All the features I want to see

Carl Pei wasn’t glad with making historical past simply as soon as with OnePlus. In early 2021, he introduced the formation of a brand new firm referred to as Nothing. Whereas the very first Nothing Telephone confirmed promise, the Nothing Telephone 2 demonstrated a considerably extra refined effort, leaving me optimistic concerning the firm’s future.

Nonetheless, there are specific points I hope to see addressed with the Nothing Telephone 3. Right here’s my wishlist, together with the restricted info out there concerning the machine to date.

The Nothing Telephone stays considerably of an enigma. Is it designed for energy customers, avid gamers, worth customers, or spec fans? It kind of appeals to all of those teams, however solely partially. Whereas it undoubtedly delivers a robust efficiency, it additionally makes compromises in numerous areas, together with construct supplies and the digicam bundle. Judging by our readers’ pursuits and my very own, it appears that evidently the Nothing model at the moment appeals to people looking for uncooked energy and a particular look that stands out in a crowd. Usually, this type of consumer is keen to pay a premium for such an expertise, making an improve to a extra true flagship expertise a probably well-received transfer. This improve begins with enhancements in safety and sturdiness.

The Nothing Telephone 2 is rated at simply IP54; this can be a rarity within the smartphone world and is notably much less spectacular than the extra widespread IP68 score. For the Nothing Telephone 3, I wish to see the model handle this limitation whereas additionally upgrading to newer glass expertise. The Gorilla Glass 5 on Nothing’s present flagship is beginning to present its age, particularly contemplating that Gorilla Glass Victus has turn into the brand new gold commonplace for top-tier telephones, with the unique Victus typically featured on entry-level flagships.

The largest grievance concerning the authentic Nothing Telephone was that it was underpowered, a priority that was partially addressed with the Nothing Telephone 2. Nonetheless, there’s nonetheless room for enchancment. Regardless of that includes a potent Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, the Nothing Telephone 3 seems to throttle its GPU extra aggressively than telephones with comparable specs. Whereas the best possible Qualcomm chip won’t be essential, refining the consumer expertise to make sure efficiency matches that of telephones in the identical value vary is essential. On the very least, together with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 within the Nothing Telephone 3 must be a precedence, particularly contemplating that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is anticipated to set a brand new commonplace by then.

Nothing might additionally profit from adopting a technique just like the Galaxy S23 and even the Pixel 8, introducing a couple of mannequin to the Nothing Telephone 3 sequence. Maybe providing a extra premium mannequin that competes instantly with one of the best Android telephones, whatever the value. In the meantime, it might additionally provide a less expensive cellphone mannequin that falls between the Nothing Telephone 1 and a couple of by way of specs and pricing. Whereas this method could contain a bigger funding and better threat for Nothing, it will broaden the machine’s attraction to a wider vary of customers.

Not all energy customers prioritize having one of the best digicam; some are extra into cell gaming, emulators, and different geekier pursuits. Regardless, whereas the digicam won’t be the deciding issue for energy customers, it stays an necessary consideration. Regrettably, Nothing has been comparatively conservative with its digicam setups. The Nothing Telephone 2 featured a virtually an identical mediocre digicam suite to its predecessor, although it did improve its fundamental sensor to the IMX890. Whereas an improve, it wasn’t as substantial as one would possibly hope.

Presently, the Nothing Telephone 2 performs adequately in good lighting situations, and even its low-light pictures are acceptable. Nonetheless, its colours are usually overly contrast-heavy, often bleeding into different objects and surfaces. Moreover, it reveals a noticeable shutter lag in comparison with different telephones just like the Pixel 7 Professional. Whereas the primary shooter usually does a passable job, the first subject lies with the Samsung JN1 used for its ultrawide digicam. This sensor produces muddy textures and halo results, regardless of the corporate’s efforts to boost the expertise with software program updates. Even when Nothing decides to retain the IMX890, it ought to contemplate changing the JN1 with a extra trendy sensor.

One other vital concern is the selfie shooter. Whereas it performs adequately, its limitation to 1080p looks like a significant oversight in at this time’s world of bloggers and TikTok customers. It’s hoped that the Nothing Telephone 3 will provide true 4K efficiency for video recording, addressing this obvious limitation.

