The Nothing brand is just a few years old, yet it’s already making a mark on the smartphone world, with distinctive Android phones that look like nothing else on the market.
The Nothing Phone 2 is the latest flagship from the company, but while it impresses from a design perspective, it’s not a home run in every way. So there’s a lot that we want to see changed and improved for the as-yet-unofficial Nothing Phone 3.
You’ll find a list of the key things we want from the Nothing Phone 3 further down, but first, here’s a look at the predicted release date and price of the phone, along with early leaks and speculation about its specs and features.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? The next affordable flagship phone from Nothing
- When is it out? Probably July
- How much will it cost? Likely upwards of $599 / £579 / AU$1,049
Nothing Phone 3: predicted release date and price
The Nothing Phone 2 was announced on July 11 of 2023, and the Nothing Phone 1 was unveiled on July 12 of 2022.
So based on that it’s very likely that the Nothing Phone 3 will be announced this July, and more specifically it will probably be revealed around the middle of the month. Our best guess is July 9, as that would be the Tuesday of the second full week in the month, which would line up with when the previous two models were announced.
As for the price, we’d expect it will cost at least as much as the Nothing Phone 2, which starts at $599 / £579 / AU$1,049. If anything though it might cost more, especially as the Phone 2 costs more than the Phone 1.
Nothing Phone 3: news and leaks
There’s no real news about the Nothing Phone 3 yet, but we can speculate that it will probably use a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. That’s the top Android chipset from last year, and would be one generation on from the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 in the Nothing Phone 2.
It’s not a match for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 we’re now seeing in phones like the Samsung Galaxy S24, and it’s possible the Nothing Phone 3 will use the Gen 3 instead. But that would likely mean a major price hike, so we think the Gen 2 is more likely.
The Nothing Phone 3 will also almost certainly retain its glyph lighting system on the back, as this helps the line stand out from rivals.
Beyond that, it might feature a bigger battery than the 4,700mAh Nothing Phone 2 and smaller bezels, given that the lower end Nothing Phone 2a sports these upgrades.
Nothing Phone 3: what we want to see
There are loads of ways the Nothing Phone 3 could improve on the Nothing Phone 2, and we hope to see the following:
1. More water resistance
The Nothing Phone 2 does have some water resistance, but with an IP54 rating it’s only certified to survive a splash. We want reassurance that the Nothing Phone 3 can withstand heavy rain and ideally even submersion in water, so we’d like to see the IP rating boosted to IP68.
That would give us this reassurance, and put its water resistance in line with rivals like the Google Pixel 8.
2. Improved cameras
One of our biggest complaints in our Nothing Phone 2 review was with the cameras, with our reviewer finding that they “can’t handle dynamic lighting and lack the detail and quality of rival phones.”
They’re a real weak link then, and in desperate need of improvement. Ideally we’d like to see a third lens added for telephoto shots too, but the priority should be improving the existing main and ultra-wide cameras.
3. Better use of the glyph lights
Our Nothing Phone 2 review also found that the glyph lighting on the phone was underused, as few apps make use of it.
This problem might be hard to solve if it requires collaboration with the developers of those apps, but it leaves the lighting system feeling more like a pretty gimmick than something that’s particularly useful. So we hope to see big improvements to the feature on the Nothing Phone 3.
4. More Android version updates
Google and Samsung have promised seven years of Android updates on their latest flagship phones, and while we don’t expect Nothing to match that, especially as its phones are cheaper, we would like to see an improvement on the three years promised for the Nothing Phone 2.
Extending the support promise to five years for the Nothing Phone 3 would be great to see.
5. A less slippery design
While we’re largely fond of the Nothing Phone 2’s design, one less appealing aspect is the rounded glass back, which while attractive is also prone to slipping off surfaces.
Of course, you can always lay it with the screen downwards, and that’s probably what Nothing wants you to do since that way you can see the glyph lighting. But we’d like for the Nothing Phone 3 to at least provide the option of resting it with the screen upwards, without risking a fall.
6. A bigger battery
The Nothing Phone 2 has a 4,700mAh battery, and while its stamina is reasonable – delivering more than a day of life on average – that’s not a particularly large capacity given its big 6.7-inch screen.
Given that the Nothing Phone 2a with a screen of the same size manages to squeeze in a 5,000mAh battery we’d like to see the same from the Nothing Phone 3.
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