Nothing Phone 3 swaps Snapdragon 8 Elite for slightly slower chip
Unlike other "true" flagship phones in 2025, Nothing won't be using the latest and greatest from Qualcomm
📱 Nothing is giving its first “true” flagship phone the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor
👾 The Phone 3 was rumored to include the high-end Snapdragon 8 Elite, the same chip found in the Galaxy S25 series
☝️ Nothing says this is the first time it’s putting a current-year chipset in one of its smartphones
🏎️ It’ll be up to 88% faster than Phone 2
📅 Nothing is expected to unveil the Phone 3 on July 1
Nothing has confirmed which chipset it’s including in the Phone 3, and it’s not the one we were expecting.
As revealed in several social media posts and the Nothing community forums, the company’s first “true” flagship phone will be powered by the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4. It’s an upper mid-range processor that lags behind the Snapdragon 8 Elite, which has been used in many flagship phones this year, such as the Galaxy S25 Ultra and OnePlus 13. There were rumors that Nothing would include the chip in its device, but that’s clearly not the case.
According to Nothing founder and CEO Carl Pei, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 will provide 36% faster CPU performance than the Phone 2, as well as up to 88% faster graphics performance. There will also be a 60% performance boost for AI, which is expected to be a major focus for Phone 3 and Nothing’s updated software on top of Android.
As for not including the Snapdragon 8 Elite unlike many of its competitors, Nothing doesn’t explicitly mention why the 8 Elite wasn’t chosen and the 8s Gen 4 was, but it does say it wanted to create a balanced experience and requiring a stronger chipset to make it happen. Flagship processors cost a lot of money to include in smartphones, so perhaps it was a bottom-line issue.
The Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 is missing some key features that would make the Phone 3 a flagship on the same level as other phones, such as mmWave 5G and 4K 120fps slow-motion video. Its performance is also limited compared to the 8 Elite, leaving it up to Nothing to optimize the device to maximize the performance it has to work with.
Whether the company’s efforts will pay off has yet to be seen, but we’ll know sooner than later. Nothing is expected to announce the Phone 3 on July 1. Stay tuned for more of our coverage then.
Max Buondonno is an editor at The Shortcut. He’s been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop.