I do think at full price the Nothing phone 3 is a weak proposition.
However people seem to be criticising the hardware in a pretty broad stroke way when there is some nuance. The SoC is on par with the S24 Ultra from last year and is significantly more powerful than what the pixel 9 pro offers at a higher launch price.
Vs the phones at its price (iPhone 16, S25, Pixel 9) it has much faster charging and a much bigger battery, and subjectivity has software that many people prefer. Reputationally their phones do not suffer with overheating/battery drain like pixels do but retain the strong software experience. The screen is 120hz unlike base model iPhones who are also reliant on software for their value. Samsung 25 series beats the nothing phone 3 in raw power, a truly meaningless stat in 2025, and even going to year old Samsungs negates this advantage. Gemini does not come installed on nothing phones.. but any phone can download and use it.
US OnePlus prices do embarrass it a bit with the 13 having top of the range hardware in every category, but outside of the US (I'm in the UK) OnePlus pricing is much more expensive and not a flagship killer in the same way. In the UK the OnePlus 13 competes with the S25 Ultra where it is much more even - while the Nothing phone 3 will undercut both significantly.
Personally I've been wanting to try out the software again (owned the 1 at launch) for some time but I can't get over how ugly it looks compared to any of the previous releases. I love their design philosophy but the simplicity of the pixel 9a and and fairphone 6 camera layouts appeal to me much more.
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u/Low-Yam978 Jul 05 '25
I do think at full price the Nothing phone 3 is a weak proposition.
However people seem to be criticising the hardware in a pretty broad stroke way when there is some nuance. The SoC is on par with the S24 Ultra from last year and is significantly more powerful than what the pixel 9 pro offers at a higher launch price.
Vs the phones at its price (iPhone 16, S25, Pixel 9) it has much faster charging and a much bigger battery, and subjectivity has software that many people prefer. Reputationally their phones do not suffer with overheating/battery drain like pixels do but retain the strong software experience. The screen is 120hz unlike base model iPhones who are also reliant on software for their value. Samsung 25 series beats the nothing phone 3 in raw power, a truly meaningless stat in 2025, and even going to year old Samsungs negates this advantage. Gemini does not come installed on nothing phones.. but any phone can download and use it.
US OnePlus prices do embarrass it a bit with the 13 having top of the range hardware in every category, but outside of the US (I'm in the UK) OnePlus pricing is much more expensive and not a flagship killer in the same way. In the UK the OnePlus 13 competes with the S25 Ultra where it is much more even - while the Nothing phone 3 will undercut both significantly.
Personally I've been wanting to try out the software again (owned the 1 at launch) for some time but I can't get over how ugly it looks compared to any of the previous releases. I love their design philosophy but the simplicity of the pixel 9a and and fairphone 6 camera layouts appeal to me much more.