A slick design
The Nothing Telephone 3 employs a slick design with a Glyph Matrix display screen on the again that helps you eradicate distractions. Nevertheless it’s greater than that with spectacular specs for an reasonably priced value.
Execs
- Funky, stand out design
- Helpful again Glyph Matrix display screen
- Greater, higher-resolution important display screen
- Greater battery with sooner charging
- Choice for extra storage, RAM
Cons
- Some might not like the larger display screen
- Design is not for everybody
- One fewer yr of Android updates
Outdated trustworthy
The Google Pixel 9 stays probably the greatest reasonably priced Android telephones you should buy with tons of AI goodies by way of Google Gemini integration, spectacular specs, and a basic however appreciated design.
Execs
- Tried, examined, and true to run reliably
- Tons of Google Gemini AI goodies baked in
- Helpful photograph enhancing and seize options
- One further yr of OS and safety updates
Cons
- Entrance digital camera is not as high-res
- Display screen is not as high-res with lesser peak brightness
- Smaller battery, gradual to recharge
- Faucets out at 256GB storage
In the case of reasonably priced premium Android telephones, there are a handful of manufacturers that come to thoughts. Nonetheless, one which has been rising up the ranks recently is Nothing. The British firm based by Carl Pei, co-founder of OnePlus, makes merchandise which can be distinctive in design and which can be discovering their method to the North American market. In reality, the Telephone 3 is considered one of two Nothing units to be formally accessible and on sale within the U.S. from the model, with assured compatibility with all U.S. networks.
So, for those who’re in search of a stable Android telephone that received’t break the financial institution, you could be contemplating the brand new Nothing Telephone 3 and even final yr’s Google Pixel 9. Each are nice selections, however they’re evening and day in some methods. This Nothing Telephone 3 vs. Google Pixel 9 comparability will allow you to determine.
Nothing Telephone 3 vs. Google Pixel 9: Appears to be like and fundamentals
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In the case of appears, there’s little doubt that the Nothing Telephone 3, as with Nothing’s different merchandise, stands out. It employs the corporate’s signature translucent design. Nonetheless, it has a brand new iteration of the Glyph interface referred to as Glyph Matrix, which incorporates a micro LED display screen on the again as an alternative of a collection of LEDs organized throughout the again. That is an precise useful display screen that may subtly present particulars like battery life, stopwatch, mirror, digital clock, photo voltaic clock, and even Bespoke video games.
Like the standard glyph interface present in different Nothing telephones, it additionally gives progress indicators and make contact with notifications to assist reduce distractions. With an SDK printed for the Glyph Matrix, you would possibly see different video games made accessible from third-party corporations that may leverage this again display screen sooner or later.
The telephone is available in white or black with Nothing’s signature transparent-like design and a 6.67-inch versatile AMOLED display screen that boasts 1,260 x 2,800 pixel decision, 120Hz adaptive refresh charge, and as much as 4,500 nits peak brightness for viewability even in direct daylight. Coated with Corning Gorilla Glass 7i, it additionally comes with a pre-applied display screen protector, a pleasant and appreciated contact.
Out there with both 256GB or 512GB storage, the telephone meets IP68 certification for water and mud resistance and comes with a pair of HD mics, stereo audio system, and a fingerprint sensor.
The 5,150mAh battery (5,500mAh in India solely) lasts all day and helps 65W quick wired charging in addition to 15W wi-fi charging. It additionally helps 5W reverse wi-fi charging and seven.5W reverse wired charging, so you should use it to spice up the battery of different appropriate units.
Nothing supplies a good 5 years of Android updates with the Nothing Telephone 3 and a powerful seven years of safety updates. So, you may relaxation assured that this telephone can be supported for a really very long time to come back.
There’s nothing fairly as standout with the Google Pixel 9 in terms of appears, although it’s a horny system with rounded corners and a elegant again with a satin metallic body that Android Central’s Derrek Lee says in his Pixel 9 assessment is “surprisingly comfy to carry.” It is available in Obsidian, Porcelain, Wintergreen, and Peony.
The Google Pixel 9 has a smaller 6.3-inch display screen that boasts a barely decrease decision at 2,424 x 1,080. The refresh charge is equally adaptive, starting from 60 to 120Hz, however it doesn’t attain as excessive a brightness, peaking at 2,700 nits. The display screen is roofed with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, so it’s ultra-durable, particularly mixed with the IP68 ranking and fingerprint-resistant coating.
