Nothing, the cell phone company founded by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, could make a real splash among the best Android phones with the NothingPhone (3)

While I found NothingPhone (1) to be a lackluster but interesting statement of intent, I found NothingPhone (2) last year to be an improvement in every respect And the excellent value for money of the budget-focused Nothing Phone (2a) suggests that the company is getting stronger with each release So what does Nothing Phone (3) have in store? Here is what we have heard so far and some of what we expect

The trouble with covering a new brand like Nothing is that there are few past products from which we can draw a release pattern That said, both previous flagship Nothing Phones were released in July (2022 and 2023, respectively), so it doesn't seem too far-fetched to expect a July 2024 release date for the Nothing Phone (3)

As for pricing, the Nothing Phone (3) appears to be largely status quo in at least one market: according to 91mobiles' Hindi site, the phone will be launched in the Rs 40,000-45,000 range [In the UK, the Nothing Phone (2) was launched for £579, so the next device may be priced the same

So far, there is only one spec rumor out there about the Nothing Phone (3) (reportedly codenamed Tetris), but it is quite exciting: according to 91mobiles, "industry sources who work closely with Nothing" have said that the phone will have claimed to be powered by the all-new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor

The "s" is important: this is not the processor found in the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra This is a lower-end version, which appears to be set to prioritize generative AI features, high-end gaming, and photography capabilities

It has a Cortex-X4 core with a clock speed of 3 GHz, backed up by three 28 GHz performance cores and four 2 GHz efficiency cores It should be positioned between Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and Gen 3, a significant evolution from the 8+ Gen 1 chip in the Nothing Phone (2)

In addition to increased speed, the efficiency gains are expected to improve battery life on the Nothing Phone (3) Much of this, however, depends on whether progress can be made with the 4,700mAh cells in the Nothing Phone (2)

Given that rumors are somewhat thin at this point, the Nothing Phone (3) is almost a blank slate Below are three we would like to see

Camera improvements

These are the main ones Every Nothing Phone released so far has received the same criticism in the "Cons" section This is because the core specifications of the rear camera, two 50MP lenses for wide (f/19) and ultra-wide (f/22) shooting, have not changed in all three models (even if there was a move to the IMX890 sensor in two) 50MP is good enough for the Pixel 8; 50MP is good enough for the Pixel 8; 50MP is good enough for the Pixel 8 However, improved image quality, especially in low light, is to be desired

Improved durability

Nothing's transparent design is very distinctive, but so far not very durable; both the Nothing Phone (2) and (2a) are IP54 rated, an improvement over the debut model's IP53, but but not by much

What it really means is that they promise protection from limited dust and light splashes This is a far cry from the IP68 (waterproofing to a depth of 15m for up to 30 minutes and all-round protection from dust) that many flagship models offer, and I hope nothing in Phone (3) can do it justice

Keep its price down

At $599, the Nothing Phone (2) is competitively priced and a good bet for those looking for something genuinely eye-catching in the world of look-alike phones

However, if Nothing adds another price tag to the Phone 3, it will struggle to stand out; as noted in our review of the Phone (2), it is a weaker value proposition than the now $449 Pixel 7a, and the Nothing Phone (3) and upcoming Pixel 8a comparison will become less flattering as the price difference between the two widens