Head to head
Samsung Galaxy S26vsNothing Phone (3)
The short answer
Choose the Galaxy S26 for lower weight and 3DMark graphics score. Choose the Nothing Phone (3) for peak brightness and faster charging. The Nothing Phone (3) is £180 cheaper at UK RRP (£699 against £879). The Galaxy S26 gets security updates for longer: until February 2033, against July 2032 for the Nothing Phone (3).
- Released
- 2026-03-06endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Price
- £879Samsung Newsroom UK — Galaxy S26 series, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Security updates until
- 2033-02-28Samsung UK spec API — Galaxy S26, retrieved 2026-09-22
- Released
- 2025-07-15GSMArena — Nothing Phone (3) specifications, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Price
- £699Nothing UK store — Phone (3), retrieved 2026-08-20
- Security updates until
- 2032-07-15Nothing UK — Phone (3), retrieved 2026-08-20
2 wins for Galaxy S262 wins for Nothing Phone (3)4 gaps borderline0 differences you won’t notice£180 apart at RRP
Verdict: Galaxy S26 ahead on 2 rows, Nothing Phone (3) on 2 rows
On the makers’ figures and the named third-party sources, the Galaxy S26 wins on weight (167 g against 218 g) and 3DMark Wild Life Extreme (6,531 against 4,291, both from 3DMark); the Phone (3) wins on peak brightness (4,500 nits from the maker against 2,600 nits from GSMArena) and fast charging (65 W against 25 W). 4 gaps are borderline, differences most people would not notice: display size (6.67 in against 6.3 in) for the Phone (3), battery capacity (5,150 mAh against 4,300 mAh) for the Phone (3), battery per charge (56.38 h against 51 h) for the Phone (3) and battery lifespan (1,400 cycles against 1,200 cycles) for the Phone (3). Both state the same refresh rate, storage (base), RAM and wireless charging. The other 35 rows have no threshold or no direction to judge by, so nobody wins them.
True to scale
Outlines from each maker’s published dimensions, drawn to scale. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.
Specifications
A win is marked only where the figures can be ranked and the gap is one you could notice. A row the site has no threshold for says whether the two differ, and that it is not ranking them. = marks the same figure on both, ≠ not ranked a difference with no ranking. Every figure carries its source.
Body
Display
Platform
Memory
Camera
Battery
Connectivity
Benchmarks
4 attributes neither phone has a sourced figure for
HDR peak brightness · OS versions supported · Google Mobile Services · Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core). Rows appear as sources are cited — a gap in our data, not a statement about either phone.
Questions
Is the Galaxy S26 better than the Nothing Phone (3)?
On the figures, neither is better overall: the Galaxy S26 wins on weight, 167 g (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 218 g (Nothing UK) and 3DMark Wild Life Extreme, 6,531 against 4,291 (both 3DMark); the Nothing Phone (3) wins on peak brightness, 4,500 nits (Nothing UK) against 2,600 nits (GSMArena) and fast charging, 65 W (Nothing UK) against 25 W (Samsung Newsroom UK). Every other row is borderline, too close to notice, or not ranked.
Which has the better battery?
The Nothing Phone (3) is ahead, narrowly: battery per charge, 56.38 h against 51 h (both EU energy label), a borderline gap most people would not notice. The Nothing Phone (3) is ahead, narrowly: battery capacity, 5,150 mAh (Nothing UK) against 4,300 mAh (Samsung Newsroom UK), a borderline gap most people would not notice.
Which is lighter?
The Galaxy S26, by a gap you’d notice: weight, 167 g (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 218 g (Nothing UK).
Which has the brighter screen?
The Nothing Phone (3), by a gap you’d notice: peak brightness, 4,500 nits (Nothing UK) against 2,600 nits (GSMArena).
Which gets updates for longer?
The Galaxy S26 gets security updates for longer: until February 2033, against July 2032 for the Nothing Phone (3). Sources: dates from Samsung UK spec API and Nothing UK.
Which is cheaper?
The Nothing Phone (3) is £180 cheaper at UK RRP (£699 against £879). Prices from Galaxy S26: Samsung Newsroom UK; Nothing Phone (3): Nothing UK store.
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either phone would also weigh. Any two phones in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.