If Nothing Phone (3) isn’t a ‘true flagship,’ is Google Pixel?

Ben Schoon | Jul 6 2025 - 9:00 am PT

Nothing’s new Phone (3) is the company’s self-described first “true flagship,” a designation that, personally, I think is a mistake. But it also brings up the question, if the Nothing Phone (3) isn’t a “true flagship,” is Google’s Pixel?

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In my eyes, the Nothing Phone (3) is, in many ways, just another take on the formula Google has been using with the Pixel for the past few years. A high-end device that cares less about raw horsepower, and more about just delivering a focused and excellent experience. Google has had its missteps, certainly, but it’s working out pretty well.

Nothing Phone (3) feels as though it’s trying something similar.

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The Phone (3) isn’t as powerful as other high-end devices on paper, but it puts together a package that’s good at its job and more affordable than a lot of alternatives. Yet, I think Nothing has made a mistake here.

Nothing is marketing the Phone (3) as its first “true flagship.” That tagline has been used throughout teasers, the launch, and basically everywhere. Put simply, I don’t think that it’s quite true. Nothing is delivering, much like Pixel, a solid experience that puts the spec war aside, but it’s doing so in a way that takes away that “true” flagship title. Namely, the lower-resolution display and chipset are the main caveats here.

But, at the same time, Google also has a lesser chipset compared to the other flagships of the Android world. Pixel phones have been using Google’s custom Tensor chipset for the past few years, a chip that focuses on Google’s priorities over raw horsepower. Google’s approach, though, feels less compromising than Nothing’s to me, and it really just comes down to the marketing. Google is playing ball with high-end flagships, but it’s not demanding that title. Rather, Google quietly acknowledged for a long time that, no, it’s not trying to directly compete with the likes of “true” flagships by selling the Pixel series for a lower price. That cost has crept up in recent years as Google has closed that gap, though.

To me, I think of Pixels as flagship phones not because they have crazy specs, but because they’re the best Google has to offer, and are among the most capable smartphones you can buy. Flagships aren’t necessarily about what you’re getting on paper, but about the lack of compromise in the overall experience. If that weren’t the case, then you couldn’t call the base Galaxy S25 a flagship, for example.

Google’s formula for a flagship just happens to be a little different from Samsung, OnePlus, and some other Android brands.

Nothing, to its own right, can also do that. But demanding to be called a “true flagship” only invokes unnecessary expectations, and it has already done that before reviews even go live.

The “true flagship” schtick started before the chipset for Phone (3) was announced, leading almost everyone to think this device would be packing a Snapdragon 8 Elite. As soon as Nothing announced that the actual chip would be the considerably-less-powerful Snapdragon 8s Gen 4, a lot of that excitement immediately evaporated. Had Nothing never called this a “true flagship” and instead simply called it “our most powerful phone ever” or even recycled the tagline of Carl Pei’s previous venture, “flagship killer,” I think we’d see a lot more excitement out there. This feels like a “Never Settle” situation, where an overpromise is going to lead to Nothing’s own words coming back to bite them.

Hands-on: Nothing Phone (3) is the start of a new chapter, but it’s not a ‘true flagship’

But what do you think? Is Nothing making a mistake with its branding? Are Google Pixel phones actually flagship devices? Let’s discuss!

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