Nothing has landed in controversy after its Phone 3 demo units were found showcasing stock images as if they were captured by the phone’s camera. The issue was first spotted on a retail demo unit in New Zealand, where shoppers saw five photos under the tag “Here’s what our community has captured with the Phone (3).“
However, the images were not shot with the Nothing Phone 3. Two photographers have stated that the pictures were their work and were available for license on the stock photo platform. One of them, Roman Fox, revealed that his photo of a car headlight was taken in Paris back in 2023 using a Fujifilm XH2s, long before the Phone 3 existed. Here’s the Instagram post of that photo.
Although Nothing had legally licensed these photos, the way they were presented in demo units made it appear as if they were taken on the Phone 3 to mislead shoppers.
When first asked for comment, Nothing did not deny the claims. Instead, the company said it would update the demo units. This response raised more questions about the company’s practices.
On August 27, Nothing co-founder Akis Evangelidis offered a detailed explanation. He said that demo units are submitted months before launch with placeholder content for testing. Normally, this content is swapped with actual product renders and real camera samples before mass production.
In the case of the Phone 3, the placeholder content was not replaced, and it led to stock images being displayed as sample photos. Akis called it an “unfortunate oversight” and stressed that there was no bad intent.
The company is now working with promoters to update all demo units and ensure they display real samples. Nothing is also reviewing its internal processes to prevent such mistakes in the future.
Interestingly, Akis admitted that Nothing used to rely on photos from older Nothing phones as placeholders. This ensured that even if the content was not updated, the photos would still be genuine. Why the company stopped doing this remains unclear.
This incident has sparked frustration among tech fans, as it is not the first time a phone brand has been caught faking camera samples. While Nothing Phone 3 has received praise for its actual camera performance, the use of stock photos damaged trust.
The company now hopes to move past this controversy, but the oversight serves as a reminder of how quickly the tech community calls out misleading claims.
