Nothing Phone (3) vs OnePlus 13: Never Settle, Nothing [Face Off]

Nothing has entered the premium segment with its Phone (3) priced at Rs 79,999. While that price puts the Phone (3) in the range of established premium players like the iPhone 16, the Galaxy S25, and the Pixel 9, the Phone (3)’s real challengers are likely to come from the lower-priced premium Android flagship brigade, bringing comparable or better spec sheets to the table at lower prices. The most notable of these challengers ironically comes from a brand that was also co-founded by Carl Pei, Nothing’s co-founder – the OnePlus 13. It not only comes with a lower price tag, but also has a feature set that could give the Phone (3) a run for its money. So, which of the two should you go for – the flagship from Carl Pei’s new venture or the flagship from his old one? Let us figure that out for you:

Nothing Phone (3) vs OnePlus 13: Design and appearance

In terms of design, this is a clash between the classically elegant and the geekily eccentric. The OnePlus 13 sticks to conventional design, with a slightly curved back with a round camera unit, with Hasselblad branding next to it, straight sides, and a tall, narrow bezelled display. It is a tall phone at 162.9 mm tall and is 8.5 mm slim, while being about 210 grams in weight. It cuts a very elegant figure, but does not look too different from other premium flagships, although its blue-ish Midnight Ocean variant with a vegan leather back can grab some attention.

The Nothing Phone (3), on the other hand, is an out-and-out head turner. What the heads do after turning is a different matter, but there’s no debating that the phone looks very different from anything and everything out there, with its faux transparent back, visible screws, oddly arranged cameras and tiny circular display containing the Glyph Matrix, which replaces the LEDs on its predecessors, The front is however, broadly similar and is tall, but slightly flatter than that on the OnePlus, and with narrow bezels.

The Phone (3) is smaller than the OnePlus 13 at 160.6 mm but is thicker at 8.9 mm, and slightly heavier at 218 grams. Both phones have glass fronts and backs (except for the vegan leather variant of the OnePlus 13) and metal frames, although the button arrangement on the frames is different: OnePlus has the volume and display/power buttons on its right, while the Phone (3) has the display/power button and an Essential button on the right. On the other hand, the OnePlus 13 has only the alert slider on its left side, while the Phone (3) has the volume buttons on its left. Both have USB Type-C buttons on the base with a speaker grille and a SIM card tray. Both phones are pretty tough – the OnePlus 13 has Ceramic Glass protection in front and comes with IP68/69 dust and water resistance, while the Phone (3) has Gorilla Glass 7i in front and Gorilla Glass Victus on the back, as well as IP68 dust and water protection.

Which one looks better is going to be entirely a matter of personal preference – those who prefer a phone that looks conventionally classy will go for the OnePlus 13, while those who want to make people stop and stare will go with the Phone (3). We are giving this round to the Phone (3) simply for daring to be different in a design world that prefers to stay inside the box rather than venture outside it.

Winner: Nothing Phone (3)

Nothing Phone (3) vs OnePlus 13: Spec sheet and hardware

When it comes to the specs and hardware, the OnePlus 13 comfortably beats the Nothing Phone (3). OnePlus’s flagship has a 6.82-inch quad HD (3168 x 1440 px) resolution AMOLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate, as against the Phone (3)’s 6.67-inch AMOLED display with 1260 x 2800 px resolution and 120 Hz refresh. What’s more, the OnePlus 13’s display is an LTPO one, which means its refresh rate can vary from 1-120 Hz, depending on the content being shown on it, an ability the Phone (3)’s display lacks. The Phone (3), however, has a tiny circular dot matrix LED display on the back for its Glyph Matrix interface.

The OnePlus 13 is also powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, which is considered superior to the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 that runs the Phone (3). Both phones come with 12 GB/ 256GB and 16 GB/ 512 GB RAM and storage versions, with LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage, and the OnePlus 13 also has a 24 GB/ 1 TB variant, although it is generally out of stock.

In terms of cameras, both phones have three 50 megapixel cameras on the back – a main, a telephoto with 3x optical zoom, and an ultrawide. Interestingly, the Phone (3) has a bigger main sensor (1/1.3 inches as against 1/1.43 on the OP13), but a smaller telephoto (1/ 2.75 inches against 1/1.95 inches of the OP13), and the ultrawide on the Nothing Phone (3) lacks autofocus, which the OnePlus 13’s has. The Phone (3,) however, has a 50 megapixel selfie camera as compared to the 32 megapixel one on the OnePlus 13. Both phones come with stereo speakers and NFC support, as well as 5G connectivity. The OnePlus 13, however, has a bigger 6000 mAh battery as compared to the 5500 mAh one on the Phone (3) and also comes with support for much faster charging (100W wired, 50W wireless) and a 100W charger in the box, as compared to the 65W wired and 15W wireless charging on the Phone (3), which has no charger either.

