I think Nothing's Phone (3) could put Samsung and Google to task – I've loved the recent innovation

You're looking at a picture of Nothing's CEO, Carl Pei, holding up the brand new Nothing Phone (3) flagship handset – which is set to be revealed in full on 1 July this year.

Well, I say 'revealed', but knowing how Nothing likes to drip-feed teasers around its new products in advance, step by step, I suspect we'll know everything about the handset before that actual date.

But, no matter, because I think the Nothing Phone (3) could be the incoming flagship to put Samsung, Google, et al, to task. It's already shaping up to be a disruptor with a difference – and I've loved much of the innovation from the company in recent years.

There's plenty more to come, besides, with all-new Nothing Headphones (name still TBC), in collaboration with KEF. The company is clearly expanding in all directions.

A true flagship?

Although some have called into question whether the Phone (3) will quite deliver. It was already rumoured that the device would feature Qualcomm's step-down hardware, as we reported, which has since been confirmed by the company.

Sure, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 isn't as all-powerful as the current Snapdragon 8 Elite – and it's assumed that the Gen 2 of that latter and more powerful chip will be revealed in the final quarter of 2025.

But, even so, the 's' version of these chips marginally downgrades the graphical capacity, CPU clock speeds, and cache. It's also not as pricey for makers to purchase, which ought to give Nothing a little wiggle room in its Phone (3) creation to get it at the right price point.

That said, of course, with Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra and other flagship handsets leveraging the top-tier Elite chipset, in an even more powerful 'for Galaxy' overclocked variant, this is one gap that Nothing might not be able to close in on.

Unique features

But here's where I think the new Nothing Phone will be interesting: there are a lot of other components involved in the brand's vision? The Glyph lighting, for example, is a whole series of LEDs that no other maker has to configure.

I would hope, too, that the Phone (3)'s Glyph system will be even more advanced and thorough than previous models. Now is the opportunity to really go next level and stand apart from its main Samsung and Google competition. This is one of the major differentiators, after all.

Although that clearly won't be all. It's the cameras that are among the biggest of deals in the best Android phones these days – and this is an area where Nothing needs to progress. Its initial work with the Phone (3a) Pro, in adding a zoom, was a step forward – but the full-fat Phone (3) will need to deliver yet more.

I'd like to see some other tweaks, such as a repositioning of the Essential Key for its AI integration, a larger battery capacity (without expanding the phone's form to excess), and some interesting colours – more than the image of Pei showing off the grey, please.

All of which could add up to a really exciting, interesting flagship device that, for the right three-figure price tag, could ruffle some feathers. Having used Google's Pixel 9 Pro XL for some weeks after reviewing Samsung's Galaxy S25 Edge, for example, it's clear that new-age phones need to be lighter.

Nothing has the freedom and the point of difference to surprise and delight users, though. I think its innovative plays are exciting and could challenge its big Samsung and Google competition in a really interesting way. And with expected presence in the US market, it ought to garner even more attention than ever before.