Nothing Phone 3 to feature 'Glyph Matrix': What is it and how it may work

The Glyph Matrix appears to be a dot-matrix display replacing Nothing's signature Glyph Interface, and may support interactive features like mini games

British consumer technology brand Nothing has previewed its new “Glyph Matrix” system, set to debut with the upcoming Nothing Phone 3. In a teaser shared on X (formerly Twitter), the company showcased what appears to be a dot-matrix-style LED display embedded near the top right corner of the phone’s back panel. The teaser was accompanied by the phrase “When light becomes language,” hinting that the new interface could support more than just notification alerts—possibly including custom animations or even simple interactive features like mini games such as Snake.

 

This marks a major design shift from the Glyph Interface, which has been a core visual identity of Nothing Phones since the original model. The Glyph Interface used LED strips to provide visual feedback for notifications, charging status, and countdowns. The new Glyph Matrix, by contrast, appears to be a grid-based layout, suggesting a more versatile and dynamic use of lighting.

Nothing is not the first company to experiment with a dot-matrix style display on the back of a smartphone. ASUS already offers a similar lighting system on its ROG phones, known as the AniMe Vision display.

Nothing ‘Come to Play’ event: Details

Nothing is set to launch the Phone 3 at its “Come to Play” event on July 1. The event will also mark the debut of Nothing’s first over-ear headphones, the Nothing Headphone 1.

• Date: July 1
• Time: 10:30 pm IST
• Venue: London, UK
• Products: Nothing Phone 3, Headphone 1

Nothing Phone 3 Design: What to expect

The new Glyph Matrix is shown to be placed near the top left of the back panel in Nothing’s teaser, which raises questions about the final design—especially since previous reports suggested a triple rear camera housed in a circular module at the top centre. However, the Phone 3 is still expected to continue with Nothing’s trademark transparent back panel.

 

At last month’s Android Show: I/O Edition, Nothing CEO Carl Pei offered a blurred look at the Phone 3 and described it as the company’s first “true flagship.” He also hinted at a more premium design incorporating glass and metal.

Nothing Phone 3: Expected specifications

Nothing recently confirmed that the Phone 3 will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset. The company claims this offers major performance gains over its predecessor—up to 88 per cent improvement in GPU performance, 33 per cent in CPU output, and 125 per cent jump in NPU efficiency for AI tasks, compared to the Phone 2. The new chip is also said to deliver better power efficiency and camera processing.

Additionally, the Phone 3 will offer five years of OS updates and seven years of security patches, making it the longest-supported device in Nothing’s line-up to date.

Here are the expected specifications of the Nothing Phone 3:

 

• Display: 6.77-inch LTPO AMOLED display, 120Hz refresh rate, 3000nits peak brightness
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4
• RAM: 12GB
• Storage: up to 512GB
• Rear camera: Triple camera set up with 50MP primary
• Front camera: 32MP 
• Battery: 5000mAh
• Charging: 50W wired, 20W wireless