Anticipate a sleeker design for Apple’s upcoming iPhone set to launch on Tuesday. The tech giant aims to introduce the slimmest iPhone yet at its annual product event, themed “Awe-Dropping.” The showcase will take place at the Steve Jobs Theatre located at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters, starting at 10 AM.
The iPhone 17 lineup will comprise standard, Pro, and Pro Max variants, expected to feature a new member, the iPhone Air. This latest iteration of the iPhone has been dubbed Apple’s lightest flagship, reminiscent of its Slim MacBook laptops, according to industry observers. Apple has not refuted any speculations regarding future models.
Alongside mobile devices, Apple is set to unveil updates for the Apple Watch Series 11 and AirPods. There are whispers that the new AirPods may include live translation features, enabling Apple to keep pace with its rival, Google, which introduced a similar feature in its Pixel Buds a few years back.
Additionally, Apple is likely to announce launch dates for its upcoming mobile and desktop operating systems, iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe.
The tariffs imposed by Donald Trump are looming over the debut of the new product, potentially impacting the iPhone’s intricate global supply chain and leading to significant price increases for consumers looking to upgrade. Nevertheless, CEO Tim Cook has managed to evade predictions of a $2,000 iPhone lifespan, relocating much of Apple’s production from China to India and dispatching hundreds of tons of iPhones to the U.S. ahead of the tariffs’ implementation date.
Investors and iPhone users are keenly observing discussions around Apple Intelligence, a set of features introduced in October 2024, which has garnered mixed reactions concerning AI integration on the iPhone. Last year’s announcements promised a revamp of Siri, which has yet to materialize.
During the earnings call in July, Cook noted, “we’re making solid strides towards a more personalized Siri,” and affirmed its release for the following year. Reports suggest Apple is in talks with Google to enhance Siri utilizing the latter’s Gemini AI framework. Bloomberg made a similar shift when they restructured Safari’s search engine.
Wall Street analysts perceive Apple as trailing behind in artificial intelligence competitiveness, especially against major players like Google in Silicon Valley.
Phone 3 isn’t your typical London device; it’s unique and playful, encouraging users to rethink their allegiance to Samsung or Apple.
As the brand’s inaugural high-end Android in several years, it encompasses everything a flagship phone should offer. It particularly distinguishes itself with its back design, featuring a smooth, dot-matrix-inspired interface along with a distinctive LED screen.
Starting at £799 (799 Euros/$799/$1,509), it’s priced double that of Phone 3 and will directly compete with the Samsung Galaxy S25, Google Pixel 9, and iPhone 16.
The back screen showcases notifications including icons, battery or volume indicators, and WhatsApp messages. Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
Previously, a semi-transparent design was introduced with Phone 1 in 2022. However, for Phone 3, these glyflights have evolved into a compact round matrix of LEDs in the top right corner of the back to exhibit icons, animations, and patterns.
This feature serves for basic notifications and can now showcase “toys” for unique experiences like the Magic Eight Ball, a stopwatch, or the Spin the Bottle game, activated with a touch-sensitive button on the back. More practically, it can show time, volume, charging status, or persistent icons for selected notifications or apps.
From the front, Phone 3 resembles an ordinary smartphone. Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
The rest of the rear design provokes mixed reactions with its unconventional arrangement of shapes and elements, likely displeasing symmetry enthusiasts.
The display, however, is a standard 6.7-inch OLED screen with a slim bezel and a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. Although it can be reflective on sunny days, it remains crisp, vibrant, and bright.
Connectivity: 5G, eSIM, WiFi 7, NFC, Bluetooth 6, GNSS
Water Resistance: IP68
Size: 160.6 x 75.6 x 9mm
Weight: 218g
Snappy but Warm
Using the Glyph Matrix screen as a viewfinder requires significant effort to align your shots accurately. Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8S Gen 4 chip, this version is a notch below the latest Snapdragon 8 elite processors found in most top-tier Android phones. While daily use reveals no performance lags, it may heat uncomfortably during intensive graphic tasks.
The battery life isn’t class-leading, offering around 40 hours under heavy 5G use. Most users will find it necessary to charge every couple of days with moderate usage, a reflection of Phone 2’s capabilities from two years ago.
With a compatible USB-C power adapter of 65W or more (not included), it can reach full charge in approximately 55 minutes, hitting 50% in just 19 minutes. Additionally, 15W wireless charging is available.
Nothing OS3.5
The OS is characterized by a stylized appearance with dot-matrix elements and is quite customizable. Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
There’s little information regarding last year’s Android 15, but this version features a distinctive dot-matrix style that is user-friendly. Users wanting traditional colors for app identification may find the default Android styles more appealing.
Overall, the software operates smoothly with standard Google services included, alongside apps like The Weather and Voice Recorder. The Essential Space app, which first debuted on Phone 3A Pro, now incorporates audio recordings with glyph screen animations and cloud-based transcription services. Essential Search offers an AI-enhanced search for content across the device, providing assistance with basic queries as well.
Essential Space compiles screens, notes, and recordings, leveraging AI for understanding and summarizing content with mixed success. Composite: Samuel Gibbs/Guardian
It may not be the most exciting upgrade to Android 16 anticipated in late 2025, but it will provide five years of version updates and seven years of security updates, aligning with the top-tier offerings from Google and Samsung. Notably, applications like Netflix currently do not support HDR playback on Phone 3 due to certification constraints that limit them to SDR content.
