- Nothing CEO Carl Pei may have secretly teased the Nothing Phone 3's design with a brand-new side button.
- The exact purpose of this button is unclear but we speculate it could be a customizable action button like the iPhone or a OnePlus-like alert slider.
- The release of the Nothing Phone 3 is still months away, so this could be also a clever way to generate hype for the upcoming device.
Nothing Phone (2a) launch was a success, thanks to the phone delivering a good value for its price and Carl Pei’s Bhai marketing campaign. But now, Nothing fans and Android enthusiasts are eyeing the launch of their next flagship device, the Nothing Phone (3). Till now we haven’t seen any leaks of the device but looks like Carl Pei has secretly teased the design and a big feature of the next Nothing Phone.
Carl Pei recently shared an X post revealing a redesigned quick settings panel for Nothing OS 3. We covered the new quick settings panel in a separate story, however, many users, including me, initially overlooked the phone’s frame. We initially assumed it was the Nothing Phone 2, but closer inspection revealed a brand-new button on the right side of the frame; hinting that this may be our first official tease of the Nothing Phone 3.
What is this New Button on this Nothing Phone?
From the images, we can see that this button is located right under the power button and is smaller in size compared to the other buttons. Its placement is a tad too high, which rules out the possibility of it being a dedicated camera shutter button. So, what could it be then? Let’s discuss!
My mind went straight to a customizable key similar to the iPhone 15 Action button. This would allow users to set a custom action to the button like turning on the torch, taking a screenshot, or turning on DND. This would sit right with Nothing’s emphasis on offering customizable features throughout their Nothing OS.
It could also very well be a dedicated AI button to trigger ChatGPT Voice. We recently saw Nothing introduce a feature to launch ChatGPT using their Ear and Ear (a) TWS. Not to forget, they also added widgets and shortcuts to make the AI chatbot more accessible throughout their OS. So, introducing a dedicated button wouldn’t be too far-fetched.
My last theory leads to it being Nothing’s alternative to OnePlus’s alert slider. It was under Carl’s reign that OnePlus introduced the alert slider so he could try to mimic the feature for his own company. What possibly adds weight to this theory is the horizontal slider in the new quick settings panel with the “Vibrate” option in the middle similar to how it would be in a three-step alert slider.
Carl, Please Don’t Play with My Feelings!
It is also entirely possible that this is some sort of a ploy by Carl Pei to get the fans talking about the Nothing Phone 3 and get the hype training chugging. The phone’s launch is still a few months away so this could be a great way to tease an upcoming feature and kickstart a conversation around their device.
We all know Pei is a marketing genius and knows how to drum up hype around his products. The phone in the picture has a metal frame leading us to believe that it could be the Phone 3, but again, it is all speculation as of now.
What do you think this new button could be? Do you believe it is the Nothing Phone 3? Let us know in the comments down below.