Get the Google Pixel 9 with solely as much as 256GB storage (there’s a 128GB variant as nicely), so for those who want extra, you’ll need to depend on cloud storage. The battery is smaller, too, at 4,700mAh. Nonetheless, you may lengthen battery life by utilizing the Excessive Battery Saver mode, which might maintain it operating for as much as 4 days.
It helps quick charging and wi-fi charging, in addition to Google’s model of reverse charging referred to as Battery Share. Whereas Lee discovered the telephone lasts by way of a whole workday after which some, he calls the 27W wired charging “unbearably gradual.”
Google is among the leaders in terms of prolonged smartphone help: you’ll get seven years of OS and safety updates, so this telephone isn’t going wherever anytime quickly.
Nothing Telephone 3 vs. Google Pixel 9: The specs
Let’s take a look at the specs of those two telephones in a side-by-side comparability.
|
Class |
Nothing Telephone 3 |
Google Pixel 9 |
|---|---|---|
|
OS |
Nothing OS 3.5 (Android 15) |
Android 14 (upgradable to Android 16) |
|
Colours |
White, Black |
Obsidian, Porcelain, Wintergreen, Peony |
|
Display screen Dimension |
6.67 inches |
6.3 inches |
|
Display screen Decision |
2,800 x 1,260 |
2,424 x 1,080 |
|
Display screen Sort |
AMOLED |
Actua OLED |
|
Refresh Price |
120Hz |
60-120Hz |
|
Processor |
Snapdragon 8.5 Gen 4 |
Google Tensor G4 |
|
RAM |
12GB/16GB |
12GB |
|
Storage |
256GB/512GB (not expandable) |
128GB, 256GB (not expandable) |
|
Cameras |
50MP important, 50MP periscope, 50MP ultra-wide, 50MP entrance |
50MP Octa PD extensive, 48MP ultra-wide, 10.5MP entrance |
|
Audio system |
Stereo Audio system |
Stereo Audio system |
|
Battery |
5,150mAh |
4,700mAh |
|
Wi-fi Charging |
Sure |
Sure |
|
Bluetooth |
6.0 |
5.3 |
|
Mobile |
5G |
5G |
|
Dimension |
6.32 x 2.97 x 0.35 inches |
6 x 2.8 x 0.3 inches |
|
Weight |
218 grams |
198 grams |
Nothing Telephone 3 vs. Google Pixel 9: Options, capabilities, and efficiency
Appears to be like are nicely and good, however how do the 2 telephones carry out?
The Nothing Telephone 3 comes with the Nothing OS 3.5, which is powered by Android 15 and can be updatable later this yr to Android 16 and Nothing OS 4.0. It’s powered by a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor with an AI engine and boasts 12GB RAM with the 128GB model and 16GB RAM with the bigger 256GB possibility. Both method, the telephone ought to be capable to meet your wants for multitasking, cell gaming, and extra.
A neat characteristic is known as Important Area, which organizes and catalogs the whole lot in your telephone, then supplies personalised solutions, summaries, or motion factors. This characteristic leverages the ability of AI, and all of your knowledge is securely despatched to the cloud for processing with full encryption. An actual-time AI standing bar is famous to be coming quickly as nicely.
Because it’s almost a yr previous, the Google Pixel 9 launched with Android 14, however Google has since up to date its telephone to Android 16, because of its new replace schedule, and can maintain it going for six years past that. It comes with a Google Tensor 4 processor and faucets out at 12GB RAM. Lee finds that it will possibly deal with juggling a whole lot of apps with out ever getting heat, even whereas gaming.
Core to Google is the AI expertise, and this telephone isn’t any exception. You get entry to Google Gemini, which might help with the whole lot from enhancing pictures to composing messages and researching data. You get fairly tight safety, too, because of Google VPN, in addition to security options like satellite tv for pc SOS, emergency SOS, and automobile crash detection.
Nothing Telephone 3 vs. Google Pixel 9: How good are the cameras?
Taking pictures is among the issues we like to do with our telephones, so realizing how these two telephones carry out as cameras is vital.
The Nothing Telephone 3 has a 50MP major digital camera, a 50MP periscope digital camera, a 50MP ultra-wide digital camera, and an enormous 50MP entrance digital camera so you may take stunning selfies. The first sensor contains optical picture stabilization (OIS), the periscope digital camera has OIS with 3x optical zoom and 60x extremely zoom, and the front-facing digital camera has a 114-degree field-of-view, very best for group selfies.
It leverages a TrueLens Engine 4, affording options like Extremely XDR, auto tone, portrait optimizer, movement seize mode, evening mode, macro mode, and motion mode. You possibly can document movies as much as 4K decision, together with slo-mo and time-lapse, as nicely.
Since we haven’t but tried out the cameras, we are able to’t converse to the efficiency. Nonetheless, we all know they do include pre-designed presets, which we appreciated in our assessment of the cheaper Nothing Telephone 3a. Keep tuned for our assessment to be taught extra about how the cameras carry out.
We do, nonetheless, have in depth expertise with the Google Pixel 9 cameras, and so they don’t disappoint. It incorporates a 50MP important digital camera with a large sensor and 8x Tremendous Res Zoom, in addition to a 48MP ultra-wide digital camera with macro focus. Nonetheless, the entrance digital camera is simply 10.5MP, a notable weak spot for the telephone.
Lee says all through his assessment course of, the digital camera captured detailed and crisp photographs with great dynamic vary, even in low-light circumstances. Whereas the Google Pixel 9 doesn’t have a telephoto digital camera, Lee says he didn’t actually miss it.
The standout for the cameras with the Google Pixel 9 is all of the AI goodies thrown in for serving to you seize and edit wonderful pictures. This contains Google favorites like Magic Editor, Magic Eraser, Finest Take, and Photograph Unblur. For movies, you may even leverage Audio Magic Eraser for cleansing up background sound.
Nothing Telephone 3 vs. Google Pixel 9: Which must you purchase?
So, now that you recognize extra concerning the Nothing Telephone 3 and have had a refresher on the Google Pixel 9, it’s determination time. When evaluating the Nothing Telephone 3 vs. Google Pixel 9, it actually comes all the way down to design and model choice. The 2 telephones are equal in some ways, together with affordability, options, and specs.
The Nothing Telephone 3 has a leg up on the Google Pixel 9 in just a few methods in terms of specs alone, together with extra RAM and storage with the 512GB version, a bigger and higher-res display screen, greater brightness, an even bigger battery with sooner charging, and a greater entrance digital camera. However these aren’t small particulars; they are often deciding components for some.
The Google Pixel 9, nonetheless, supplies an unmatched AI expertise with Google Gemini, impacting the whole lot from productiveness to leisure and photograph seize. From a contemporary telephone perspective, it’s the perfect worth you’ll discover for an AI-powered telephone at an affordable value.
The Nothing Telephone 3 has, after all, its cool and distinctive design with the standout new Glyph interface. The again display screen could be helpful and allow you to scale back distractions since you may see important particulars with out turning the telephone over to view the primary display screen. The Important Area can also be a useful method to maintain you apprised of issues with out unlocking and diving into different issues on the telephone. The Google Pixel 9 is a horny telephone, however by comparability, it appears strange. With that mentioned, you would possibly want it.
Since each supply seven years of safety updates, you’re secure with both selection in terms of longevity and resale worth. You do get an additional two years of OS upgrades with the Google Pixel 9, however that’s actually just one yr now because the telephone launched final yr.
Backside line: for those who like the concept of being totally different and sporting a cool telephone that may flip heads and spark dialog, the Nothing Telephone 3 has stable specs that rival these of the Google Pixel 9. If you would like one thing less complicated in design that also sports activities spectacular specs at a superb value, and can carry you into the world of AI, the Google Pixel 9 continues to be considered one of the perfect small telephones you should buy.
It is greater than nothing
The Nothing Telephone 3 is greater than only a funky telephone that may flip heads. Packed inside are tons of specs that may delight, lots of which rival the Google Pixel 9 whereas the telephone is obtainable at an analogous value.
It does not disappoint
The Google Pixel 9 stays probably the greatest reasonably priced premium Android telephones you should buy with spectacular specs, built-in AI options, stable battery life, and implausible efficiency.
