Nothing’s Phone 3 software promise is more important than how fast it is

The Nothing Phone 3 is shaping up to be a noteworthy device, especially as it’ll be the first true ‘flagship’ from a phone brand that has, so far, focused on more affordable devices.

Nothing announced that it’ll be the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chip that’ll power the upcoming phone this week, but what really caught my eye was the software promise for Phone 3.

Akis Evangelidis, Nothing’s Co-Founder and Head of Marketing, confirmed on X that one of the reasons they chose the chipset was that it offers a 5&7 software promise.

This likely means the phone will pick up five years of Android updates, and seven years of security updates. Evangelidis said that if they had chosen the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, it would be a 4&4 update situation.

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The Nothing Phone 2 offered three years of Android updates and four years of security patches. The Phone 3a Pro improved this to three years of Android updates and six years of security updates.

So far, so good for the Phone 3, but some in the tech community are a little sceptical about the choice of processor. The Snapdragon 8 Elite is the latest and greatest from Qualcomm and is powering some of the best phone choices like the Samsung Galaxy S25 series.

Performance or longevity?

By going with the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4, which is a slightly less powerful variant, some are saying Nothing isn’t delivering a true flagship experience.

However, while our mobile editor is a little concerned about the move from a performance perspective, personally I am far more focused on the longevity of a phone as opposed to its performance.

I’ve reviewed phones for a decade now, and in the last few years, there hasn’t been a single instance where I have picked up anything running a good, high-end Snapdragon chip like the 8s Gen 4 and felt it was slow or incapable of performing anything I require.

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Yes, it might pick up a lower score in benchmark tests or take a moment or two longer to open up an intensive game – but on the whole, does this really make a difference in the long run?

What does make a difference is how long the phone is supported for. I don’t want to pay big money for Nothing’s first flagship, for it to only be supported for a couple of years.

Longer software update promises should be just as important as camera or screen performance, especially when everything is getting more expensive and the issue of tech waste is becoming more prevalent.

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