When a screen recording surfaced from a Nothing Phone 3 demo unit in a New Zealand store, it appeared routine at first glance. Five striking images were displayed under the banner “Here’s what our community has captured with the Phone (3)” alongside the #WithNothing hashtag. Naturally, shoppers assumed these were genuine camera samples from the device. They weren’t.
Android Authority broke the story, sparking widespread backlash and forcing Nothing to respond. The so-called community shots were actually licensed professional stock photos from the marketplace Stills. The window frame, sparkling drink, car headlight, spiral staircase, and portrait of a woman — all available for purchase, none taken with a Phone 3.
The case was sealed when one of the photographers confirmed the truth. Roman Fox, who captured the car headlight image, told Android Authority that he shot it in Paris with a Fujifilm XH2s back in 2023 — long before the Phone 3 even existed. The same photo remains on his Instagram feed, complete with timestamps and geotags.
As criticism mounted on X, Nothing co-founder Akis Evangelidis issued a lengthy explanation. He described it as a mistake: demo units often need placeholder visuals before launch, and in this case, stock photos were never swapped with real samples. “This was an unfortunate oversight, and I want to emphasise that there was no ill intent,” Evangelidis wrote, while inviting users to share genuine Phone 3 photos instead.
CEO Carl Pei’s reaction was more subdued. Rather than posting his own response, he simply retweeted Evangelidis’ statement under a thread by MKBHD highlighting the controversy.
Skepticism lingered, partly because this wasn’t Nothing’s first marketing stumble. The company was previously criticized over the #DearNothing campaign, which was accused of excluding South Indian creators from receiving review units. More recently, Nothing was caught overstating its PWM dimming claims after MKBHD’s tests revealed the display ran at 960 Hz in low light instead of the advertised 2160 Hz, prompting the company to issue a corrective statement.
Importantly, Nothing isn’t alone in this kind of misstep. Samsung was criticized for its moon photography controversy, Nokia admitted to faking Lumia 920 video stabilization demos, and Huawei was caught using DSLR shots to promote smartphone cameras. The problem is hardly new.
Still, the damage could sting more for Nothing. Despite nearly 150% year-over-year growth, the company holds less than 1% of the global smartphone market. For a brand that markets itself as a transparent alternative to tech giants, being caught in the same kind of deception undermines its credibility.
That said, since this incident involved a handful of demo units rather than a global campaign, the long-term impact may be limited. In fact, Evangelidis has indicated that future demo phones will use placeholder shots taken with older Nothing devices instead.
The takeaway for smartphone makers is clear: stop relying on fake marketing. Customers will always find out.
