There’s so much we are able to agree on that goes into making a lovely cellphone. When a cellphone comes alongside that does one thing totally different, many people are postpone—however the extra I give it some thought, the extra I begin to really feel that these telephones, for higher or worse, are the best-looking ones.

The Nothing Telephone (3) Is the Excellent Instance

Once I first noticed the Nothing Telephone (3), I assumed it was hideous. Then I noticed it once more, and it type of grew on me. I am nonetheless unsure that I prefer it, however I am glad it seems the way in which it does. It’s a cellphone that, if nothing else, is distinct.

Associated


Nothing Phone (3) Is Here, Replaces LED Lights With ‘Glyph Matrix’ Panel

A probably nice Android flagship cellphone, however I am going to miss the enjoyable lights.

There are a couple of key elements contributing to why many don’t discover the Nothing Telephone (3) to be love at first sight. Primarily, the cameras really feel scattered about nearly at random. They don’t seem to be organized in a neat line, nor are they contained inside a field.

To make issues worse, Nothing has deserted different points of its personal design language. This doesn’t seem like a greater, extra high-end model of the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro. It nearly seems extra just like the CMF Phone 2 Pro—although there is a case to be made that the latter seems higher, and it’s 1 / 4 of the worth.

The CMF Phone 2 Pro in front of a lake.
Bertel King / How-To Geek 

The Nothing Telephone (3) additionally does away with its trademark glyph lights in favor of a small dot matrix display that, whereas nifty, does not really feel as totally different from these discovered on telephones just like the Unihertz Titan 2. There’s a lot to not like right here, however that’s additionally kind of the purpose.

Nothing Is a Trend Model

Nothing isn’t simply one other cellphone maker making an attempt to promote you a high-end flagship cellphone. Actually, the corporate is aware of it may possibly’t out compete Apple or Samsung in producing probably the most sturdy slab cellphone with a stunning display and probably the most highly effective CPU. In spite of everything, Apple and Samsung each have the clout to make their very own chips, and Samsung produces the most effective screens not just for its personal telephones, however Apple’s as properly (Sure—Apple, Samsung, and Google are all extra like frenemies than rivals, all mutually invested in every others’ success). Since Nothing sells fewer telephones, it has to pay extra for the parts that go into every cellphone that it ships. The economies of scale favor the larger gamers.

Because of this Nothing distinguishes itself by being a vogue model. These are telephones you don’t purchase as a result of they’re the most effective. You don’t even essentially purchase them due to what they’ll do. You purchase them since you like how they give the impression of being.

Associated


What Nothing Gets Right That Most Phone Makers Don’t

It isn’t nothing, that is for certain.

With the intention to be a cellphone you purchase based mostly on seems alone, the cellphone must look totally different from everybody else. And if it’s going to look totally different, then by definition, not everybody goes to love it.

Standing Out Is What Issues Most

What issues for any firm going this path is that every new cellphone is attention-grabbing. If the most recent mannequin seems like a refinement of the final, then the design language begins to develop acquainted and, fairly presumably, stale.

nothing phone 3a pro rear panel top down outdoors.
Gavin Phillips / How-To Geek

By making a daring change, Nothing provides folks a cause to speak about its newest cellphone. That, in the end, is what vogue is about. Excessive vogue makes an announcement. It seems distinct in a method that lots of people merely don’t get. It’s not merely one other well-fitting go well with or shirt. It’s one thing that crosses over into artwork.

That’s to not say there isn’t a spot for conservative vogue selections. -looking watch and a fitted vest will proceed to look good on the subsequent technology of wearers identical to it did two generations in the past. And I personally proceed to really feel just like the Galaxy S25, which is about as fundamental as a cellphone will get, can also be precisely how I need a slab cellphone to look.

Samsung Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus standing next to each other.
Justin Duino / How-To Geek

However I do not need each cellphone to be a Galaxy S25, nor may many firms survive all making an attempt to promote basically the identical cellphone.

A Look I Might Study to Love

The Nothing Telephone 3 nonetheless isn’t my favorite-looking Nothing cellphone, and I don’t suppose it ever might be. Nonetheless, it has a sure cyberpunk funk that I recognize. It’s not a glance I might need to love with endlessly, however it’s one I can think about carrying for a couple of years, then trying again on with some nostalgia as soon as I’ve moved on to one thing else. That’s greater than I can say for sure different telephones, just like the Asus Zenfone 8 that I utterly forgot I ever owned.

Associated


I’ve Used Dozens of Headphones—These Got the Controls Right

Probably the most distinctive design and the most effective controls.

The Nothing Telephone (3) jogs my memory of one other placing design on a cellphone that was immensely extra area of interest, the LG Fx0, which was arguably the best-looking cellphone operating Firefox OS ever made . The Verge nonetheless has some images up in the event you, like nearly everybody, by no means heard of that fairly uncommon machine (kudos in the event you even remember Firefox OS at all). The Nothing Telephone (3) is a tool many people will keep in mind a few years from now, even when all that involves thoughts is how a lot we disliked it. That’s one thing I’ve come to like about this cellphone, whilst I’ve no intentions of shopping for it.


The Nothing Telephone (3) is a cellphone of contradictions. It’s a flagship that doesn’t really feel like one. It’s an costly cellphone from an organization whose fanbase values how low-cost Nothing telephones have been. It’s a trendy cellphone that many, frankly, simply think about ugly.

My emotions towards it are equally contradictory. I don’t suppose it’s a looker, and but I’m a bit completely satisfied it seems the way in which it does. It’s a daring look that I can recognize—but I additionally hope the Nothing Telephone 4 seems nothing prefer it.


Source link