All of the options I wish to see

Carl Pei wasn’t happy with making historical past simply as soon as with OnePlus. In early 2021, he introduced the formation of a brand new firm known as Nothing. Whereas the very first Nothing Telephone confirmed promise, the Nothing Telephone 2 demonstrated a considerably extra refined effort, leaving me optimistic in regards to the firm’s future. Since then, we’ve seen the Nothing Telephone 2a collection, the CMF Telephone collection, and the Nothing Telephone 3a collection. So what’s subsequent from the corporate?

Whereas the Nothing Telephone 3 may not be coming immediately, it’s positive to reach ultimately. There are particular points I hope to see addressed with the Nothing Telephone 3 when it does lastly launch. Right here’s my wishlist, together with the restricted info accessible in regards to the machine to date.

The Nothing Telephone stays considerably of an enigma. Is it designed for energy customers, players, worth customers, or spec fanatics? It type of appeals to all of those teams, however solely partially. Whereas it undoubtedly delivers a powerful efficiency, it additionally makes compromises in numerous areas, together with construct supplies and the digicam package deal. Judging by our readers’ pursuits and my very own, evidently the Nothing model at present appeals to people looking for uncooked energy and a particular look that stands out in a crowd. Sometimes, this type of consumer is keen to pay a premium for such an expertise, making an improve to a extra true flagship expertise a doubtlessly well-received transfer. This improve begins with enhancements in safety and sturdiness.

The Nothing Telephone 2 is rated at simply IP54; it is a rarity within the smartphone world and is notably much less spectacular than the extra widespread IP68 ranking. For the Nothing Telephone 3, I wish to see the model handle this limitation whereas additionally upgrading to newer glass know-how. The Gorilla Glass 5 on Nothing’s present flagship is beginning to present its age, particularly contemplating that the Gorilla Glass Victus collection has turn into the brand new gold customary for top-tier telephones, with the unique Victus usually featured on entry-level flagships.

Nothing may gain advantage from pushing additional upscale, whereas introducing a funds possibility

The largest grievance in regards to the unique Nothing Telephone was that it was underpowered, a priority that was partially addressed with the Nothing Telephone 2. Nevertheless, there’s nonetheless room for enchancment. Regardless of that includes a potent Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus SoC, the Nothing Telephone 2 seems to throttle its GPU extra aggressively than telephones with comparable specs. Whereas the very best Qualcomm chip may not be essential, refining the consumer expertise to make sure efficiency matches that of telephones in the identical worth vary is essential. On the very least, together with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 within the Nothing Telephone 3 must be a precedence, particularly contemplating that the new-generation Snapdragon 8 Elite has set a brand new customary for flagships.

Not all energy customers prioritize having the perfect digicam; some are extra into cell gaming, emulators, and different geekier pursuits. Regardless, whereas the digicam may not be the deciding issue for energy customers, it stays an necessary consideration. Regrettably, Nothing was comparatively conservative with its digicam setups on its mainline flagships. The Nothing Telephone 2 featured an almost an identical mediocre digicam suite to its predecessor, although it did improve its fundamental sensor to the IMX890. Whereas an improve, it wasn’t as substantial as one would possibly hope.

At the moment, the Nothing Telephone 2 performs adequately in good lighting situations, and even its low-light pictures are acceptable. Nevertheless, its colours are usually overly contrast-heavy, often bleeding into different objects and surfaces. Moreover, it reveals a noticeable shutter lag in comparison with different telephones. Whereas the primary shooter usually does a passable job, the first concern lies with the Samsung JN1 used for its ultrawide digicam. This sensor produces muddy textures and halo results, regardless of the corporate’s efforts to reinforce the expertise with software program updates. Even when Nothing decides to retain the IMX890, it ought to take into account changing the JN1 with a extra trendy sensor.

One other important concern is the selfie shooter. Whereas it performs adequately, its limitation to 1080p looks like a significant oversight in at the moment’s world of bloggers and TikTok customers. It’s hoped that the Nothing Telephone 3 will supply true 4K efficiency for video recording, addressing this obvious limitation.

The excellent news is that the mid-tier Nothing Telephone 3a units each supply telephoto cameras. So don’t be shocked if the Nothing Telephone 3a Professional’s 50MP 3x digicam (or an excellent higher digicam) involves the brand new flagship, dramatically bettering zoom high quality.

