curves. Another new addition is the Glyph button for interacting with the Matrix.
The frame is solid aluminum, while the front and rear panels are glass. It is premium-looking and premium-feeling at the same time. However, the two glass panels are fingerprint smudge magnets.
Solid, glossy, and premium feeling
It is IP68 dust and water resistance rated, meaning that the product is resistant to most immersion for a limited time.
It measures 160.60 x 75.59 x 8.99 mm and weighs 218 grams.
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| Stunning AMOLED panel with symmetrical bezels |
In front is the aforementioned 6.67-inch Flexible AMOLED screen, which has a 2880 x 1260 resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, a 1,000Hz touch sampling rate, and 2,160Hz PWM dimming. It supports 10-bit color and is Gorilla Glass 7i protected.
Around the panel are slim symmetrical bezels. Above the punch hole is the slim earpiece.
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| Nothing Phone (3)'s top and bottom |
On top are antenna lines, a microphone port, and the speaker grill, while at the bottom are more antenna lines, the SIM tray, the second microphone port, a USB-C port, and the second set of speaker grills.
The SIM tray accommodates up to two nano SIM cards. There is a rubber gasket.
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| Nothing Phone (3)'s right and left sides |
On the left are more antenna lines and the metal volume up and volume down buttons, while on the right are more antenna lines, the power key, and the Essential Key. Both buttons on the right are metal, but the Essential Key has a curved, glossy finish.
At the back are the 50MP f/1.68 main camera with 1/1.3-inch sensor, EIS, and OIS, a 50MP f/2.2 114-degree ultra-wide camera with 1/2.76-inch sensor, and a 50MP f/2.68 3x optical periscope telephoto camera with 1/2.75-inch sensor, EIS, OIS, and LED flash.
While in front is. the 50MP f/2.2 selfie camera with a 1/2.76-inch sensor.
The stock camera app includes Photo, Video, Portrait, Macro, Action, Expert, Night, Slo-Mo, Time-Lapse, and Pano.
First Camera Samples
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| Nothing Phone (3) rear camera indoor 1x |
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| Nothing Phone (3) rear camera indoor 2x |
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| Nothing Phone (3) rear camera indoor 3x |
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| Nothing Phone (3) rear camera indoor 6x |
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| Nothing Phone (3) rear camera indoor ultra-wide |
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| Nothing Phone (3) selfie camera indoors |
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| Nothing Phone (3) selfie camera portrait |
Powering the phone is the 5,150mAh Battery with 65W fast charging via USB-C, 15W Wireless Charging, 5W reverse wireless charging, and 7.5W reverse wired charging.
Inside are the 4nm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4, Adreno 825 GPU, Hexagon NPU, 12GB/16GB RAM, and 256GB/512GB storage.
The phone comes with symmetric stereo speakers, and it supports dual nano SIMs.
Other features include NFC, Bluetooth, WiFi, and an IP64 dust and water resistance rating.
Nothing Phone (3) Specs
Display: 6.67-inch Gorilla Glass 7i protected 10-bit Flexible AMOLED screen w/ 120Hz refresh rate, 1,000Hz touch sampling rate, 2,160Hz PWM dimming, 2880 x 1260 resolution at 460 ppi
CPU: 3.21GHz 4nm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 octa-core processor
GPU: Adreno
RAM: 12GB/16GB
ROM: 256GB/512GB
Back Camera: 50MP f/1.68 w/ 2x2 OCL PDAF, OIS + 50MP f/2.2 114-degree ultra-wide-angle + 50MP f/2.68 3x optical zoom w/ AF, OIS + LED flash
Selfie Camera: 50MP f/2.2
Battery: 5,150mAh SiC w/ 65W Fast Charging, 15W Wireless Charging, 7.5W Reverse Wired Charging, 5W Reverse Wireless Charging
OS: Android 15 w/ Nothing OS 3.5
Connectivity: WiFi 7, 5G SA/NSA, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 6.0, NFC, GPS (L1+L5), GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS, SBAS, dual SIM (nano) w/ eSIM support
Sensors: Accelerometer, light, electronic compass, gyroscope, proximity
Others: In-Display fingerprint sensor, IP68 dust and water resistance, Glyph Interface, The Button, stereo speakers, 2x microphones, x-axis linear motor, USB-C, Colors: White, Black
Dimensions: 160.60 x 75.59 x 8.99 mm
Weight: 218 g
Price: PHP 44,999 (12GB/256GB), PHP 50,999 (16GB/512GB)
Quick thoughts
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| Nothing Phone (3)'s web surfing |
With a starting price of PHP 44,999, the Nothing Phone (3) faces stiff competition. It's a capable device with a unique style, but in a market with alternatives featuring stronger specs, it fails to stand out.
The screen is large and bright, with crisp text. But what caught our attention even more were the symmetrical slim bezels.
It is made of a metal frame and glass front and rear panels. The design of the phone is mostly on brand and is congruent with previous generations, with one major difference. The camera placement is polarizing. Personally, I don't mind it, but more people from my circle find that it could have been better.
It comes with the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 octa-core processor, 12GB/16GB RAM, and 256GB/512GB storage.
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| Nothing Phone (3)'s AnTuTu and GeekBench |
It scored a respectable 2,471,110 in AnTuTu as well.
Inside is a larger-than-average 5,150mAh battery with 65W fast wired charging, 15W Wireless Charging, 7.5W Reverse Wired Charging, and 5W Reverse Wireless Charging. These added wireless charging and reverse wired/wireless charging capabilities are rare in the price segment and are a welcome addition.
At the back are the triple 50MP rear cameras and a 50MP selfie camera.
Overall, we find the features competitive, but whether or not the new Glyph Matrix is better than the previous Glyph Interface is still up in the air.
We will also be taking more photos with the phone and running our usual battery of tests.
What do you guys think?
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