What the reviewers said
TechRadar UK
4/5Nov 26, 2025A capable flagship with strong chipset, cameras and display, but its divisive design and gimmicky software limit its appeal against Samsung and Apple rivals.
- Solid Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 performance for demanding tasks
- Competent camera array with periscope telephoto
- Good-looking 120Hz display
- Large battery and fast 65W wired charging
- Neat software touches and adaptable Nothing OS
- Price rise over Phone 2 to flagship levels
- Chunky, heavy 218g design divisive and ungainly
- Essential Key poorly placed, often mistaken for power button
- Gimmick features like Glyph Matrix lose novelty fast
Android Police US
7.5/10Aug 23, 2025A unique, fun, quirky phone with strong design and software, but not a traditional flagship; best for buyers who love its look.
- Distinctive transparent design unlike any other phone
- Customizable, fun Nothing OS software
- Enjoyable social-media-friendly camera
- Creative ringtones and generative sounds
- Fast wired charging up to 65W
- Heat buildup during long gaming sessions
- Reflections hinder screen visibility
- Performance not robust enough for hardcore gaming
- Battery life decent but not outstanding
- Glyph Matrix feels gimmicky and less useful than Glyph Lights
The Verge US
6/10Jul 19, 2025A distinctive flagship-priced phone with big storage, battery and fast charging, but weaker chip and cameras and a divisive design.
- Unique design that stands out from rivals
- Big 5,150mAh battery lasts a day
- 65W wired charging, fastest in its class
- 12GB RAM and 256GB base storage
- Telephoto camera offers attractive natural bokeh
- Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 less powerful than flagship rivals
- Main cameras lag behind competition in low light
- Rear design feels unbalanced and empty at bottom
- Glyph Matrix feels gimmicky and takes effort to set up
- Essential Space audio summaries capped at 300 minutes monthly
Tech Advisor UK
4/5Jul 16, 2025A visually striking flagship with excellent display, build, performance and battery life, but its unusual design and limited early software make it hard to recommend over rivals at this price.
- Gorgeous AMOLED display with high peak brightness
- Excellent build quality and IP68 rating
- Strong performance for the price
- Superb battery life
- Seven years of security updates
- Polarising design with off-centre telephoto placement
- Disappointing ultrawide camera
- Limited Glyph Matrix tools at launch
- Five years of OS updates trail rivals
- Gaming shows limitations; face unlock not secure enough
Tom's Guide US
4/5Jul 8, 2025Nothing's first flagship keeps the brand's quirky identity and adds a telephoto camera, stronger durability and bigger battery, but it is pricier and photography and performance lag rivals.
- Distinctive design with improved IP68 durability
- New 3x telephoto camera with macro mode
- Glyph Matrix is fun and practical
- Snapdragon 8S Gen 4 offers strong performance
- Larger battery and faster 65W charging
- Most expensive Nothing phone yet
- Photography is weak overall
- Trails Galaxy S25 and Pixel 9 in benchmarks
- Dimmer display than rival flagships
A quirky, visually distinct Android phone with a useful Glyph Matrix and solid all-round performance, though not the best value for its specs.
- Distinctive design with a useful Glyph Matrix display
- Clean interface with handy widgets
- Good performance and strong battery life
- Bright display, wireless charging, NFC
- 256 GB base storage at this price
- Not the best value for specs versus price
- No Qi2 magnetic charging support
- Low-light camera performance is weaker
- Software update policy trails Pixel and Samsung
Android Central US
3.75/5Jul 8, 2025Nothing's best phone yet with distinctive design and excellent software, but the mid-range chip and high $799 price hold it back.
- Distinctive design with customizable Glyph Matrix LED panel
- Thoughtful Nothing OS 3.5 software with useful extras
- Much better cameras than predecessor
- Vibrant OLED display with good color accuracy
- Good battery life with 65W charging
- Uses Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 instead of flagship 8 Elite
- Cameras not as good as Chinese rivals
- No LTPO display tech and no IP69 rating
- Launches with Android 15 rather than Android 16
- Overheating issues and price hard to justify
Verdicts, pros and cons are short summaries in our words of each publisher's review; scores are as the publisher gave them. Specs are taken from the reviews' spec boxes — where they differ, we show the value most of them give; price is the US launch price of the base model. Read the originals for the full picture.
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