Nothing explains how the Phone (3) Glyph Matrix works ahead of launch

Unlike some phone manufacturers, Nothing always whets the appetites of fans before a product launch by officially detailing a couple of the things to look forward to.

It always leaves little to the imagination and few key elements to be announced at the actual event, but by teasing some features and specs, it does a great job of building anticipation.

As such, in true Nothing style, the company has already confirmed prior to its 1 July launch that the upcoming Nothing Phone (3) flagship phone will run on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 platform. This is claimed to deliver a 31% performance improvement and a 49% better gaming performance over the Nothing Phone (2).

The company also confirmed it was ditching the Glyph Interface and introducing something called the Glyph Matrix. And now it's revealed more on the new light show tech.

How will the Nothing Phone (3)'s Glyph Matrix work?

Speaking to Design Milk (picked up by 91Mobiles), Nothing's head of design Adam Bates has discussed how the new Glyph Matrix on the Nothing Phone (3) will work and how it will be different to the original Glyph Interface.

Replacing the larger LED light strips that we saw on the Nothing Phone (1) and Nothing Phone (2), the Glyph Matrix will instead appear as a circular module in the top right corner of the back panel of the Phone (3).

Bates told Design Milk that the new Glyph Matrix will carry the vision of the original Glyph Interface forward "but in a more expressive and intentional way".

"Instead of predefined light strips, we now have a dense field of programmable micro-LEDs, a canvas for real-time, glanceable communication that feels alive, playful, and deeply personal," Bates said.

He added: "The Glyph Matrix allows for dynamic animations, symbolic visuals, and pixel-level responsiveness in a way segmented strips never could.

"It unlocks features where sound and light evolve together to create personalised cues. These features transform the back of the device into an expressive, functional surface, something that doesn’t just alert you, but communicates with you."

Bates also explained to Design Milk that the Matrix also allowed Nothing to utilise more space inside the phone for other hardware.

He concluded the interview by saying: "This is still the Glyph Interface, just in a new format. We needed to evolve its capabilities while staying true to what makes it distinctly Nothing.

"Our goal wasn’t to create another display that adds noise, but a canvas for subtle expression – one that can evolve with how people use it."

The Nothing Phone (3) will be officially unveiled on 1 July 2025 where we will see the Glyph Matrix in action, though at least fans can be somewhat rest assured that there's still going to be plenty of personality with this next flagship, even if it's different to what was offered before.