Here’s the real problem with Nothing’s quirky Phone 3 design

I love Nothing’s semi-transparent design language. Its debut Phone 1 was the first Android phone in a long time that I can remember being just as happy to look at as I was to use (if only because it didn’t work in the US). Then, I watched Nothing refine its style over a few generations of mid-range and budget phones, reworking its Glyph interface and camera placement until it found a combination so cute that Wall-E might fall in love with it.

Now, though, I think it’s jumped the shark. Its Phone 3 design looks like nothing (no pun intended) I’ve ever seen before, let alone tried to protect. It has camera sensors, buttons, and a revamped Glyph Matrix scattered across the back panel, and I’ve never been so scared to go without a phone case. Here’s why that’s such a big problem.

Like I said, the Nothing Phone 3 is one-of-a-kind. It doesn’t make a single traditional design choice other than having a USB-C port on the bottom and buttons on the sides. Other than that, though, chaos. The cameras sit as far apart as boys and girls at a middle school dance, and the circular Glyph Matrix feels like I should be able to raise a Tamagotchi on it.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a neat look. I wasn’t sure I’d like it at first based on Nothing’s trickle of teasers and leaks, but the finished product tickles my design-loving brain just right. However, just because I like the look of something doesn’t make it a great idea. I loved the idea of Nike’s Adapt Auto Max — a shoe that you could only tighten if charged via a proprietary pad — but I would never buy one because it was in no way practical.

Unfortunately, that’s how I’m starting to think about the Phone 3. At times, it feels like Nothing’s engineers realized they could, but didn’t stop to think if they should. They didn’t consider that spreading out the camera sensors and relocating the Glyph Matrix would open the Phone 3 to easier damage, just as long as the finished product looked cool. Like a shoe with moving electronic parts is more susceptible to wear and tear, a phone with too many cluttered corners feels like it’s living dangerously in an adventure-filled world.

And yes, I know that the now-iconic camera bar that graces the back of every Google Pixel is a less-than-practical choice too. It’s a huge bump that nearly splits any would-be phone case in half. However, it also steps in where a case would have trouble, putting a thick metal frame around the cameras and using tough glass to protect all the sensors simultaneously. The Phone 3 doesn’t.

Its telephoto sensor is so alarmingly close to one edge of the Gorilla Glass Victus back panel. At the same time, the Glyph interface bumps right up against the other edge, making it impossible to find a “safe” edge on which to drop your phone (not that I recommend dropping your phone to begin with). It took me years to stop stressing about keeping my phone perfectly clean and immaculately protected, but Nothing has brought back all those worries in such a short period.

I hear you, dear reader, yelling at me from the other side of your screen, telling me to put my Nothing Phone 3 in a case. I get it — it’s exactly what I should do. After all, we love to recommend phone cases for any and all devices that come across our desks because the best phone is a working, unbroken one. However, I can’t do that right now, and it’s not my fault — not even a little bit.

Instead, it’s Nothing’s fault. It’s Spigen’s fault. It’s Mous’ fault. It’s Nomad’s fault. Right now, I can blame every case maker for making me live dangerously with my Nothing Phone 3, because none of them has decided to offer a third-party (or first-party) case for protection. Of course, I get it — it’s tough to make a highly specific case for an unusual-looking phone that may or may not move decent volume in the US. And yet, if just one of them were to make a case for the Phone 3, it would automatically claim 100% of the market, and I would recommend it without hesitation.

Well, if it were a normal enough case, anyway. There is one case — er, bumper — er, frame — er, something to protect the Phone 3. Arc decided to take the plunge and launch its two-piece Arc Pulse for the Phone 3, making it the only option for the most cautious of Nothing fans to protect their phones.

Unfortunately, I have a hard time trusting it. I can get on board with a one-piece case, or even a two-piece case that covers my entire phone, but the Arc Pulse doesn’t do that. Instead, it’s more like the stereotypically impractical female armor in RPGs, somehow getting smaller and less protective the more you level up. I’d still be much too scared to let my Phone 3 take a tumble, only for its minimalist aluminum shell to bounce off and leave my phone cracked on the sidewalk.

So, it’s time for Nothing itself to step up. If nobody else will protect its first proper flagship-ish device, the call will have to come from inside the house. It already makes cases for the Phone 3a and Phone 3a Pro, and the Phone 3 costs as much as its siblings put together. If Nothing leads the charge, maybe top phone case brands will follow, but I need someone to take that first step.