Following the launch of the highly anticipated Nothing Phone 3, we’re keen to see how Nothing’s “true flagship” measures up to the similarly priced iPhone 16.
Whether you’re sporting an iPhone 16 and tempted by the Nothing Phone 3, or you’re equally as intrigued to see how the flagships compare, this guide is here to help. We’ve compared our hands-on experiences of both the Nothing Phone 3 and iPhone 16 below.
Keep reading to judge whether you think either handset deserves a spot on our best smartphone list.
Price and Availability
Both the Nothing Phone 3 and iPhone 16 have the same starting RRP of £799/$799, which makes the Phone 3 the most expensive Nothing handset ever launched.
However, it’s worth noting that the cheapest Phone 3 handset has 256GB storage, whereas the cheapest iPhone 16 comes with just 128GB. Having said that, as the iPhone 16 is nearly a year old, it is possible to find a more affordable price.
Design
- Nothing Phone 3 ditches the iconic Glyph Lights for a Glyph Matrix instead
- iPhone 16 has a Camera Control and Action Button
- iPhone 16 is both slimmer and lighter
What has always set a Nothing Phone apart from other handsets is its Glyph Interface, which was designed to reduce screen time while ensuring users know when they receive an important notification.
Nothing, however, has ditched the Interface with the Phone 3 and instead has introduced the Glyph Matrix. A small disc made up of 489 LEDs, the Glyph Matrix is a small display that shows you certain notifications in Nothing’s dot-matrix style.
Also introduced with the Phone 3 is Glyph Toys, which is a suite of useful tools such as Digital Clock, Battery Indicator, Stopwatch and more, all displayed within the Glyph Matrix.
The iPhone 16, on the other hand, looks nearly identical to the iPhone 15, albeit with different colour options and the addition of the Action and Camera Control buttons. The Action button replaces the slider, which toggles the handset from ring to silent, and is completely customisable and acts as a shortcut to different functions.
Found on the bottom right-hand side of the handset is the Camera Control button, which is essentially a shortcut to your Camera app and its accompanying controls.
Speaking of new buttons, the Phone 3 also includes the Essential Key. First debuting in the Phone 3a and 3a Pro, the Essential Key acts as a shortcut to a few Nothing tools, but specifically to Essential Space, which we’ll explain later.
Otherwise, at just 7.8mm thick and weighing 170g, the iPhone 16 is much more compact than the Nothing Phone 3, which is 9mm thick and weighs almost 220g. However, considering the Nothing Phone 3 has a much larger 6.67-inch display, this isn’t surprising.
Winner: iPhone 16
Screen
- Nothing Phone 3 has a 6.67-inch AMOLED display
- iPhone 16 is smaller, with a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display
- iPhone 16 still only supports up to 60Hz refresh rate, whereas Nothing Phone 3 boasts 120Hz
As touched upon earlier, the Nothing Phone 3 has a much larger display than the iPhone 16, but whether this is a pro or a con depends entirely on your own preference. However, we hailed the 6.67-inch AMOLED display of the Phone 3 as one of its strongest features, thanks to its brightness, colour representation and contrast levels.
Where the Phone 3 lets itself down slightly is the lack of LTPO, which means more battery is consumed on static pages. However, it does boast a 120Hz refresh rate, which blows the iPhone 16’s disappointing 60Hz cap away.
Otherwise, the iPhone 16’s 6.1-inch, Super Retina XDR display is unchanged from the iPhone 15, and continues to deliver an impressive screen experience. Although its peak brightness comes slightly short of the Nothing Phone 3, at 2000 nits compared to a whopping 4500 nits, the iPhone 16 is still more than bright enough to be used outdoors.
Winner: Nothing Phone 3
Nothing Phone 3
iPhone 16
Camera
- Nothing Phone 3 is made up of three 50MP rear lenses
- iPhone 16 has a dual camera set-up
- Nothing Phone 3 offers a more inconsistent photography experience
The Phone 3 takes the lead purely in terms of quantity, as it’s made up of four 50MP lenses, which includes the front-facing selfie camera. Comparatively, the iPhone 16 sports a dual camera set-up alongside its selfie lens.
Alongside a main lens, the Phone 3 is fitted with an ultrawide and a periscope zoom lens, and we found the main lens to be the most consistent of them all. While the latter lenses are solid additions, we did find that the zoom in particular could only really max out at 3x, as any further you’ll lose detail and colour.
