I exploit a Pixel telephone as my day by day driver, however I wage a relentless warfare towards AI options Google is satisfied I would like. I do not discover Gemini a helpful addition to my day by day life, and the advantages are tainted by the influence of AI on the setting and jobs.
That being mentioned, I’ve acknowledged that many individuals, together with different writers at AP, discover that AI is a useful instrument. However till Nothing got here alongside, I did not assume I’d ever be part of their ranks.
Nothing’s Cellphone 3 has sparked animated dialogue over its asymmetrical cameras, Glyph Matrix, value, and recent interpretation of the time period “flagship telephone.”
Nevertheless, the Cellphone 3’s AI options have generated comparatively little protection. It’s because they really feel like probably the most boring a part of the telephone, and that is the very best factor about them.
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Nothing Cellphone 3 hands-on: The last word expression of Nothingness
Nothing calls the Cellphone 3 its first true flagship telephone, and it is proper, however that is no spec-heavy tremendous telephone. It is one thing higher
The Cellphone 3 was delayed to include stronger AI options
Nothing approached AI with care and consideration for the shopper
The Cellphone 3 was initially supposed for launch in 2024, however Nothing delayed the discharge to develop its AI capabilities. As somebody who was cheerfully having fun with Nothing’s silence round AI, I discovered the announcement disheartening.
AI spoiled my Pixel expertise. Wouldn’t it additionally spoil the enjoyable and thrilling lineup of units Nothing had constructed its model on?
Nevertheless, there have been clear indicators Nothing wasn’t frantically attempting to play catch-up with Google. Carl Pei, founder and CEO of Nothing, repeatedly said his scepticism of the hype round AI in smartphones.
In January 2025, his primary prediction for the yr was that customers would get sick of listening to about new AI options of their telephones.
This delayed method to integrating AI in its telephones, and the founder’s perception that AI ought to remedy a client drawback, not “change the world” or “revolutionize smartphones,” led to 2 options: Important Area and Important Search.
They don’t seem to be the one AI options on the Cellphone 3, however they present that Nothing is on the facet of the patron in relation to AI
Nothing’s AI options remedy present issues
AI options may also help, however solely when approached rigorously
Many AI merchandise really feel like options to issues that do not exist. Google launched AI into its climate app so it will let you know whether or not you wanted a coat or not. A unbelievable thought, had been it not for the present invention of home windows.
Gemini’s skill to interpret movies is inferior to simply watching it, and the Pixel Studio’s skill to generate poor-quality AI photos is a function no one requested for.
It is all there to generate the ambiance of innovation that tech shares thrive on, but it surely’s the patron that loses out after we purchase units with damaged or half-finished software program.
The Nothing Cellphone 3 launches with a swathe of AI options, however two stand out as its flagship instruments.
The primary, Important Area, has been round for the reason that Cellphone 3a. Right here you’ll be able to retailer screenshots, notes, and reminders like all of your favourite recording and note-taking apps rolled into one. The AI then analyzes them and offers you useful reminders and summaries.
For instance, you’ll be able to take screenshots of upcoming live performance dates, then Important Area will ship you reminders to purchase tickets nearer to the date.
Whether or not it wants a devoted {hardware} button is one other story, however Important Area itself is a straightforward, highly effective, and helpful AI instrument.
Important Search is a supercharged model of the search bar on each Android telephone. It may discover contacts, images, apps, widgets, calendar occasions, recordsdata, and settings. It may additionally reply any query with AI-powered pure language responses.
It is much like my Pixel telephone’s search bar, however Nothing’s integration of AI is extra delicate than Google’s ham-fisted method with Gemini.
Nevertheless, I am much less satisfied concerning the different AI options of the Cellphone 3. AI-generated wallpapers are a enjoyable gimmick at finest, and I belief an AI-powered information bulletin to provide me an correct abstract of the information about as a lot as a five-year-old.
Nonetheless, that is effective. Each telephone I’ve owned has sported just a few options I did not like or use, and in contrast to Google, Nothing does not power them on you.
The Cellphone 3 is designed to unravel issues
The Glyph Matrix has captured the lion’s share of the eye across the Cellphone 3 for good motive.
Changing the long-lasting Glyph Matrix was a daring transfer by Nothing, and Carl Pei’s options that you should use it to decide on who pays for drinks lent it an air of gimmick slightly than a helpful function.
But it additionally sports activities a countdown function for images, a battery life indicator, a compass, and most helpful of all, a clock. You may examine the time on the Cellphone 3 with out changing into distracted by Instagram notifications.
Just like the Glyph Matrix, it is easy to dismiss the AI options of the Cellphone 3 as gimmicks. But I feel Nothing’s restrained method to AI has proven me that AI can discover a house in our telephones.
It will not revolutionize our units, change how we view the world, or, as OpenAI hilariously states in its mission assertion, “empower humanity to maximally flourish within the universe.”
Nevertheless, it might probably remind us of live performance dates and summarize a voice memo. Maybe that is all we’d like it for.