As Nothing has just revealed its latest flagship with the Phone 3, we’re curious to see how it measures up to Samsung’s entry-level Galaxy S25.
Although we’re yet to review the Nothing Phone 3, we gave the Samsung Galaxy S25 a solid four-star rating and hailed the device as a “great, compact Android phone”.
Whether you’re torn between the Nothing Phone 3 and Galaxy S25, or you’re just not sure what separates the flagship Androids, you’re in luck. We’ve compared the two smartphones below, so you can decide which one might suit you best.
Price and Availability
Both the Nothing Phone 3 and Samsung Galaxy S25 are similarly priced, although as the latter is older you are more likely to find a deal for the phone. The Phone 3 is available to pre-order from 4th July 2025, ready for its official release on 15th July 2025, with a starting RRP of £799 / $799 / €799 for its 12GB and 256GB model.
While the Samsung Galaxy S25 does have the same starting RRP of £799 / $799, this is for the 12GB and 128GB handset. The 12GB and 256GB models are slightly more expensive to their Nothing Phone 3 counterpart, at £859 / $859. Having said that, we have seen the price drop to around the £759 / $759 mark before, so it is possible to pick up a deal.
Samsung Galaxy S25 runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy
Although both handsets run on a Qualcomm processor, they differ in their types. While the Nothing Phone 3 runs on the newer Snapdragon 8s Gen 4, the Samsung Galaxy S25 runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy which is custom-made for the entire S25 series.
We were seriously impressed with the Galaxy S25’s performance, with everything running smoothly and offering a slick experience overall. We also never detected any overheating, even during gaming sessions too. Considering Snapdragon 8 Elite powers some of the best Android phones, this is hardly much of a surprise.
While we are yet to review the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset, Mobile Editor Lewis Painter hailed its specs as “not that far off” the likes of the mighty Snapdragon 8 Elite. In fact, he hopes that the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 “could be a game-changer for the mid-range smartphone market” with its performance and battery efficiency closing “the gap between mid-rangers and flagships.”
Nothing Phone 3 includes the Glyph Matrix
The Nothing Phone 3’s unique Glyph Matrix is what separates it from just about any other handset on the market. Designed to reduce screen time while keeping users informed, users will know when they get a notification or alert as certain micro-LEDs on the back will light up.
Nothing is also introducing Glyph Toys with the Phone 3 which shows tools and even micro-games like Rock Paper Scissors at the rear of your phone. These tools also include a Digital Clock, Battery Indicator, Stopwatch and more.
Naturally, the S25 looks pretty dull in comparison. Even so, it is available in a choice of four colour-ways: Mint, Icy Blue, Silver Shadow and Navy which arguably gives the handset some character.
Nothing Phone 3
Samsung Galaxy S25
They both have lots of AI features
Both handsets offer at least some AI tools, however they differ with their exact offerings. The Phone 3 includes Essential Space which uses AI to organise your notes, files and content into one handy place, while the new Flip to Record tool makes its debut with the handset too. Simply long-press the Essential Space shortcut, the Essential Key button, and turn your phone face down and the Phone 3 will transcribe and summarise meetings for you.
The S25 boasts Galaxy AI which is among one of the most vast AI toolkits around. Galaxy AI includes tools such as Live Translation, Circle to Search, Now Brief which lets you know any useful information like the weather or news headlines and many more.
That’s not where the Galaxy AI prowess ends. It’s also fitted with heaps of editing tools such as Audio Eraser which removes or quietens noises in your videos, Generative Edit to move or erase objects from your photos and Writing Assist for generating natural message responses.
Nothing Phone 3 has three 50MP lenses
Both handsets sport three rear lenses, however they differ with their exact offerings. While both have a 50MP main lens, the S25 has a 12MP ultrawide and 10MP telephoto yet the Phone 3 has a 50MP ultrawide and 50MP periscope instead.
We concluded that the main camera of the S25 was easily the best performer, offering good detail and dynamic range across all lighting conditions. Although the ultrawide is solid, it does lack autofocus and the telephoto sensor allows you to get closer to a subject but lacks detail.
Nothing promises the Phone (3)’s main sensor lets in 44% more light than its predecessor, the Phone (2), and its Periscope lens offers a 6x lossless zoom with 60x AI Super Res Zoom too.
Galaxy S25 promises seven years of Android updates
Firstly, Nothing’s promise of five years of Android and seven years of security updates should not be sniffed at. However, Samsung undoubtedly leads the way with its longevity promise, with at least seven years of both Android and security updates guaranteed for the Samsung Galaxy S25 series.
In fact, alongside Google’s Pixel 9 series, Samsung is among the most generous in the industry for its updates.
Early Verdict
Both the Nothing Phone 3 and Samsung Galaxy S25 are solid flagship options. If you want to play around with more AI tools, then the Galaxy S25 is undoubtedly a better choice here as it’s packed with heaps of features that promise to make your life that bit easier.
However, the Phone 3 is certainly a unique offering and still sports some AI tools, just not nearly as much as its counterpart.
We’ll be sure to update this once we’ve spent enough time with the Nothing Phone 3 to draw a more conclusive decision.
