Nothing Phone (3) in for review

We did a quick hands-on with the Nothing Phone (3) at its unveiling, but now we have the retail unit in the office and ready for review! So let’s unbox it!

The Nothing Phone (3) ships with a USB cable, a SIM ejector tool, and a transparent case. The phone comes in black and white colors. The 12/256 GB version will retail for $799/€799/£799/₹79,999, while the 16/512 GB model is going for $899/€899/£899/₹89,999.

We’ve talked about the design of the Phone (3), but it’s so polarizing that it brings itself up during office conversations. You either love it or you hate it – there’s no middle ground. Some find it insufferable. Others find it so different that, coupled with the unique software, they call the combo a reason alone to get the Nothing Phone (3). What do you guys think?

The Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 plus 16GB of RAM is a powerful combo, but Nothing’s Android 15-based OS is so polished that things run a touch smoother than some other Android-based OSes. There’s just a layer of smoothness that’s evident once you start using the Nothing Phone (3).

It’s not just looks and zippiness, however. Nothing has added some smart touches to its OS, like the Smart App Drawer, which uses AI to group apps into categories. It’s similar to the iPhone’s App Library.

When you connect a USB cable, the Phone (3) makes a high-tech sound, and a light grid quickly flashes from the bottom of the screen upwards. Locking the phone does a fade to black that gradually moves through the screen in the direction of the power button. Subtle, but very nice touches.

Smart App Drawer, similar to the iPhone’s App Library

Then there’s the camera app. It has presets with different styles. There’s a B&W Film preset that shoots 50mm images with strong contrast. The Lenticular preset applies a lenticular filter to everything you capture – it achieves images similar to Nothing’s preloaded wallpapers for its phones. The style is truly unique.

An innovative camera app

Here are a few samples. Sadly, the presets only work with the rear-facing cameras.

Different camera presets

Nothing Phone (3) 5G