Nothing Phone (3) Camera Scandal: What Really Happened and How the Phone Performs

Nothing has found itself at the center of a camera controversy after demo units of the Nothing Phone (3) in New Zealand showcased photos that didn’t actually come from the device. The demo displays featured five polished shots – a portrait, a car headlight, a glass, a woman in a scarf, and a spiral staircase – all of which turned out to be stock images. One of them was even confirmed to have been taken with a Fujifilm camera back in 2023.

Nothing co-founder Akis Evangelidis admitted the images were only meant to serve as placeholders and described the situation as an unfortunate oversight.

He explained that demo software is locked in months ahead of launch, and the stock shots slipped through the cracks when finalizing the live demo units. The company has since promised to correct the mistake, but the damage was already done, with plenty of backlash and memes online.

The bigger picture about sample photos

This isn’t just a Nothing problem. Almost every smartphone brand dresses up its promotional camera samples. Even when the photos are genuine, they’re usually taken under perfect conditions – bright studio lighting, flawless models, or carefully staged scenes. They demonstrate what the camera is capable of, but rarely reflect everyday use. Most people are snapping pets in dim living rooms or catching quick shots on the go, far removed from the staged perfection of promo materials.

The truth? Official camera samples are best treated as an advertisement, not a promise. If you really want to know how a phone’s camera performs, you need in-depth reviews, raw samples, or your own hands-on testing.

So how good is the Nothing Phone (3) really?

Scandal aside, the Nothing Phone (3) is far from a weak shooter. It comes equipped with a 50 MP main sensor (1/1.3-inch, f/1.68), a 50 MP telephoto lens offering up to 60x AI-assisted zoom, a 50 MP ultrawide with a 114-degree field of view, and a 50 MP selfie camera supporting 4K video.

In real testing, the phone delivered vibrant images with solid dynamic range and decent detail. HDR could be heavy-handed at times, and some shots looked slightly oversharpened, but the results were generally colorful and shareable. Zoom held up well up to around 10x, before showing noticeable decline at higher levels.

Against competitors, the Nothing Phone (3) lands in the upper-middle tier. The OnePlus 13 generally produced cleaner detail and more natural colors, while the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus delivered stronger video performance. Still, the Nothing Phone (3) occasionally outperformed rivals in sunlit or high-contrast indoor shots where Samsung’s output sometimes looked washed out.

In short: while it doesn’t lead the pack, the Phone (3) is a strong all-rounder with a capable camera system that goes well beyond the embarrassment of its stock-photo mishap. No fake demo images can erase that.