Nothing just snubbed its biggest market while defending Phone 3 price

The Nothing Phone 3 is proving to be divisive by design…actually. Its offbeat digital camera format, new Glyph Matrix, and a price tag that stretches approach past earlier Nothing telephones have made the Phone 3 a speaking level throughout tech boards and remark sections. And while sturdy reactions to Nothing’s merchandise aren’t something new for the Carl Pei-led startup, the corporate’s newest assertion about who the Phone 3 is admittedly for is a bit regarding.

In response to rising complaints concerning the Phone 3’s price, a Nothing spokesperson informed Bloomberg that the corporate has “no plans to decrease the price” of the system and that its margins are key to sustaining funding. Then got here the kicker: The spokesperson mentioned that almost all of the fee complaints are coming from customers in India, however that the area “isn’t the core focus market” for the Phone 3. The spokesperson went on to say, “We’ve designed our product portfolio with totally different price factors to serve totally different areas, and we have now different choices within the vary which might be extra India-focused.”

For a market that consists of Nothing’s largest person base and the market the place it has seen the quickest progress within the final two years, the assertion feels a bit dismissive.

As per Counterpoint Analysis, Nothing just recorded a 146% year-on-year enhance in shipments within the area in query for Q2 2025, marking its sixth straight quarter because the fastest-growing smartphone model there. This progress has largely been pushed by the success of the spectacular CMF Phone 2 Professional and Nothing’s increasing offline presence.

However while the model’s extra inexpensive lineup is clearly resonating with patrons, the Phone 3, its first self-admitted “true flagship,” has obtained criticism for not delivering a premium expertise similar to the Galaxy S25 sequence or the Pixel 9 lineup. As a substitute of addressing the criticism about pricing and positioning, the corporate, which is thought for being community-focused, has taken a noticeably defensive tone.

CEO Carl Pei additionally not too long ago took to YouTube to reply to Phone 3 opinions. “I don’t know why persons are so emotional a few cellphone design,” he mentioned. “Both you prefer it otherwise you don’t prefer it. And in the event you don’t prefer it, just transfer on.” He added that while it’s heartening to see how invested the group is, issues could have gone too far: “We’ve got colleagues who’re getting harassed now for the design.”

There’s little question that on-line criticism can generally cross traces, and harassment of any type shouldn’t be acceptable. Nevertheless it’s equally necessary for firms to listen to out and take into account reliable shopper issues. Saying a significant market “isn’t the main target,” particularly when it accounts for the majority of your model’s progress, may very well be seen as sending out the improper message.

It’s additionally notable that the iPhone 16 has come out on prime as probably the most shipped system in India this previous quarter, signaling that flagships are very a lot in demand within the nation. As per Counterpoint, the ultra-premium price phase grew 37% year-over-year in India. So actually, Nothing’s assertion implies that criticism from a big phase of its person base doesn’t matter, or worse, that these shoppers aren’t worthy of the flagship expertise in any respect.

While it’s Nothing’s perogative to design totally different merchandise for various markets, as a result of it’s a enterprise on the finish of the day, it’s slightly out of character to see {that a} model that’s at all times positioned itself as one which listens to its customers is telling an enormous chunk of its fan base that its newest product isn’t meant for them.