Nothing’s Phone (3) Is the Quirky Tech We Need Right Now

I like staring at the Nothing Phone (3). It isn’t inherently better than comparably priced smartphones, but it’s visually distinct, and let’s be honest, a little weird. But weird is good. Phones are fantastic these days, whether you spend $300 or $1,300. When they can all generally do what we expect, aesthetics come to the forefront.

From the red recording light on the back of this $799 Android phone to the quirky pedometer widget that tracks your steps via a stick figure, the Phone (3) feels fresh and unique. That’s Nothing’s modus operandi. It might not be the most powerful device on the market nor the best smartphone camera around, but I like holding and using it. Every time I flip it over and play with the new Glyph Matrix display, I smirk. There’s a dearth of levity and fun in electronics today, and Nothing is here to put us back on the right track.

Grids and Columns

I can’t say if Nothing will wait another two years to release the Phone (4), but more companies need to follow suit and move away from the yearly smartphone lifecycle. There’s a reduced environmental impact, more time to polish the phone, and a more effective result. The Phone (3) may not feel like a dramatic change from the Phone (2) outside of looks, but it feels more refined, and every aspect has been upgraded, from the cameras and battery to the screen.

The back follows a grid pattern that represents the three printed circuit boards inside. The cameras are partitioned into specific squares, and there are visible screws, circles, and cutouts all around, which add a whimsical feel to a techy product. The star of the show, though, is the Glyph Matrix, a little display composed of large LEDs. It’s surprisingly more useful than I expected.

This Glyph Matrix can light up when you receive calls and notifications, like the old Glyph LEDs on prior Nothing phones, but because it’s a little display, it’s more functional. There are a handful of Glyph “Toys,” as Nothing calls them, that you can cycle through. I like the Spin the Bottle game, rock, paper, scissors, and the Magic 8 Ball, the latter of which is made via Nothing’s community, so you can expect to see more fun third-party Toys on the way. Then there are more utility-focused ones, like the sun’s position, time, battery meter, stopwatch, and even a level!

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu