Carl Pei led electronics producer OnePlus from being a scrappy model for tech lovers providing inexpensive telephones to 1 that produces a number of traces of gadgets, together with flagship telephones that problem Samsung and Apple. He’s working an analogous playbook with Nothing, a five-year-old, venture-backed {hardware} startup that simply launched its most bold system, the Telephone (3), earlier this month. The cellphone, priced at $799, is meant to compete with gadgets from Samsung and Apple.
Whereas OnePlus targeted on offering value-for-money specs and expertise in its early days, Nothing targeted on design and software program as a differentiator to face out from different telephones. The startup produces eye-catching gadgets with a clear design that pulls consideration.
As my former TechCrunch colleague Brian Heater mentioned, Nothing Telephone (1) was cool, and the Telephone (2) was a strong mid-range system whereas sustaining the novelty. The Telephone (3), whereas sustaining the clear design ethos, invokes combined feelings in direction of its design.
The cellphone has loads of uneven components on the again, together with the surprisingly organized digital camera module. In case you have a look at the reactions on the web, some folks favored it as a result of it isn’t like different telephones, whereas some hated it. If you may get over the asymmetrical association, you may just like the system.
Nothing additionally took away the glyph LED association that was distinguished in earlier Nothing telephones. This association made gadgets stand out much more once they illuminated to point an incoming name or a message. Over time, the corporate made it extra customizable, permitting you to assign totally different patterns for various contacts. It even created an SDK for builders, which didn’t take off.
With Telephone (3) the LED association is substituted with Glyph Matrix, a circle-shaped second display within the high right-hand nook to show extra data. It might probably show fundamental data equivalent to time and battery stage while you press the button on the again.
The corporate has additionally included mini apps equivalent to spin the bottle, a stopwatch, and rock, paper, and scissors. That is extra of a enjoyable gimmick that you simply may use to indicate off your cellphone.
A second display on a tool isn’t a brand new idea, and it doesn’t clear up the issue of getting to show the cellphone to learn the message. You’ll be able to assign an emoji to a contact, nevertheless it simply tells you that you simply bought a message from that contact, however doesn’t let you know what it’s. So you need to flip your cellphone on anyway. Is the matrix cool? Sort of. Is it helpful? Not by a lot but.
The corporate is inviting builders to construct instruments for it, which might enhance issues if there’s adoption.
{Hardware} and Digicam
The corporate is utilizing a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor, constructed on a 4-nanometer structure, which is a step beneath the Snapdragon 8 Elite used within the Galaxy S25, OnePlus 13, and Xiaomi 15 Extremely. Nevertheless, in your day-to-day utilization, that wouldn’t matter lots.
The system additionally features a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with 1.5K decision, which is protected by Gorilla Glass 7i as a substitute of a stronger Gorilla Glass Victus. The display is vibrant and has punchy colours. Whereas it helps HDR for YouTube, Nothing mentioned that Netflix hasn’t whitelisted its gadgets to run HDR content material.
The Telephone (3) options three 50-megapixel cameras for various functions. The principle digital camera has a 1/1.3-inch sensor, which is 20% larger than Telephone (2), at a f/1.68 aperture; the periscope telephoto lens provides 3x optical zoom, 6x in-sensor, and 60x digital zoom with AI Tremendous Res Zoom; and the ultra-wide lens gives a 114-degree subject of view. There’s additionally a 50-megapixel selfie digital camera with an f/2.2 aperture.
Whereas Nothing claims that this cellphone is its “true flagship,” top-tier gadgets equivalent to iPhones and Samsung Galaxy telephones have achieved distinct digital camera high quality with years of labor. Nothing Telephone (3) takes good photographs, however colour accuracy wants work to match different flagship telephones. Plus, if the lighting was not superb, the cellphone produced crushed shadows and overblown highlights in darkish or vibrant areas of photographs.
The cellphone has a 5150mAh battery for worldwide variations, which is nice sufficient to final you a day of average to heavy utilization. You’ll be able to cost the system by means of 65W wired charging and 15W wi-fi charging.
AI options
Nothing debuted a customizable {hardware} key known as the Important Key with the Nothing Telephone 3a and 3a Professional. This key ports over to the brand new flagship and opens up the Nothing Area app, which helps you to save screenshots with notes. However surprisingly, you’ll be able to’t save simply notes.
The corporate can also be debuting Important search, which doubles up as an web and net search utilizing AI.
You’ll be able to seek for recordsdata and occasions by typing in key phrases, or you too can ask a question like “Who gained Wimbledon in 2024?” after which faucet on the AI button to floor net outcomes utilizing Google’s Gemini fashions. That is akin to Apple integrating ChatGPT with Siri to look the net for sure queries.
Picture Credit: Screenshot from TechCrunch
The cellphone additionally will get a gathering observe transcriber, which information your assembly and likewise summarizes key factors. You’ll be able to set off this by holding the Important key and flipping the cellphone. You’ll be able to double-press the Important key to document a voice snippet with transcription. Nevertheless, customers don’t have a technique to entry these recordings and transcripts outdoors the Nothing cellphone, except they explicitly export them.
In a chat with TechCrunch, CEO Pei mentioned that smartphone is the most effective medium to distribute AI and the corporate desires to make AI options helpful for customers.
“We now have to be actually targeted on constructing issues [AI features] which are helpful [for end users] and never simply name our telephones ‘Nothing AI telephones’ with some having some picture technology and name it a day,” he mentioned. “[We are thinking about] how we will actually leverage this new know-how to assist folks. The thought is to not compete with folks or to take their jobs away. How will we assist folks develop into higher and likewise extra inventive?”
Whereas this ambition is an efficient one to have, Nothing’s characteristic set, which additionally consists of an AI-powered wallpaper technology device, is consistent with different cellphone makers.
Nothing’s positioning
Nothing is making the cellphone obtainable by means of its web site and Amazon within the U.S. In Canada, it’s partnering with Finest Purchase.
At $799, the system instantly competes with the Samsung Galaxy S25, Google Pixel 9, and the iPhone 16. Since it isn’t being supplied by means of wi-fi provider bundles, the cellphone remains to be aimed toward folks shopping for unlocked telephones and searching for alternate options to Samsung, Apple, and Google.
In India, the corporate’s largest market, it’s a totally different story for the reason that cellphone begins at ₹79,999. Though the corporate provides reductions and exchanges, the costs are on par with or above the iPhone 16 and the Galaxy 25, relying on the vendor. Preliminary reactions on social media steered that the purchasers discovered the worth excessive, which might impression the corporate’s gross sales.
Nothing has taken it upon itself to problem Samsung and Apple of the world, however in the meanwhile, relatively than direct competitors, the cellphone is an efficient, cheaper different to these gadgets.