Saying More by Doing Less. Review on Nothing Phone 3

I've been using the Nothing Phone 3 for just over a week now, and as Im holding it while typing this, one things clear: this phone isn't just a visual gimmick. It wants to stand out without shouting, and in some areas, it genuinely does. But while the Glyph Matrix lights up like a futuristic billboard, there are places where the experience feels more mid than flagship.

Let's break it down further on that statement:

Design That Gets You Noticed

Let's start with the obvious: this phone turns heads. The transparent back, the now-iconic Glyph interface, and a bold, flat design with an aluminium frame scream character. The new Glyph Matrix, which now has grid-style mini pixels, adds a touch of weirdly cool utility that is helpful while framing selfies or checking delivery alerts without flipping the screen. Even the haptics feel tight and clicky.

The phone feels solid but surprisingly light for its size, and while I wouldn't call it compact, it is manageable. Nothing finally introduces the IP68 water resistance, which gives the phone 3 a deserving grown-up flagship badge. You're not going to want to slap a case on it, and to be honest, you shouldn't.

Display & Glyph Gimmicks

The 6.67-inch OLED panel is bright(up to 1, 600 nits peak outdoors), crisp, and scrolls like butter with its 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. Watching Netflix or even skipping through reels is smoothly pleasurable. It doesn't quite hit Samsung's level of punch, but it's damn close.

Now, the Glyphs? -Cool, yes. Essential? -Not really. I mapped a few to contact alerts and notifications, and the Matrix animations for games and Spotify playback are fun for about a week. But once the novelty wears off, its mostly a visual flex.

Performance: Not Quite Flagship-Killer

The Phone 3 runs on the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, paired with 12GB RAM(I'm using the 256GB variant). It's snappy, no doubt. I had zero issues with multitasking, some light Call of Duty play, and video edits in CapCut. But if you're expecting the beast mode of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Elite, this aint it. There were occasional lags while loading heavier games or apps in the background. Reddit users also echoed similar feedback, with one common take stating, feels fast enough but not blazing.

Still, for more than 90% of users, this is more than enough horsepower to carry through the day.

Cameras: Balanced But Not Game-Changing

Triple 50MP setup with main, ultrawide, and a 2x periscope telephoto. The main sensor shoots vibrant, contrasty shots in good light. Low-light, though, is more of a miss than a hit because of the noise that creeps in, and autofocus that tends to hunt.

The 32MP selfie cam has solid, clean detail and great edge detection. However, video stabilization on the rear camera can feel wobbly when youre walking and filming. The absence of OIS on the telephoto stings a bit for the price tag this flagship is placed at.

Battery & Charging

The 5, 150mAh battery easily lasted me a full day with moderate to heavy use. I pushed it with some travel, maps, Spotify, 4G hotspot tethering, yet it still wrapped the day with 20% remaining. While the charging itself is quick, approx 5%-100% in about 40 minutes with the 65W wired brick. While the wireless charging is here, it remains slow.

Software: Clean, Light, and Finally Smart

Nothing OS 3.5, layered on Android 15, feels light, zippy, and clutter-free, with no bloat at all. Widgets are sleek. The new Essential Key on the side lets you set custom shortcuts. I've mapped it to flashlight and screenshot, and I use it more than I thought I would. There's even some AI magic baked in, with instant call summaries and image-based web lookups, but nothing groundbreaking, or previously not seen in competitors' offerings.

Verdict: Style > Substance? Not Quite.

Starting at ₹;79, 999, the Nothing Phone 3 feels flagship, but at its core, its a stylish mid-ranger with premium polish. It's for those who want to stand out without compromising on basics, but maybe not for power users chasing benchmarks or camera perfection.

It's not a phone that screams specs, but a phone that whispers personality. And in 2025, that still counts for something.