The processor and larger and higher resolution display give the OnePlus 13 a clear edge here. It is not as if the Nothing Phone (3) has a bad spec sheet – it is just outgunned.

Winner: OnePlus 13

Nothing Phone (3) vs OnePlus 13: UI and software

Both phones come with Android 15 out of the box. But there the similarity ends. The OnePlus 13 comes with OnePlus’ OxygenOS 15, which has its own set of apps and utilities and even an elaborate AI suite of apps, while the Phone (3) comes with a very clean (to the point of being almost bare) Nothing OS3.5, which sticks to the Google template when it comes to AI.

While there is no doubt that the OnePlus 13 has a more feature-rich interface, those who like uncluttered interfaces and Pixel fans will like the Nothing Phone (3). The Phone (3) also has the Glyph Matrix, which lets users not only see if they have messages and calls on the back of the phone, but also lets them access some basic functions (stopwatch, selfie mirror) and even play some games (spin the bottle, and rock paper scissors) on the back itself.

The Phone (3) also comes with Nothing’s Essential Space, which lets you take voice notes and analyze screenshots using AI by just hitting the Essential button, although the OnePlus 13 is getting a similar AI Mind Plus update even as we write this (mind you, it has no dedicated button). Some might prefer the more feature-rich interface of the OnePlus (13) and even its more elaborate AI toolset, but we think the Phone (3) has a clear edge in terms of being the simpler and more innovative interface.

Winner: Nothing Phone (3)

Nothing Phone (3) vs OnePlus 13: Camera performance

The camera battle between these two phones is an interesting one. Both come with very good main and telephoto cameras, delivering plenty of detail. The Phone (3)’s main camera seems to deliver a little more detail, although some might prefer the slightly brighter colors offered by the OnePlus 13. Both cameras are also very good low-light performers. In telephoto mode, both phones offer 3x optical zoom and 6x lossless zoom, but the OnePlus 13 has a slight edge, serving up cleaner snaps, although the Phone (3) has slightly better colors.

Both phones offer plenty of digital zoom, with the Phone (3) going up to 60x, while the OnePlus 13 gets you 120x. Both seem to use a fair deal of AI processing at high zoom levels, but we felt the OnePlus 13 delivered clearer snaps at high zoom levels. In ultrawide, the OnePlus 13’s autofocus gives it an advantage over the Phone (3), which tends to oversaturate colors. Both phones are evenly matched in the selfie game – the Phone (3) has a little more detail, but some might find its colors slightly dull in comparison to the OnePlus 13. Another issue that we found with the Nothing Phone (3)’s cameras was their inconsistency in color handling, with the main sensor being a little realistic, while the ultrawide and telephoto sensors made colors a little brighter.

There is not much to choose between the two devices in terms of videos, with the main sensor doing a good job in day and light, and the telephoto and ultrawide being best used in good light conditions – the OnePlus 13, however, supports 8K videos, while the Phone (3) stops at 4K. The OnePlus 13 also comes with Hasselblad’s special shooting modes and filters, and is the better performer in portraits, although the Nothing Phone (3) wins in macros, which its telephoto handles very well. All said and done, this is a close battle between two very good sets of cameras, but we think the OnePlus 13’s superior telephoto, ultrawide, and portrait handling win it the day.

Winner: OnePlus 13

Nothing Phone (3) vs OnePlus 13: Gaming and multimedia

The better processor, larger display, and better speakers of the OnePlus 13 win it this round very comfortably. Mind you, the difference in performance is not immediately obvious. While the OnePlus 13 does have a larger and slightly more vivid display, the Nothing Phone (3)’s display is very good too. And both phones handle casual as well as heavy games well. However, it is as you start pushing the phone in a title like Genshin Impact that the OnePlus 13 pulls ahead, working way more smoothly.

The same happens in the Asphalt racing series. Mind you, it is not easily noticeable – it is only when you start looking very closely that you will notice that the OnePlus 13 is a little smoother. The difference in speaker quality between the two devices is more obvious, though, with the OnePlus 13’s speakers producing much richer sound in comparison to the Phone (3)’s speakers, which have high volumes but are a little flat in comparison. The bigger size of the OnePlus 13’s display and those speakers also give the phone a clear advantage when it comes to viewing content like films and shows. And yes, if you are editing images and videos, the OnePlus 13 does seem to be noticeably quicker.

