I tried the Little Mobile 3 and it stdn’t Live up to the hype.

Nothing about calling its most recent telephone its first” real flagship” made things hard for itself. It suggests that it is a candidate to advanced devices such as the iPhone 16 Pro or the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but it just isn’t. It’s a good midranger with respectable functionality and a number of oddities for a respectable price. &nbsp,

The Little Mobile 3 is the most expensive telephone the company has ever produced, and it comes with a better camera, much computer, and more time of technology support in addition to its previous models. But it’s also a true mixed bag of items I like and things I really don’t. &nbsp,

The square-blocks-under-transparent-glass design is arguably fun, but it’s not without its problems. The cameras are mostly underwhelming except for its surprisingly good macro mode, and the software features are basically the same as you’ll find on the company’s much cheaper 3A Pro. At a price that matches both the Pixel 9 and iPhone 16, the Little Phone 3 is best seen as a midtier phone at a flagship price. 

Nothing needed to encourage better performance, especially from the cameras, or reduce the price by at least$ 100. As it stands, this smartphone is hard to recommend over the Pixel 9. Nothing would be the best thing to do with colorful devices with inexpensive price tags, and that is what it isn’t a “flagship” it is. &nbsp,

Little Phone 3: Quirky design and Glyph Matrix

The Glyph Matrix, as Little calls it, is the striking innovative feature for this telephone. In the top right corner of the phone, which is essentially a small, square dot-matrix show that displays information like inbound notifications, the time, and even tiny mini games. It’s a lovely idea, and while I do like being able to discover who’s calling me when my phone is face down on my table, I think its use is restricted overall. &nbsp,

You may play games like rewrite the container on it, but as a committed 37-year-old, my desire for a socially confusing chance kiss with a drunken friend at a house party has fortunately been left behind in my teenage years. Even so, spin the bottle is arguably the Glyph Matrix’s stand-out right now, and while Nothing claims that the SDK is accessible to third-party developers, I’m not convinced that it has any lasting impact. &nbsp,

However, I find it particularly repulsive because it costs less than the Glyph lights that were a feature of Nothing’s earlier phones. The Nothing Phone 1 and 2 were littered with large LEDs that flashed to let you know about notifications, and while their existence was arguably more for aesthetics, it was fun to see something a bit different in phone design. The Glyph Matrix has been transformed into a result of the combined efforts of those lights. Sure, that’s still quirky, but I wish Nothing had kept the bigger glyph lights too– I don’t see any reason why both versions of Glyph can’t co-exist here.

The overall design is still undoubtedly Nothing, with a transparent outer shell that gives the impression that you’re looking into the phone’s physical heart. The white model shows this off much better than the black option, if you’re not sure which color you prefer. Although I like the blocky design, a few things irritate me. &nbsp,

First, the phone’s telephoto camera unit is strangely off center, stumbling much closer to the edge than the unit below it. It looks like a mistake and I find it off-putting. The semi-circle strip under the flash also appears to be lit up like the “glyphs” of older Nothing phones, but it isn’t. It’s just … there. I’d put money on the idea that there was a way to light up this, but it eventually got cut out as a cost-saving measure.

Fine, I might be nit-picking here. I get upset when I notice slight kerning in advertisements and posters because of transparency. I cringe when I walk around town and see the rampant misuse of apostrophes and I feel physically compelled to say “fewer” when someone incorrectly uses “less” in a sentence. Although I’m a pedant, pedantry is important when it comes to expensive tech. If there’d been more pedantry at Nothing then we wouldn’t have off-centre cameras and I’d probably give it another star in this review. possibly.

Little Phone 3: Mediocre cameras, rad macro mode

A standard wide angle, an ultrawide, and a telephoto zoom with 3x optical zoom and 6x combined optical and digital zoom are included in the phone’s rear camera set. All three cameras offer 50 megapixels of resolution and all of them are best described as simply “fine” .&nbsp,

The main camera’s exposure is decent, with plenty of detail and accurate colors when it’s sunny outside. Some HDR scenes can look a bit unnatural with weirdly-lightened shadows and toned down highlights. I’ve still witnessed worse. &nbsp,

As the light begins to fall, it begins to struggle with white balance, frequently leaning toward cyan tones, which give low-light images an unnatural appearance. &nbsp,

Even though the ultrawide lens captures even exposures, there is frequently a discernible color shift between standard and wide views. There’s also a lot of chromatic aberration visible on areas of contrast, especially towards the edge of the frame which suggests low quality optics. Additionally, I’ve seen strange detail smoothing in some images, and a person’s hair was bright green in one instance. &nbsp,

The zoom lens is either a hit or a miss. At 6x zoom on an overcast day, it does a decent job of capturing an even exposure with crisp details. Sometimes it struggles, frequently putting a strange soft glow on subjects, especially in high contrast areas. &nbsp,

This photo of swans and signets, taken at 6x zoom, has blown-out highlights and a bizarre haze around the swans, giving the impression of one of those swan-themed shots from the 1980s with Vaseline on the lens. I’ve seen this on multiple test photos and I’m disappointed to see such significant image quality issues. What’s causing it, exactly? Difficult to say definitively, but like the wide-angle lens I’d guess at low-quality plastic optics on the zoom lens.

