London-based tech brand Nothing has officially confirmed that its upcoming Phone (3) will be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset, marking the company's biggest leap in smartphone performance yet.
Compared to the previous Phone (2), Nothing claims a 36% improvement in CPU performance, an 88% jump in GPU power, and a 60% boost in NPU capabilities. "But what it means in practice," said CEO Carl Pei, "is that it will feel a lot snappier." The focus, he added, is on delivering a holistic experience that reflects how people actually use their phones every day, not just synthetic benchmarks.
Nothing is also upping its game in software longevity. During a community Q&A, Nothing's Evangelidis confirmed that Phone (3) will get 5 years of Android OS updates and 7 years of security patches, matching the update cycles of leading flagship phones from Apple and Google.
The choice of the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4—rather than higher-tier chips—was intentional, with the company saying it helps enable this longer support cycle by optimising both performance and software stability over time.
As part of its expanding local footprint, Phone (3) will be manufactured in India, reinforcing Nothing's Make in India commitment. The move also supports local job creation and aligns with the company's past statements around regional manufacturing and faster availability.
What we think of this Nothing Phone (3)
One of the most notable things about this Nothing phone is that it will not feature Glyph LEDs; teased to come with a dot matrix-style rear design, and it will be made in India. These two make this to be an intersting phone to watch out for. According to the leaks, 12GB + 256GB variant is rumoured to be priced at USD 799 (~₹68,320), which is USD 100 more than the Phone (2). There will also be a new 16GB + 512GB model expected at USD 899 (~₹76,865), replacing the earlier 12GB + 512GB variant. The pricing for the phone looks to be on the steep side, and it will be interesting if this newbie brand is able to garner sales numbers even at this price.