Camera
The Nothing Camera app is relatively straightforward but includes most of the essential features for photography. Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
Nothing’s camera setup boasts three 50MP cameras on the back and a matching 50MP front-facing camera. The primary camera excels at producing detailed images, while the 3x optical zoom manages to preserve great detail and sharpness in well-lit scenes. It supports a zoom of up to 6x with the sensor and a digital zoom of 10x. The Ultra Wide Camera, however, is the weakest link – while it provides a great field of view, it lacks detail when zoomed in and distorts the edges of the frame.
It produces stunning photos in bright outdoor conditions, but transitioning between the three cameras can result in inconsistent color balance and tones, which is less than ideal. Indoor shooting can lead to odd gray tones under varying lighting.
The selfie camera offers commendable results, capturing details well, while the telephoto camera features a macro mode for close shots from around 10cm away, adding an element of fun.
While the Phone 3’s camera can produce good images, its inconsistencies prevent it from reaching the heights of its competitors in this price range.
Sustainability
The optical fingerprint scanner located at the bottom of the screen is quick and precise, though it sits low on the display. Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
The battery retains at least 80% of its original capacity over the span of 1,400 full charge cycles. The devices are generally repairable throughout the UK.
Crafted from recycled materials including aluminum, copper, plastic, steel, and other elements, it comprises 17.6% recycled content by weight. The associated carbon footprint equates to 53.2kg of CO2. The company has released a sustainability report.
Price
The Nothing Phone 3 starts at £799 (799 Euros/$799/$1,509) with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
In comparison, the Phone 3A Pro is priced at £394, the Google Pixel 9 Pro at £999, the Samsung Galaxy S25+ at £999, the Samsung S25 Edge at £1,099, and the OnePlus 13 at £899.
Verdict
Phone 3 is a remarkable offering from Nothing, though it falls short of being an exceptional Android device. It’s undoubtedly more intriguing than its competitors, but one must genuinely desire something different to justify its appeal, considering there are better-performing options at this price point.
The software experience is strong, being fluid, customizable, and well-optimized. While it may not utilize the latest Android version, it offers 7 years of security updates and 5 years of version upgrades. The glyph screen is a fresh take, and the translucent back design is captivating, although it may divide opinions. The performance and battery life are solid, though perhaps not striking.
The camera’s inconsistencies signal that there’s room for improvement, but the potential of its AI tools offers some exciting prospects, despite still being rather basic.
For those who are looking for something a bit quirky, Phone 3 is an intriguing choice.
Cons: The camera exhibits inconsistency and lacks competitive edge, while battery life could be better. The AI features are not cutting-edge, and the asymmetrical design may not appeal to everyone.
The Glyph Matrix screen is a clever concept, packed with fun and customizable elements for various applications, contacts, and notifications. Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
Paleontologists have examined the 183 million-year-old Pleciosaurus skeleton from the early Jurassic Posidonia shale in Southern Germany with well-preserved skin traces around the tail and front flippers.
Reconstruction of Jurassic Plesiosaurus from Posidonian Shale in Southern Germany. Image credit: Joschua Knüppe.
Plesiosaurs (Greek “near”) is a symbolic group of Mesozoic marine reptiles with a rich history of evolution.
These creatures roamed the vast Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous seas between 235 and 66 million years ago.
They had a wide, flat body and a short tail, a long neck, and four long propulsive flippers that they used to “fly” through the water.
Their teeth were cone-shaped, sturdy, sharp, robust, ideal for stabbing and killing large animals.
Pleciosaurus fossils have been found on all continents on Earth, with important discoveries in Australia, Europe and North America.
However, it is very rare to associate with fossilized soft tissues.
“Fossilized soft tissues such as skin and internal organs are extremely rare,” said Miguel Marx, Ph.D. A student at Lund University.
“We used a wide range of techniques to identify smooth skin in the tail area and scales along the rear edge of the flipper.”
“This provided unparalleled insight into the appearance and biology of these long, repeating reptiles.”
Compare Jurassic Plesiosaurus specimens from Posidonia shales in Southern Germany. Image credit: Marx et al. , doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.01.001.
In their study, Marx and his colleagues analyzed well-preserved plesiosaurus from the world-famous early Jurassic Posidonia shale (Posidonienskihoefer Formation) in Southern Germany.
“Our results reveal an unusual combination of smooth, scaly skin on various parts of the body,” they said.
“We believe this variation could be related to a variety of functions. Pleciosaurus had to swim efficiently to catch animals like fish and squid, which is smooth and fluid. It was made easier by the mechanical skin.”
“But we had to move across the rough seabed.
“Our findings help us create a more accurate reconstruction of our lives for Plesioasurs, which has been extremely difficult since it was first studied over 200 years ago,” Marx said. Ta.
“Also, well-preserved German fossils really highlight the soft tissue potential that provides valuable insight into the biology of these long but animals.”
“Apart from the smooth skin and scale mosaics, it was an incredible moment to visualize cells in thin sections of fossilized plesiosaurus skin,” he added.
“When I saw skin cells that had been stored for 183 million years, I was shocked. It was like seeing modern skin.”
Team's result This week I'll be appearing in the journal Current Biology.
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Miguel Marx et al. Jurassic Plesiosaurus skin, scales and cells. Current Biology Published online on February 6th, 2025. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2025.01.001
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