Fight me! $799 is a great price for the Nothing Phone 3

I don’t like spending money any more than anyone else, and I wish top-tier smartphones didn’t cost a small fortune. That’s why the Nothing Phone 3 caught my attention — it breaks from the brand’s budget past with a price that puts it right alongside flagship heavyweights. However, flagship competition means compelling alternatives to consider and plenty of arguments to be made about whether the Phone 3 truly delivers the value that Nothing is known for.

At $799, it’s far from cheap, putting it right up against heavyweights like the Pixel 9, iPhone 16, and Galaxy S25. Still, I’d argue Nothing has actually priced the phone exactly right.

If you followed the phone’s launch, you’ll know the Nothing Phone 3’s choice of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8S Gen 4 processor over the more expensive 8 Elite model seen in other flagships has been a bit of a sticking point. We benchmarked the 8S in a rival phone and found it’s just a smidgen behind last year’s top-tier Snapdragon 8 Gen 3; it’s not cutting-edge but is plenty powerful for daily needs, moderate gaming, and whatever else.

At $799, last-gen performance (or close to it) is more than serviceable — in fact, it’s increasingly the norm. Google’s Pixel line has never topped the charts, yet the Pixel 9 (and the far more expensive Pro XL) still hold their own. Likewise, the $649 Galaxy S25 FE uses a tweaked version of 2024’s Exynos 2400. Even the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus ship with slower versions of Apple’s flagship silicon. The reason is simple enough: older chips still perform brilliantly.

Sure, you can buy a phone with the 8 Elite for $799 — the Galaxy S25 is right there, and there are even more choices if you’re willing to shop outside the big US brands. But outside of hardcore gaming, I’d argue that few people will notice the difference day-to-day.

More importantly, the Nothing Phone 3 scores plenty of wins in areas that matter far more: battery capacity, charging speeds, a triple camera setup, and generous base storage for all your media. Starting at 256GB is a move other brands should’ve made years ago, but they refuse just to save a few bucks.

There’s solid parity with these rivals in other areas, too, including an IP68 rating, Gorilla Glass protection, and a slick aluminum chassis. The optical fingerprint scanner won’t be the best around, and the display can’t go as low as 1Hz, but those are minor trade-offs. Our hands-on with the Nothing Phone 3 also revealed plenty of clever touches and design choices that help it stand out.

I’m still on the fence about the new Glyph Matrix system, and I’ll have to wait and see if the camera array truly competes. Still, Nothing OS 3.5 is polished and streamlined, and with five years of OS updates plus seven years of security patches, you can keep this phone just as long as any competitor.

Could Nothing have priced the Phone 3 at $699 instead? Perhaps — but that would mean more compromises, pushing it further from the flagship market it’s aiming for.

Would you be happy to lose Gorilla Glass protection, skip IP68 certification, drop the telephoto camera, shave off some support years, or settle for a mid-range chip just to save a bit? If so, you might as well already grab the very affordable Phone 3a Pro.

My point is this: $799 might not be an outright bargain, but it’s competitive at the very least, and could be great value if you prioritize the specs that Nothing has focused on.

If undercutting the big players sounds familiar, that’s because Carl Pei has been here before, back in his OnePlus days. Nothing’s first flagship is certainly built in the same spirit as those golden years — turning heads with bold design choices while pulling few punches on the fundamentals.

Ironically, if there’s one phone that stops the Nothing Phone 3 from running away with the US value crown it’s the OnePlus 13. Yes, it’s $899, but that extra cash buys some serious upgrades.

Is $100 extra worth jumping to a Snapdragon 8 Elite, larger and superior camera sensors, an even bigger 6,000mAh battery, and a more sophisticated, mainstream design? Well, in my opinion, it absolutely is; the OnePlus 13 is the best phone from the brand in years and arguably the best smartphone you can buy without spending a grand.

Of course, the battle is much tougher outside the US, with Xiaomi, vivo, and others throwing far more hardware at the wall for similar or even cheaper prices than Apple, Google, and Samsung. Global buyers have a harder job deciding whether Nothing’s extra features justify the cost, and I think that’ll boil down to whether you buy into the novelty.

Still, just because the OnePlus 13 edges it out on pure specs doesn’t mean the Nothing Phone 3 lacks merit or is overpriced. Not unlike Google’s Pixel series and its software-first approach, the Phone 3 is priced fairly for what it offers — even if that offer is a little more unconventional.

As we’ve covered, it has the hardware to stand toe-to-toe with the big three while providing more storage right out of the box and a bigger battery. A comparable 256GB Galaxy S25 runs $860, which looks steep by comparison. Throw in the Glyph, Essential Key, and OS touches, and you have a unique experience that doesn’t look overpriced to me.

If it ever drops to $699 or equivalent regional pricing, the Nothing Phone 3 will be an absolute steal. But that doesn’t mean you should sleep on it at $799.