The Nothing Phone 3
Come for the glyphs, stay for the rest!
I haven't really been sure what to make of the last few phones released by the Nothing brand.
They've certainly been on my radar, but I've never truly considered owning one. Partially, that's been because their availability in the US has been wonky at best. You haven't been able to just walk into an American store to buy one.
There also is a certain amount of risk or at least uneasiness about purchasing a phone not made by Apple, Samsung, or Google in the year 2025. That is a sad statement. I've always been a big fan of competition and innovation in the smartphone world, and there just hasn't been enough of that in the past few years.
So now Nothing comes forward with its latest offering. It's the Nothing Phone 3! And it is designed to check off nearly all of the boxes of a flagship device with a price tag that undercuts the big guys. This phone will be available for purchase in the United States which is great! Unfortunately, it looks like it won't include all of the cellular radios to make it fully compatible on my current carrier, Verizon. Boo!
Perhaps that let's me be a bit more objective about the device since it doesn't look like I'll be owning one anytime soon. I will say that I've purchased phones that "kinda" work on Verizon in the past. It's just not worth it no matter how cool they may be. You can't really sacrifice the ability to place and receive calls at all times for the siren song of a cool looking device.
And the Nothing Phone 3 is most certainly a cool looking device in my humble opinion. Nothing has been a fan of using translucent/transparent backing on their products to give off a retro tech vibe. This speaks directly to my design aesthetic. When I look at the Nothing Phone 3, I see shades of the original Motorola Droid. I get a glimpse of the Cybiko (especially the rare translucent color option that was impossible to find.) It just looks both retro and futuristic at the same time and I love that.
Yes, this phone has most of the specs you'd want in a top-end Android phone. There is a Snapdragon 8 processor to power a 6.7 inch screen. It should certainly be able to handle anything you throw at it. But there is something that it offers that no other phone has.
Do the words "glyph interface" mean anything to you?
Well they certainly should! Because this phone has a quirky second screen on the back right corner that you can customize to do all sorts of crazy tricks. Think of it like a souped up version of the old notification light that was a mainstay of early Android phones.
You used to be able to program these lights to blink in different colors or patterns depending on the app or notification type. It was both aesthetically pleasing and extremely practical. If you're in a place where you can't open your phone, you could at least see the color of the notification light. Maybe if it was an emergency color, you could check it out. But it was another output method that could convey information without diving deep into the sea of notifications and apps on your phone.
But this glyph display goes beyond that. It's basically a tiny canvas to showcase your personality. Sure, it's great to use it for notifications, but I think I'd prefer to just have interesting animations flashing throughout the day to entertain me and amaze my friends. I think we've gotten away from features on smart phones that could just be classified as "neat" or a "fun party trick". It may sound silly, but I feel like I always relished these features on smart phones of the past. I'm having trouble coming up with any fun tricks that my last few Pixel phones could do.
Yes, I know there are plenty of software things or AI magic, but those aren't the same. While there are some features that are exclusive to Pixel phones, a majority of software tricks end up coming to nearly all phones eventually. I'm looking for tricks that are hardware specific. An example that comes to mind for me was that cool pop-up selfie camera on my old One Plus phone. I explicitly remember showing that feature off to moderate amusement from friends and family.
Will the glyph display take the world by storm? Will all the other phone manufacturers follow suit? No, I'd say there is a very slim chance. I could see a world where a variation of a tiny screen on the back of an iPhone gets released in 3-4 years. But it seems more likely that this will just be a niche device that doesn't sell well and the feature goes away in the next iteration Noting Phone. And that is totally fine!
I just love that I get to write about a real piece of innovation in a new smart phone that isn't all about AI! I'm sure there is some AI buried in the glyph display options somewhere, but you get what I'm saying. We need more companies like Nothing to release quirky phones with questionable features that may or may not drive sales. We need more Nothing Phones, which were the spiritual successor to the Essential Phones. We need more quirky LG G5 mods that were doomed upon arrival.
Sure, many of these quirky phones of the past were considered failures. But weren't they so much fun to talk about? And if nothing else, don't we need something to talk about in the mobile tech world beyond AI taking over our phones?
Let's hope the Nothing Phone 3 is able to find its hardcore supporters and build a long-lasting niche fanbase.
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