Okay, this can be a comparatively minor level in comparison with all of the others, however I’d wish to see an improved sound expertise with the Nothing Telephone 3. The Nothing Telephone 2 has a considerably tinny sound high quality to it. Whereas many people use Bluetooth earbuds for cell audio, having a set of fine inside audio system continues to be appreciated whenever you wish to shortly present somebody one thing in your cellphone.

One other small level for these in the USA is the dearth of Verizon assist. This seemingly comes all the way down to Verizon’s strict certification processes slightly than a real lack of functionality. The truth is Verizon is not a CDMA service, which was once the primary subject. Now it’s typically potential to get unsupported telephones to work with Verizon, although their precise efficiency could fluctuate. If Nothing needs to hunt wider attraction within the US market, including official Verizon assist could be a simple method to do it. Verizon can be no stranger to partnering with carriers for unique additions that play nicer with their community.

The Nothing Telephone 2 made vital strides on the software program entrance, remodeling the consumer expertise into one thing extra polished and refined. Nonetheless, there’s nonetheless room for enchancment, significantly in the case of the Glyph, which, in my opinion, stays extra of a gimmick than a real game-changer.

With the addition of extra LED strips and revolutionary Glyph options similar to Glyph Composer for personalised sounds and Important Glyph for prioritizing sure apps, the Nothing Telephone 2 showcased loads of developments. Nonetheless, many of those options felt like good extras with restricted sensible assist. As an illustration, the function permitting the Glyph to mild up when your Uber journey is nearing completion is cool, however the lack of assist for different companies like Lyft or supply apps diminishes its total utility.

To actually elevate the Glyph’s standing, Nothing should entice third-party assist. Sadly, Nothing hasn’t had superb luck right here. Its third-party dealings have both been very restricted, like within the case of Uber, or a bit ill-advised, like its collaboration with Sunbird for Nothing Chats. What holds Nothing again is that builders are sometimes leary to work on such gadgets as they’ll solely assist the very small area of interest market of Nothing Telephone house owners. That’s not a simple downside to beat with out throwing round cash. That’s one thing a more recent firm actually can’t afford to do.

Even when Nothing manages to safe extra app assist for custom-made notifications and Glyph utilization, it won’t be sufficient. The corporate must discover revolutionary methods to make use of it first, which is a tall order. For instance, envision a state of affairs the place Nothing creates a free common commonplace, enabling Nothing Telephone customers to make use of their machine as a buzzer substitute in eating places or retail institutions. Collaborating with main retailers and chain eating places to implement such a function could possibly be a strategic transfer. That’s only one half-baked thought, however the level is the extra locations the Glyph can be utilized the extra it’s going to show itself as a reputable function.

• Nothing Telephone — July 21, 2022
• Nothing Telephone 2 — July 17, 2023

There have but to be any early leaks or rumors on the Nothing Telephone 3, but it surely’s nonetheless all however assured the cellphone will exist in some type except Nothing closes its doorways all of the sudden. That’s to not say the corporate couldn’t change the route, design, and identify of the Nothing Telephone 3. In spite of everything, the Nothing Telephone 2 noticed a push in the direction of premium over its predecessor. The Nothing Telephone 3 might proceed to maneuver additional upscale, or might meet someplace in the midst of the 2 if it needs to focus extra on value over worth. It doesn’t matter what type it exhibits up although, there’s no signal that the corporate is finished with producing telephones or advertising its distinctive Glyph lighting gimmick.

Relating to the discharge date of the Nothing Telephone 3, if historical past serves as an indicator, it’s extremely seemingly that the cellphone will adhere to the same launch window as its predecessors. This could place its launch in the summertime of 2024, most likely in late July.

The one cause to attend for the Nothing Telephone 3 is in the event you’re intrigued by the current-gen mannequin however can’t recover from its downsides like decrease construct high quality and its less-than-wonderful digicam bundle. If the Nothing Telephone 2’s shortcomings aren’t dealbreakers for you, there’s actually no different cellphone that appears prefer it, so it might completely be definitely worth the purchase. For those who simply need a good cellphone? The Google Pixel 8 ($699 at Amazon) or Samsung Galaxy S23 ($799 at Amazon) are most likely extra sensible choices with higher software program assist, higher cameras, and related (or generally even higher) efficiency.