While I’m disappointed overall with the Little Phone 3’s camera, it does have one saving grace: its macro mode. Most phones offer some kind of close up shooting for macro scenes, but nothing like this one.

Bees on flowers that are pin-sharp and in great-looking colors have been captured in really great close-up photos. Like most macro modes it can be highly susceptible to movement, so I hammered the shutter button taking numerous images of each scene and then simply selecting the best-looking one later, but that’s the same way I work when I take macro photos professionally– it’s never a case of taking one image and it being perfect straight away. &nbsp,

It’s the one way that the Little Phone 3’s camera outperforms its rivals. I tried taking similar macro photos with the iPhone 16 Pro and it couldn’t even come close to what I could achieve with the Nothing phone. 

However, the Nothing’s cameras aren’t great in most other ways, so I’d suggest looking elsewhere if photography is important to you. &nbsp,

Little Phone 3: Processor and battery performance

The phone runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8S Gen 4 processor which put in reasonable scores on our suite of benchmark tests. Its ratings place it much closer to those of previous year’s flagships like the Galaxy S24 and Xiaomi 14, but they also fall a long way behind the most recent models like the Galaxy S25, iPhone 16 or OnePlus 13. &nbsp,

The phone feels nippy in everyday use, with smooth navigation around the interface, quick app loading speeds, and demanding gaming in Genshin Impact and PUBG being handled with ease, even at maximum graphics settings. The phone might not be up there with today’s flagships on paper, but it’s got more than enough grunt to handle almost anything you’d want to throw at it. &nbsp,

The phone’s 5,150-mAh battery uses silicon carbon technology that Nothing says results in better longevity. On our rundown tests, battery life is distinctly average, with results from both our video streaming drain test and 45-minute endurance test putting it below both the Galaxy S25 and OnePlus 13, but more in line with the much cheaper Little Phone 3A. Like all phones, you should expect to give it a full recharge every night. 

Little Phone 3: Software and updates

The phone runs Android 15 at its core but Nothing has slapped its own interface over the top, which gives it a strong look. In an effort to achieve a more minimalistic appearance, the majority of the app’s icons are turned black and white, and text is removed from many areas of the homescreen. I quite like it, even though sometimes it’s difficult to work out exactly which app is which. However, you can turn it off if it doesn’t appeal to you.

The phone has various AI tools scattered around– including Google’s Gemini, accessible by a long press of the power button– but it’s the Essential Space that stands out. Essential Space is best understood as a daily stream of consciousness repository. There’s a dedicated hardware button on the side of the phone, press it once and it’ll take a screenshot to store in Essential Space. When you long press it, you can take a voice note that will be later transcribed with AI, with the key points being removed to remind you later. &nbsp,

Nothing is gradually developing the tool to add more functionality; the new version has a longer voice record feature that will allow you to record meetings for you. Despite this, I don’t believe it’s a good reason to pick a Nothing phone over any other, but it’s an interesting tool that you might find useful. &nbsp,

There’s nothing special about Nothing’s much-cheap Phone 3A that would justify you spending twice the price to purchase the best model, which also includes the iconic monochrome interface and Essential Space tool. &nbsp,

Nothing has been disclosed regarding the Phone 3’s four-year software update and seven years of security support, which should make it still safe to use in 2032. &nbsp,

Little Phone 3: Should you buy it?

Nothing has tried hard to differentiate itself from the market over the years by offering quirky phones at prices that significantly undercut its rivals. I don’t think the Phone 3’s designation as its first” true flagship” has worked in this case. This phone might have higher-end components than some of its cheaper siblings, but it’s not a” true flagship”, especially not when measured against rivals like the iPhone 16, Pixel 9 or Galaxy S25. The Phone 3 lacks the camera and processor performance I’d like to see at this level. &nbsp,

The Glyph Matrix is undoubtedly a unique addition, but its battery life is disappointing as well, and it’s arguably a gimmick that probably won’t be very useful for your long-term use of the phone. &nbsp,

At its full $799 retail price, this phone is at least $100 too expensive. If you can pick it up with a decent discount then it’s worth considering. If you simply like the aesthetics of the phone and its monochrome interface but don’t care about camera performance, look toward the Little Phone 3A — it’s half the price but just as fun.