Why I’m not worried about the Nothing Phone 3’s big price increase

The preliminary knee-jerk response to that value isn’t a great one. Nothing’s costliest cellphone to this point is the Nothing Telephone 2, which launched (and remains to be priced) at $600. A $200 enhance to go from the Nothing Telephone 2 to the Nothing Telephone 3 might sound outrageous, however the extra I give it some thought, the extra I’m OK with it.

Whereas the Nothing Telephone 3 may be seen as a direct successor to the Nothing Telephone 2, it’s vital to know that Nothing is approaching the Telephone 3 in a different way. The place the Nothing Telephone 2 was a decidedly mid-tier worth flagship cellphone, Nothing is already referring to the Nothing Telephone 3 as a “true flagship cellphone.”

We nonetheless don’t know what precise specs/options the Nothing Telephone 3 could have, however let’s take Nothing at its phrase. If the Nothing Telephone 3 actually is a “true” flagship as the corporate claims, how will these rumored US costs evaluate to different flagships within the nation?

The most recent value leak means that the $800 base configuration of the Nothing Telephone 3 will characteristic 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. In the meantime, the $900 mannequin will embrace 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

In comparison with different telephones with related RAM/storage quantities, it’s instantly obvious simply how less expensive the Nothing Telephone 3 would nonetheless be, even with the upper sticker value.

A Google Pixel 9 with 256GB of storage, for instance, prices $900 — $100 greater than the bottom Nothing Telephone 3. A fairer comparability would doubtlessly be the Pixel 9 Professional, which prices $1,100 for its 256GB storage variant ($300 greater than the 256GB Nothing Telephone 3).

What about in comparison with flagship Samsung telephones? A 256GB Galaxy S25 retails for $860, whereas a 256GB Galaxy S25 Plus prices $1,000 — that’s $60 and $200 costlier than the Nothing Telephone 3, respectively.

There’s OnePlus to consider, too. Just like the Nothing Telephone 3 rumor, the OnePlus 13 additionally has 256GB of storage because the default, and at $900, it’s $100 pricier than what we anticipate the Nothing Telephone 3 to price.

Seen this manner, an $800 Nothing Telephone 3 doesn’t sound too dangerous in any respect. Is it much more costly in comparison with the Nothing Telephone 2? Completely. But when we’re to view it as another 2025 flagship smartphone, it’s arduous for me to take a look at an $800 Nothing Telephone 3 and be too upset with it.

In fact, that is all based mostly on the belief that Nothing will really ship a flagship-grade smartphone with the Nothing Telephone 3. The corporate says it should, however with no concrete specs or options leaked thus far, it’s arduous to get a good suggestion of what to anticipate.

That mentioned, Nothing has proven us what it could possibly obtain within the low-to-mid-tier smartphone section, and time and time once more, Nothing has impressed us.

The Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro are the newest and finest examples of this. Priced at $379 and $459, respectively, they’re very a lot budget-minded handsets. Even so, they’ve among the most unusual smartphone designs in the marketplace, surprisingly succesful cameras, glorious software program, and dependable battery life and efficiency. We gave each telephones 4/5 evaluation scores and Beneficial badges, too.

And it’s not simply the Nothing Telephone 3a collection that’s impressed us. We’ve been equally pleased with the CMF Phone 2 Pro, the Nothing Telephone 2a Plus, and most different Nothing smartphones. If Nothing has wowed us this a lot with telephones starting from $280 to $600, think about what it’ll be capable of do with an $800 cellphone.