The phone has a grid design with three columns, representing the flexible printed circuit boards underneath. The triple-camera system is laid out along the top of these grids with the Glyph Matrix display—more on that in a second. It’s an unusual style that breaks from circular or rectangular camera modules in most phones.
The Glyph Matrix is an evolution of Nothing’s famous Glyph LEDs on prior phones. Originally designed to light up when notifications arrived, it also used the lights creatively to show how much time was left on a timer, or how close your Uber driver was to your location. The new Glyph Matrix can do all that and more, because it acts more like a display.
Nothing showed off several new “Glyph Toys” launching with the phone, like the ability to see a pixelated preview of yourself so you can take selfies with the rear cameras. There’s also a spin-the-bottle game, a Magic 8 Ball that gives you an answer when you shake the phone, and even a game of rock-paper-scissors. Intuitively, there’s a little touch-sensitive circle below you can use to cycle through these modes, instead of having to constantly switch back and forth to the settings menu on the phone’s front screen. Nothing has launched a software developer kit, so anyone can create Glyph Toys for the phone.
Another fun feature is the little red square on the back. Originally on the Phone (2a), it’s now more than just a design accent. It lights up when you’re recording a video, just like a recording light.
The phone may not have the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Elite, instead opting for the slightly lesser Snapdragon 8s Gen 4, but it still should deliver flagship-grade performance, and the rest of the specs rival competitors, especially at the $799 price. Especially notable is the use of a silicon-carbon battery, a relatively new technology that enables denser batteries in thinner designs. While it’s slightly thicker than its predecessor (by 0.2 mm), the 5,150 mAh is decently larger than the 4,700 mAh in the Phone (2).
Courtesy of Julian Chokkattu
