In less than 5 years, Nothing has managed to launch a new brand of smartphones that has been able to make a place and begins to acquire real reputation from the general public. If we except the technical qualities of their products, hardware as software, it is by the design that the brand has stood out.
In an aesthetically very homogeneous market, where it is sometimes difficult to differentiate smartphones from different brands, Nothing Phone recognize themselves at first glance.
In addition, there are often good performance, and photographic qualities that are not to be outdone. Nothing was also distinguished with its homemade bone, and especially with the glyph system, which, as we will see here, changes radically today.
Design and ergonomics
Nothing is revealing here a Nothing Phone (3) which succeeds in aesthetically detaching from the previous models, while keeping a strong brand identity and a design as different as theypical.
If the front side remains very classic, it displays very fine screen edges: 1.87 mm, or 18 % thick less compared to the phone (2). All surrounds a beautiful 6.67 -inch OLED screen. There is also a central hallmark at the top of the slab.
Like the majority of mobiles for over a year, this model has flat metal slices, slightly rounded on the sides to offer a comfortable grip, without too “sharp” on duration.
The buttons stand out slightly in relief and take up the color of the edge, except that dedicated to Essential Space, a function specific to Nothing OS, located on the right edge next to the start -up button. The opposite edge accommodates the volume buttons. Those who regret the absence of a button dedicated to the camera are not put aside: a double support on the start button launches the APN.
In a right hand, the start -up button falls perfectly under the thumb. The one dedicated to the photo is a little too low, except for small hands. The two buttons on the left are well positioned to switch from one to the other with the index and the adult effortlessly.
The back remains the real signature of this model. Completely smooth and covered with glass, its surface seems composed of plates of lego. We find the famous exposed screws and visible printed circuits.
The optical block is also very atypical: no encapsulation, and a slightly offset positioning for the top main sensor. This gives it a certain charm, but also makes it very unstable placed flat, the optics of the upper being less thick than the other two.
The smartphone benefits from a balanced design. Its format (160.6 x 75.59 x 8.99 mm for 218 g) makes it very pleasant for the medium to large hands, but a little too imposing for the small. The weight is well distributed, even if you feel a slight imbalance to the upper half of the device. In these days of heat, its glass covering makes it very sensitive to sliding, whether in the hand or on a slightly inclined surface. In addition, fingerprints seem particularly to appreciate this surface.
Screen
The Nothing Phone screen (3) offers a 6.67 -inch AMOLED panel in 2800 x 1200 pixels, offering a display finesse of 460 ppi. We tried it in a fairly dark environment, and we must admit that the consultation is very pleasant.
On the other hand, as soon as an artificial source of light was present, the reflections were made a little too visible to our taste. The colorimetry seems correct, and the display displays a nice bright pep. But having not yet tested it outdoors, we remain cautious.
Performances
We mainly used the basic phone functions, unable to download third -party applications. The smartphone seems to be swift and very responsive.
The SOC Qualcomm Snapdragon 8S Gen 4 embedded in the phone (3) is powerful, much more than the 8S Gen 3. The tests carried out on the Poco F7, equipped with the same Soc, show good results, but this model is displayed at 400 euros, half as expensive as the phone (3). This is why we expected Nothing with a Snapdragon 8 Elite.
We can say more during our complete tests. The brand is used to optimizing its processors, seeing if it is once again successful, and if it is enough to justify the price.
The presence of an Adreno 850 GPU and 12 or 16 GB of RAM should delight players and multitasking lovers.
Photo
We could not test the photo part, the brand limiting our actions. Be aware, however, that the optical block consists of three sensors:
- A main 50 Mpx sensor with a f/1.68 opening
- A 50 Mpx telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom
- An ultra-large-angle sensor of 50 Mpx (f/2.2, field of vision of 114 °)
- And a 50 Mpx (f/2.2) selfie sensor at the front
Glyph and software
The Matrix glyph is now transformed: no more LED strips, make way for a small micro LED screen. The latter allows you to launch integrated games (the game of the bottle, Pierre-Feuille-Ciseau, etc.), or to adjust it finely to display personalized visual notifications. We have already had trouble activating the games, so we will wait for the test to say, but the ergonomics may seem delicate.
On the bone side, while waiting for Android 16 and Nothing OS 4, we have Android 15 and Nothing Phone 3.5. We will come back to it during the test, but already know that the update policy is rather honest: 5 years of Android updates, 7 years of security corrections.
Attractive, design, original, but can be too expensive
Very supervised, these early hours with the phone (3) left us thinkers. The design, aesthetic part, ergonomics as a design is very good. However, at 849 euros (12 GB + 256 GB) and almost 1000 euros for the 16 GB + 512 GB version, we are not faced with the best market power/market ratio. In addition, without knowing what the camera or battery gives, it will really have to be excellent to compensate for this point.
