The off-kilter camera design has a lot of people bothered.
After a seemingly never-ending drip of leaks and teases, Nothing’s Phone 3 is finally here, along with what’s shaping up to be a divisive new aesthetic. The eye-catching Android phone, which was unveiled during a London launch event on Tuesday, will cost $799 and is being billed as the company’s “first true flagship.” To sell its premium package, Nothing is leaning into a new triple camera system, a refreshed design, and a circular Glyph “Matrix” display that, honestly, looks pretty damn fun.
Let’s start with the thing that sells almost every flagship phone out there: the camera system. The Phone 3, as you may have noticed, includes three different sensors this time around. All three of the rear cameras—main, ultrawide, and periscope zoom—are 50 megapixels. The most notable addition here is the periscope zoom camera, which was also included in the Phone 3a Pro. Luckily, unlike the Phone 3a Pro—which weirdly released before the Phone 3—the inclusion of a periscope camera doesn’t necessitate a huge, annoying camera bump. Don’t get me wrong, the lens still protrudes a bit, but nowhere near the amount of its predecessor. If you’re unfamiliar with periscope cameras, all you need to know is that these puppies can zoom. Specifically, you can get up to 6x lossless zoom or 60x zoom with the help of AI.
I haven’t used the Phone 3 yet, but probably the biggest hangup I have on the surface is that the periscope camera is misaligned, which makes it look a little, uh, odd on the back of the phone. I suspect this will piss some people off, but others won’t really care that much. I guess if Nothing’s camera system works well for the price, then it’ll be easy to forgive any design weirdness.
