Pixelated rear screen allows Nothing Phone (3) users to play spin the bottle

Consumer-tech startup Nothing has launched a smartphone that it calls "a statement on where we are going as a company", as well as its first over-ear headphones.

Nothing's Phone (3) is a significant design departure from its two predecessors, Phone (1) and Phone (2).

It ditches the "glyph" light display that characterised those products in favour of a new "glyph matrix" – a small pixelated screen in one corner of the reverse side.

Operated via a dedicated button, this micro-LED screen can show app- or person-specific notifications, or enable the user to play with digital "toys".

These range from useful everyday tools, such as a stopwatch and battery indicator, to micro-games like rock, paper, scissors and spin the bottle.

"Now you might be thinking, 'When am I going to use these toys?'" Nothing CEO Carl Pei said at a launch event in London on Tuesday. "And yeah, you know, some of them are just for fun, because we believe that fun also deserves a place in tech too."

Nothing users will be able to create new functions for the glyph matrix via the Nothing Community platform, with a magic eight-ball already co-developed.

Phone (3) also reinterprets the inside-out look that Nothing employs across its product range compared with the brand's previous smartphones.

The back of the phone now features a three-column grid, designed in reference to the three circuit boards inside the phone.

"Phone (3) design builds on an idea that we had ever since the Phone (1), turning the internal logic of the phone into something visual and emotional and even architectural," Pei told the event.

As well as improved performance, other changes from previous iterations include the addition of a third, periscope-lens camera, a thinner bezel around the edge of the screen, and a red-dot light on the reverse that flashes during filming.

New artificial intelligence (AI) features have been introduced, including Essential Search – a smart search tool that allows users to look things up without opening an app.

"AI is everywhere right now, but most smartphone AI feels surface level," Pei said. "At Nothing we're taking a different approach. We believe the smartphone is where consumer AI will be the most useful for the foreseeable future."

With its AI tools, the glyph matrix and monochrome operating system, Nothing claims it is seeking to help users do less mindless scrolling.

"Phone (3) is our first true flagship. But what is a flagship for us? It means that it's a clear statement of where we're going as a company, a product that expresses our vision and sets the tone for everything that comes next," said Pei.

Also launched today was the company's first over-ear audio product, Headphone (1), which Nothing developed in collaboration with British audio brand KEF.

"Headphones have three big problems: they look boring, the controls are frustrating, and the sound rarely looks up to the promise," said Pei. "Current designs on the market are uninspiring, and we wanted to create something radically different."

Differently to the oval-shaped ear cup on many headphones, Headphone (1)'s speakers are housed in a rectangular aluminium case.

In keeping with Nothing's see-through design motif, transparent circles mark out the acoustic chambers.

Rather than double- and triple-tap controls, the headphones are operated by a combination of a roller, a paddle and a button.

"The problem with most of the headphones today are that the controls are guesswork," said Pei. "We didn't want that, we wanted to make it a lot more intuitive, physical and satisfying."

London-based Nothing was founded in 2020 with the stated aim of disrupting the consumer-tech industry through a design-focused approach. It has since sold more than nine million devices and generated over $1 billion in revenue, according to the company.

"We've gone from a design-led upstart to a serious challenger in just four years, and we're building for a new generation – a generation that still wants to feel something when they use tech," said Pei. "We're officially entering chapter two by introducing our most ambitious products to date."

Other smartphones recently published on Dezeen include the Fairphone 6, which gives users a dumbphone option, and Infinix's Zero Series Mini Tri-Fold concept, which folds down to the size of a credit card.

The photography is by Nothing.

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