Okay, it is a comparatively minor level in comparison with all of the others, however I’d wish to see an improved sound expertise with the Nothing Telephone 3. The Nothing Telephone 2 has a considerably tinny sound high quality to it. Whereas many people use Bluetooth earbuds for cell audio, having a set of fine inside audio system continues to be appreciated if you wish to rapidly present somebody one thing in your telephone.

One other small level for these in the US is the dearth of Verizon help. This possible comes right down to Verizon’s strict certification processes somewhat than a real lack of functionality. The fact is Verizon is now not a CDMA service, which was once the primary concern. Now it’s usually doable to get unsupported telephones to work with Verizon, although their precise efficiency might differ. If Nothing needs to hunt wider enchantment within the US market, including official Verizon help could be a simple solution to do it. Verizon can also be no stranger to partnering with carriers for unique additions that play nicer with their community.

The Nothing Telephone 2 made important strides on the software program entrance, reworking the consumer expertise into one thing extra polished and refined. Nevertheless, there’s nonetheless room for enchancment, significantly in relation to the Glyph, which, for my part, stays extra of a gimmick than a real game-changer.

With the addition of extra LED strips and modern Glyph options akin to Glyph Composer for personalised sounds and Important Glyph for prioritizing sure apps, the Nothing Telephone 2 showcased loads of developments. Nevertheless, many of those options felt like good extras with restricted sensible help. As an illustration, the function permitting the Glyph to mild up when your Uber trip is nearing completion is cool, however the lack of help for different providers like Lyft or supply apps diminishes its total utility.

To actually elevate the Glyph’s standing, Nothing should entice third-party help. Sadly, Nothing hasn’t had superb luck right here. Its third-party dealings have both been very restricted, like within the case of Uber, or ill-advised, like its collaboration with Sunbird for Nothing Chats. What holds Nothing again is that builders are sometimes leary to work on such units as they’ll solely help the very small area of interest market of Nothing Telephone house owners. That’s not a simple downside to beat with out throwing round cash. That’s one thing a more moderen firm actually can’t afford to do.

Even when Nothing manages to safe extra app help for custom-made notifications and Glyph utilization, it may not be sufficient. The corporate must discover modern methods to make use of it first, which is a tall order. For instance, envision a state of affairs the place Nothing creates a free common customary, enabling Nothing Telephone customers to make use of their machine as a buzzer alternative in eating places or retail institutions. Collaborating with main retailers and chain eating places to implement such a function may very well be a strategic transfer. That’s only one half-baked concept, however the level is the extra locations the Glyph can be utilized the extra it would show itself as a official function.

• Nothing Telephone — July 21, 2022
• Nothing Telephone 2 — July 17, 2023

Sure, the Nothing Telephone 3 will ultimately floor. Firm founder Carl Pei not too long ago confirmed that the telephone will launch in Q3 2025.

Traditionally the Nothing Telephone collection launches in July, however the Nothing Telephone 3 is in a novel place. Not like most firms, Nothing isn’t committing to the everyday yearly launch cycle for its flagship. Pei says that don’t wish to compete and as an alternative wish to do their very own factor, even going so far as to reference how Nintendo makes its personal method as an alternative of following the everyday guidelines of the gaming business.

Whereas many anticipated the Nothing Telephone 3 to reach sooner somewhat than later, the Nothing Telephone 3a collection really arrived first in Q1 2025. It seems to be like there’ll be a little bit of a spot between this launch and the Telephone 3’s launch, in line with Pei.

As for what we do know in regards to the Nothing Telephone 3? Nearly nothing anymore. Each earlier rumor is from mid-2024 or earlier, again when it was assumed the Nothing Telephone 3 would arrive first.

This can be a robust one. The obscure Q3 2025 launch window doesn’t assist issues. Moreover, the Nothing Telephone 3a and 3a Professional each seem like nice mid-range Android telephones that seize the essence of top-tier Nothing telephones. So you might go for one among these telephones and get a very good Nothing expertise. In any other case, if you would like a flagship Nothing expertise when it comes to efficiency and different bells and whistles, then you definitely’ll have to attend.

What in the event you simply desire a good flagship-tier telephone and don’t thoughts a Nothing different? The Google Pixel 9 ($799 at Amazon) or Samsung Galaxy S25 ($809.99 at Amazon) are most likely extra sensible choices with higher software program help, higher cameras, and comparable (or generally even higher) efficiency.