Winner: OnePlus 13

Nothing Phone (3) vs OnePlus 13: General performance

Both phones race through routine tasks like web browsing, mail, social media browsing, and messaging without any problems whatsoever. However, call quality and the speed of fingerprint unlocking seemed to be markedly superior on the OnePlus 13. The OnePlus 13 also seemed to handle AI tasks a tad more smoothly than the Nothing Phone (3).

On the flip side, the Phone (3)’s Glyph Matrix has immense potential once one gets the hang of it, and its clean interface is much easier to use. We are going to call this one another tie, with those who prioritise call quality opting for the OnePlus 13, while those who want a “different” and easy-to-use phone prefer the Phone (3).

Winner: Tie

Nothing Phone (3) vs OnePlus 13: Battery life and charging speed

On paper, it would seem that the OnePlus 13’s larger 6000 mAh battery would help it win this round against the Nothing Phone (3)’s smaller 5500 mAh battery. However, the fact is that the OnePlus 13 also has a larger and higher resolution display, and as a result, both phones have roughly the same battery life – they will see off about a day of heavy to normal use. The difference comes in terms of charging – the OnePlus 13 charges at 100W and the 100W charger in its box gets it from 0 to 100 in about 45 minutes, while the Nothing Phone (3) charges at 65W but has no charger, and the CMF 65W charger gets it from 0 to 100 in about an hour.

What’s more, the OnePlus 13 charges wirelessly at 50W (provided you get a special OnePlus charger) and even reverse charges other gadgets wirelessly at 10W, while the Nothing Phone (3) charges wirelessly at 15W (and does not need a special charger) and reverse charges wirelessly at 7.5W. The charging speed wins this one for the OnePlus 13.

Winner: OnePlus 13

Nothing Phone (3) vs OnePlus 13: Pricing

This is perhaps the oddest round of all because, in spite of having a spec sheet and performance levels that are markedly below the OnePus 13, the Nothing Phone (3) comes with a much higher price tag. The OnePlus 13 starts at Rs 69,999 for a 12 GB/ 256 GB variant, while the Nothing Phone (3) starts at Rs 79,999 for a similar configuration. Both phones also have 16 GB/ 512 GB variants, and the price difference is even greater here: the OnePlus 13 is available for Rs 76,999, while the Nothing Phone (3) will set you back by Rs 89,999. In simple terms, you can get a 16 GB/ 512 GB OnePlus 13 for less than the price of a 12 GB/ 256 GB Nothing Phone (3). There is only one winner here.

Winner: OnePlus 13

Nothing Phone (3) vs OnePlus 13: Which one to buy?

On paper, the OnePlus 13 pretty much outclasses the Nothing Phone (3) on most fronts, winning on five out of eight parameters and tying on another – in fact, those who prefer conventional designs might even argue it should have won six rounds. So that should make it a runaway winner, right?

Well, yes. And no.

For it’s not all darkness and despair for the Nothing Phone (3). The two rounds where the Phone (3) beats the OnePlus 13 are the ones that are the most visible – the design and the interface, or what a phone looks like and how it works. It also does very well on crucial parameters like camera and general performance, and does not lag too far behind in terms of battery life. In simple terms, the Nothing Phone (3) floats into contention against all takers if what one is looking for is a phone that stands out in terms of appearance and usage, and is also a pretty good performer in other regards, with no massive deal breakers on board.

Take those factors away, however, and the OnePlus 13 rules supreme, with a better processor, display, and battery. It might not stand out from the flagship crowd as prominently as the Phone (3) does, but its performance is not “pretty good” but right up there with the very best. The Phone (3) cannot match the power that a Galaxy S25 can serve up, but the OnePlus 13 can, and at a much lower price – a price that’s way lower than that of the Phone (3).

The price is a massive factor here as well. Nothing has rather bravely tried to take the Pixel’s route of putting a premium price tag on a device that looks and works differently, but that strategy tends to generate great volumes of attention, rather than sales. Price, alas, is the arsenic that poisons the Nothing Phone (3)’s arsenal – a lower price tag might have made it tough competition for the OnePlus 13. Its current price makes it a good value mainly for the upstream geeks, rather than the mainstream users – it is not for everyone, after all. But it would have been nice if everyone could access it.

We will keep it very simple: if you want a flagship that mainly looks and works differently, then the Nothing Phone (3) is the most eye-catching device in its segment unless you get a foldable. But if you are looking for classic looks and flagship performance, the OnePlus 13 is a complete and utter no-brainer. We do hope Nothing Never Settles at the Phone (3), though.

Buy Nothing Phone (3)

Buy OnePlus 13

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