Why I'm not worried about the Nothing Phone 3's big price increase

The Nothing Phone 3, Nothing’s first all-out flagship smartphone, has been in a couple of big headlines this week. Yesterday, Nothing confirmed that the smartphone will launch on July 1. And the day before that, a price leak suggested the Nothing Phone 3 will start at a steep $800 in the US.

The initial knee-jerk reaction to that price isn’t a good one. Nothing’s most expensive phone to date is the Nothing Phone 2, which launched (and is still priced) at $600. A $200 increase to go from the Nothing Phone 2 to the Nothing Phone 3 might seem outrageous, but the more I think about it, the more I’m OK with it.

Other flagships aren’t any cheaper

While the Nothing Phone 3 can be viewed as a direct successor to the Nothing Phone 2, it’s important to understand that Nothing is approaching the Phone 3 differently. Where the Nothing Phone 2 was a decidedly mid-tier value flagship phone, Nothing is already referring to the Nothing Phone 3 as a “true flagship phone.”

We still don’t know what exact specs/features the Nothing Phone 3 will have, but let’s take Nothing at its word. If the Nothing Phone 3 really is a “true” flagship as the company claims, how will these rumored US prices compare to other flagships in the country?

The latest price leak suggests that the $800 base configuration of the Nothing Phone 3 will feature 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Meanwhile, the $900 model will include 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

Compared to other phones with similar RAM/storage amounts, it’s immediately apparent just how much cheaper the Nothing Phone 3 would still be, even with the higher sticker price.

A Google Pixel 9 with 256GB of storage, for example, costs $900 — $100 more than the base Nothing Phone 3. A fairer comparison would potentially be the Pixel 9 Pro, which costs $1,100 for its 256GB storage variant ($300 more than the 256GB Nothing Phone 3).

What about compared to flagship Samsung phones? A 256GB Galaxy S25 retails for $860, while a 256GB Galaxy S25 Plus costs $1,000 — that’s $60 and $200 more expensive than the Nothing Phone 3, respectively.

There’s OnePlus to think about, too. Like the Nothing Phone 3 rumor, the OnePlus 13 also has 256GB of storage as the default, and at $900, it’s $100 pricier than what we expect the Nothing Phone 3 to cost.

Viewed this way, an $800 Nothing Phone 3 doesn’t sound too bad at all. Is it a lot more expensive compared to the Nothing Phone 2? Absolutely. But if we’re to view it as any other 2025 flagship smartphone, it’s hard for me to look at an $800 Nothing Phone 3 and be too upset with it.

We know what Nothing is capable of

Of course, this is all based on the assumption that Nothing will actually deliver a flagship-grade smartphone with the Nothing Phone 3. The company says it will, but with no concrete specs or features leaked so far, it’s hard to get a good idea of what to expect.

That said, Nothing has shown us what it can achieve in the low-to-mid-tier smartphone segment, and time and time again, Nothing has impressed us.

The Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro are the most recent and best examples of this. Priced at $379 and $459, respectively, they’re very much budget-minded handsets. Even so, they have some of the most unique smartphone designs on the market, surprisingly capable cameras, excellent software, and reliable battery life and performance. We gave both phones 4/5 review scores and Recommended badges, too.

And it’s not just the Nothing Phone 3a series that’s impressed us. We’ve been equally happy with the CMF Phone 2 Pro, the Nothing Phone 2a Plus, and most other Nothing smartphones. If Nothing has wowed us this much with phones ranging from $280 to $600, imagine what it’ll be able to do with an $800 phone.

The prospect of a “true flagship” Nothing smartphone is exciting, and the fact that we may get it for considerably less than competing Android flagships is just icing on the cake. That’s why the $800 price rumor isn’t scaring me away, and I don’t think it should frighten you, either.