Nothing Phone (3) smartphone review: Top-class hardware combined with unrivaled design and secondary display

[Redaktion]

The Nothing Phone (3) makes a high-end claim. The price is certainly in line with this, as the new Nothing phone has become significantly more expensive than its predecessor at €799. However, as the review shows, you also get a strong overall package that presses all the important buttons and only just falls short of some flagship features.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Nothing-Phone-3-smartphone-review-Top-class-hardware-combined-with-unrivaled-design-and-secondary-display.1096614.0.html

[guset]

Already got this phone. The chipset is definitely a former flagship, but the overall experience of using it really feels like flagship. You can feel the difference in construction just by holding NP3 and then hold NP3a/NP2a

Initial boot is almost instantaneous. I don't have to calibrate brightness for adaptive brightness to adapt. Haptic feels really satisfying. Glyph Matrix is more than a gimmick unlike prior Glyphs. Battery that last. Strong connectivity and tweaks that made it better than Pixel OS/AOSP

To me, flagship means satisfaction beyond just raw spec - implementation matters. That's where Samsung S-series, Pixel and iPhone gives despite the high price. Sure, flagship killers from the likes of Xiaomi exist but they still cut corners even on premium models

[Pal]

they still cut corners

How are the speakers on this thing? Had to instantly send a CMF Phone 1 back after briefly testing. Couldn't stand the tiny base of the speakers and absolutely no base. Reminded me of of Xiaomi's as they're also very similar in this regard.

[Pal]

Ugh, that should be bass**

[Worgarthe]

The Nothing Phone (3) is a real flagship smartphone, claims the company.

They said "It is our first true flagship phone.". "OUR". They never said "it's the world's first real flagship", and many reviewers claims exactly that to be the phrasing coming from Nothing (they really didn't say it, lol).

Just like BMW's flagship car is the 7 Series, while Bugatti's flagship car is the Tourbillon.

In other words, they literally do not have a single better phone in their roster and this one is indeed their first true flagship; Phone (2) and Phone (1) used to have some major compromises so while they were Nothing's flagship at the time they weren't at this "true" level.

Why are reviewers royally struggling with basic understanding of one word is simply beyond me...

Edit:

The price is certainly in line with this, as the new Nothing phone has become significantly more expensive than its predecessor at €799.

Significantly more expensive than the Phone (2)?

Phone (2)
8/128 was 679€ at launch
12/256 was 769€ at launch
12/512 was 849€ at launch

Here, with the Phone (3), we have 12/256 to be "significantly more expensive" at a whole +30€ over the 12/256 Phone (2), and a whole +20€ more expensive with 16/512 over the 12/512 Phone (2) 🙄 Is that really such a significant increase? 🙄

The phone was announced on July 13, 2023, and went on sale in most markets starting July 17, 2023. As previously confirmed by Nothing, the phone debuted in the US market this time. Pricing in the region starts from $599 for the base 8/128GB variant, with the top-end model setting you back $799.

In the UK, the phone retails for £579 to £629, depending on the variant you buy. European pricing starts from 679 EUR and goes up to 849 EUR.

https://www.androidpolice.com/nothing-phone-2/

+

Reportedly, Nothing will not offer the Phone (2) with 128 GB of storage. Instead, there will be 256 GB and 512 GB variants that @billbil_kun expects Nothing to mate to 8 GB and 12 GB of RAM, respectively. According to the leaker, the Phone (2) will start at €729, including taxes. Meanwhile, the 512 GB edition is said to cost €849.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Nothing-Phone-2-Flagship-pricing-leaks-with-512-GB-storage-option-for-Phone-1-successor.727354.0.html