Nothing has joined the list of smartphone makers embarrassed by fake camera samples. In New Zealand, in-store demo units of the Nothing Phone (3) displayed five photos under the caption “Judge for yourself. Here’s what our community has captured with Phone (3)”. Here they are:
The problem is that none of them were taken with a Nothing phone. The shots – a window portrait, a car headlight, a glass, a woman in a scarf, and a spiral staircase – all came from a stock photography marketplace. One of the images was even confirmed by its creator to have been shot with a Fujifilm camera in 2023. Nothing’s co-founder Akis Evangelidis admitted the stock photos were meant as placeholders and described the blunder as an oversight that would be corrected. Still, it was enough to spark plenty of backlash online.
Re the Phone (3) live demo units (LDU) in some stores using stock imagery – let me explain. An initial version of the LDU needs to be submitted with placeholders around 4 months before launch, to be implemented and tested as we ramp up towards mass production. Once we enter mass…
— Akis Evangelidis (@AkisEvangelidis) August 27, 2025
The camera samples game
Here’s the truth: you really shouldn’t care too much about official photo samples in the first place. Every single manufacturer does this, it’s part of The Game, but take them with a pinch of salt.Even when the images are real, they are usually taken in the most ideal circumstances possible – professional lighting setups, carefully staged models. Sure, technically they show what the phone can achieve, but in reality you’re not shooting your cat’s dunce face in your poor lit living room under studio lights.
You’re snapping a quick picture in dim conditions, or capturing a street shot on the move. That gap between controlled conditions and daily use is massive, which is why I never take promotional photos as proof of real-world performance. Camera samples should only be viewed as a showcase of potential, not a guarantee of results.
If you want to know how a phone really performs, you have to wait for reviews or get hands-on yourself. Nothing got caught, and rightly so, but in truth, relying on these photos has always been misleading.
What’s the truth about the Nothing Phone (3), then?
Let’s see how good the Nothing Phone (3) camera is, then, phony photo samples or not.
The device comes with a cool setup:
- 50 MP main camera with a large 1/1.3-inch sensor and bright f/1.68 lens
- Zoom with 70mm focal length that supports up to 60x AI-assisted zoom, 50 MP, too
- Capable 50 MP 114-degree ultrawide camera
- 50 MP selfie camera with 4K recording support
In our in-house tests, it delivered colorful photos with a wide dynamic range and decent detail. Occasionally, HDR processing felt too aggressive, and there were mild traces of oversharpening, but overall the phone produced pleasant, shareable images.Zoom shots held up well up to around 10x, with quality dropping gradually at higher levels. While not class-leading, the Phone (3) performed consistently enough to land in the upper range of camera scores.
When compared to rivals, the story changes.
Against the OnePlus 13, the Nothing falls behind in nearly every category. Both offer triple 50 MP setups, but the OnePlus produces cleaner detail, better dynamics, and more pleasing colors across main, zoom, and portrait shots, as well as superior selfies.
Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Plus also outscored the Nothing in our testing, particularly in video quality, where Samsung delivered sharper footage with fewer artifacts.
Still, the Nothing Phone (3) managed to hold its own in pure photography. In fact, it produced more attractive results in certain scenarios, like bright sunlit scenes and indoor contrast-heavy shots where the Galaxy appeared washed out.
Overall, while it lags behind the strongest rivals in video and fine detail, the Nothing Phone (3) can still deliver competitive results in day-to-day photography.
And no phony photo scandal can change that.
“Iconic Phones” is coming this Fall!
Good news everyone! Over the past year we’ve been working on an exciting passion project of ours and we’re thrilled to announce it will be ready to release in just a few short months.
