The Nothing Phone (3) is finally here, and this time, the hype comes with a raised eyebrow. Priced at ₹80,000, the phone is stepping into proper flagship territory—but without the usual flagship-level specs to back it up. Sure, it’s got a powerful Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chip and a gorgeous build, but no telephoto lens, no wireless charging, and no IP rating means it’s already under scrutiny.
So, the big question is—can clever design, quirky LEDs, and snappy software make up for the missing premium features?
Let’s start with what you get in the box.
The unboxing experience? Classic Nothing. You peel a sticker, lift the lid, and boom—Phone (3) greets you on the left, with paperwork on the right. You also get a clear plastic case custom-shaped for the weird new camera layout and the new rear button. The signature SIM ejector tool with that glass bead is back, and so is the transparent charging cable. But just like before, no charger in the box. Because... flagship logic?
The design’s still transparent, but it feels more grown up now. The new tri-column layout on the back looks neater, and the curved R-angle frame makes it super comfy to hold. The bezels are uniform this time, so the front looks really clean. The back now gets a proper glow-up too—the Glyph Matrix is like a dot-matrix LED screen, and it’s got smart tricks. You can track delivery progress, get app-specific alerts, and even access mini-games with the new rear button. It’s weird and kinda wonderful.
But the camera layout? Straight-up confusing. The sensors are oddly placed and look like they were dropped in randomly. That said, the red LED between the bottom two cameras is a nice touch—it just could’ve been positioned better.
Phone (3) runs on the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 with 12GB or 16GB RAM and up to 512GB storage. It’s fast, responsive, and handled everything smoothly in our early testing. On the software side, you’re getting Nothing OS 3.5 based on Android 15. It’s clean, fast, and packed with thoughtful features like Essential Search and monochrome UI modes. Nothing’s promising 5 years of Android updates and 7 years of security patches—huge if you’re in it for the long haul.
As for cameras, there’s a 1/1.3-inch main sensor, OIS across all lenses, and 4K60 video support everywhere. The camera app also comes with presets co-designed by pros to make cinematic shots easier. Sounds promising—but we’ll test it fully in the review.
Now, the price. ₹80,000 is a lot, especially when the specs don’t scream premium. So yeah, Phone (3) is stylish and fun, but it’ll need to seriously back it up with performance and polish.
