Hello Everyone
I’m using the Nothing Phone(3) as my primary device for over a month. After using it day in and day out for calls, photography, gaming, social media and late-night movies, I’ve gathered a clear picture of where it shines and where it struggles.
Here’s my honest take.
Box content
Design & Build
The transparent design is still the star of the show. Every time I place it on a table, it grabs attention. The new Glyph Matrix are functional, you can use them for countdown timers, app notifications and even more things.
The flat-edged aluminum frame adds a solid premium feel.
✅ Pros
Eye-catching transparent design, feels premium
Glyph Matrix is practical, not just a gimmick
Solid in-hand feel with good weight distribution
❌ Cons
Display
A 6.7-inch flexible LTPS AMOLED panel with 120Hz refresh rate makes everything look smooth and crisp. The symmetrical bezels make it one of the most aesthetically pleasing displays I’ve used.
With 4500 nits peak brightness, the screen remains visible under harsh sunlight.
✅ Pros
Bright enough for outdoor use.
Smooth scrolling and fluid animations with 120Hz.
Excellent color accuracy for content consumption.
Symmetrical and thin bezels give the display a balanced and modern look.
❌ Cons
No LTPO support (so 120Hz isn’t adaptive, which costs some battery life).
Peak brightness is good, but not class-leading.
No Wet Touch feature, so it’s unusual sometimes in rain or with wet hands.
Display protected by Gorilla Glass 7i, it could have been better.
Cameras
This is where the Phone (3) surprised me. The Triple 50MP sensor captures detailed shots with balanced dynamic range, natural colors.
Nothing Phone (3) Detailed Camera Review
✅ Pros
Main camera produces sharp, vibrant photos
Ultra-wide is decent for landscapes and architecture
Telephoto captures amazing details with versatile zoom range
❌ Cons
Performance
The Snapdragon 8s Gen 4, LPDDR5X RAM with UFS 4.0 handles everything i throw at it. From multitasking to gaming. After 30 days, the performance still feels fresh.
✅ Pros
Smooth multitasking and app handling.
Games like BGMI run at high FPS with stable performance.
No lags in day to day usages
❌ Cons
Not as powerful as Snapdragon 8 Elite.
Heat Management is not that good, It gets warm during gameplay
Battery & Charging
With a 5500mAh silicon-carbon battery, I easily get a full and half day with moderate usage and 7-8 hour with heavy usage. Charging at 65W is nice it takes 56-59 min to get full charge, 15W wireless and 5W reverse wireless also available.
✅ Pros
❌ Cons
- Wireless charging speed could have been better.
Speakers & call quality
Speakers are good, it’s loud and clear, no complains.
Call quality is good in normal condition but it’s not that good in noisy places, sometimes i struggle to hear what the other person is speaking on call, specially in bus, trains and traffic.
Glyph Matrix
The Glyph interface is now smarter with the Glyph Matrix. Beyond ringtones and charging indicators, you can assign some notifications and play some interactive tools and mini games using glyph toys.
✅ Pros
❌ Cons
- Customization options are still limited.
Software
It runs on Nothing OS 3.5 based on android 15. It’s clean, bloat free, smooth and minimalistic. Widgets, animations and dot-matrix aesthetics give it a unique personality, i personally liked the monochrome theme.
✅ Pros
Zero bloatware, clean UI.
Smooth animations with unique Nothing aesthetics.
Customizable quick toggles and widgets are genuinely useful.
❌ Cons
- Some features still missing compared to other OS, hopefully it will be available in next os update.
Other features
- Optical Fingerprint (Ultra sonic could have been better)
- Display protected by Gorilla Glass 7i
- Rear glass protected by gorilla glass victus 2
- USB 2.0 (3.2 could be a better choice)
A quick look at Pro/cons
✅ Pros
- Unique transparent design
- Clean and bloat free Nothing OS 3.5
- Bright 120Hz AMOLED with symmetrical bezels
- Solid battery life with 65W fast charging
- Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 offers smooth performance
❌ Cons
- Portrait mode edge detection is hit or miss
- Telephoto is not consistent in low-light
- Glyph Matrix has limited customization
- No Ultra sonic Fingerprint
Verdict
Phone 3 is a well-balanced mid-flagship phone that offers a unique eye catchy design, smooth performance and solid cameras. Though the specs don’t justify the pricing, we have similar specs phones in 55-60k. If we keep the pricing side it’s overall a good package.
Should you buy this?
This phone is more like a experience rather than specs, but at 80k i would not suggest to buy it.
You can wait for upcoming sales to buy it.
Got this phone under the community review program, thanks to @Deepanshu_Saini_ for the opportunity.
Thank you for reading,
Drop your feedback and questions in comments.
sarthhkk