Having said that, the zoom camera does excel with macro photography, and allows you to get relatively close to small objects.
Otherwise, the iPhone 16 has similar hardware to the iPhone 15, but with a few useful tweaks. Its rear cameras are made up of a 48MP fusion lens and a 12MP ultrawide, which overall manages to take detailed and clear images with a fairly true-to-life colour reproduction. The iPhone 16 also has reduced lens flare compared to its predecessor too.
Unfortunately, there’s no telephoto on offer here, but the 2x in-sensor zoom does a good job of closing the gap. If you do want a zoom lens, then you’ll need to splurge on the iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Finally, we’ve praised the iPhone 16’s video recording ability as being “one of the best video capture experiences around”.
Winner: iPhone 16
Performance
- Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 vs A18 Bionic chip
- Both offer solid performance for everyday use and even gaming
- We found the iPhone 16 could get hot from time to time
It’s worth noting that, despite running on totally different chipsets, both the Phone 3 and iPhone 16 offer a solid and impressive experience.
Powering the Phone 3 is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8s Gen 4, which, although doesn’t quite reach the dizzying heights of the Snapdragon 8 Elite, still delivers a fast, smooth experience for everything from gaming to scrolling.
In fact, we concluded that the Phone 3 offers more than enough to deliver a flagship phone experience, so long as you don’t require the absolute best specs.
The iPhone 16, on the other hand, runs on Apple’s A18 chipset. Despite being bested by the A18 Pro, found in the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, the A18 is a solid performer that isn’t much further behind its more powerful counterpart.
Like the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4, A18 can’t compete with the Snapdragon 8 Elite, but it still offers “a lot of processing bang for your buck”.
Winner: Tie
Software
- NothingOS is an almost entirely bloat-free Android skin
- iPhone 16 runs Apple Intelligence
- iPhone 16 should receive iOS 26 update in the coming months
Arguably, one of the biggest selling points for the iPhone 16 is the fact that it runs the Apple Intelligence toolkit. In reality, how tempting this is will depend on your own preference and AI fondness. While some tools like Image Playground, ChatGPT integration and the new Clean Up tool in Photos are exciting, we’d argue this shouldn’t be the only reason why you opt for an iPhone 16.
However, iOS remains an easy-to-use interface that makes using the iPhone 16 a pleasurable experience. Its iOS 18 update saw new features like the ability to customise icons, while the upcoming iOS 26 launch will see one of the biggest iPhone design overhauls with the introduction of Liquid Glass.
The Phone 3 also sports some AI-powered features, including Essential Space, which is a tool similar to Google’s Pixel Screenshots, and uses AI to organise and summarise your notes and content in one handy place.
There’s also Flip to Record, which enables users to transcribe and summarise meetings simply by long-pressing the Essential Key and turning your phone face down. Similarly, Nothing is also launching the new Essential Search tool, which is a “smart search bar” that allows you to search across your contacts, photos, files and more.
Winner: iPhone 16
Nothing Phone 3
iPhone 16 Apple Intelligence
Battery
- Neither are two-day phones
- Nothing Phone 3 supports 65W wired charging
- Both support 15W wireless charging, with the iPhone 16 benefiting from 25W when paired with a MagSafe charger
While we found the Nothing Phone 3 isn’t quite a two-day battery, its 5150mAh capacity is enough to see you through even the busiest of days. Comparatively, although the iPhone 16 is the least power-efficient of the series, which is mostly down to its lack of ProMotion technology and smaller battery, it still should last all day on a single charge.
Charging speed remains a pain point for the iPhone 16, maxing out at around the 30W mark and taking around an hour and 40 minutes to regain a full charge. The Phone 3, on the other hand, supports a much higher 65W fast charging.
Otherwise, both handsets support 15W wireless charging too, although the iPhone 16 benefits from 25W when using MagSafe chargers.
Winner: Nothing Phone 3
Verdict
Choosing between an Android and an iOS phone is a difficult task, as both have their own pros and cons. Especially in the case of the Nothing Phone 3 and iPhone 16, both are capable performers that sport solid chipsets and a user-friendly interface, too.
However, if you’re looking for a phone with a reliable camera, faster wireless charging and more AI smarts, then the iPhone 16 is likely a better choice for you.
On the other hand, if you want a phone that stands out from the crowd, has a larger and brighter screen and offers faster wired charging, then the Nothing Phone 3 could be the one for you.