Misleading marketing? Nothing faces backlash over Phone 3 stock photo scandal

What you need to know

• Nothing faces backlash for using stock images instead of authentic Phone 3 camera samples.
• Company admits to oversight, causing mistrust among potential customers.
• Previous misrepresentations of camera quality raise concerns about brand integrity.

Nothing has been caught in the middle of a messy image controversy. The tech company was recently spotted using stock images by professional photographers on different cameras, as shots taken on the Phone 3. Android Authority seems to have narrowed down five images that were supposedly captured by their new flagship devices, but were actually licensed photos.

Let's break down the sequence of events for you. It all began at a New Zealand retail store where people spotted the live demo units showing off a selection of five pictures that were supposedly taken with the Phone 3’s camera.

The images in question, which include a woman, a car headlight, a spiral staircase, a glass, and a window, were licensed stock photos and not, as the company stated, "what our community has captured with the Phone (3)."

Roman Fox, a photographer who captured the car headlight image, confirmed to the publication that Nothing had paid for his image through Stills, a stock photo platform, which was taken two years ago in Paris with a Fujifilm XH2s camera, and not with a phone, let alone a Nothing Phone 3.

Android Central also received an anonymous tip that showcased a screen recording of a Live Demo Unit (LDU) and screenshots of images reportedly taken by the device. The tipster claimed that these images were not authentic, but rather stock photos, backing their claim with links to the Stills platform.

Another anonymous photographer revealed to The Verge that Nothing purchased the image license from the Stills stock photo marketplace. EXIF data for the image, seen by The Verge, shows it was captured in 2023 as well.

Nothing responds the image fiasco

Akis Evangelidis, the co-founder of Nothing, took to X to post a lengthy statement, effectively agreeing to the fact that these images were indeed stock photographs, but he clarified that this was an "unfortunate oversight."

According to Evangelidis, the company does indeed use content, including stock images, in demo units during testing phases, before mass production; however, these placeholder images are usually replaced with photo samples taken from the device's camera, but it seems like the images weren't updated in this instance.

"We are also investigating internally to make sure such an issue doesn’t happen again. This was an unfortunate oversight, and I want to emphasise that there was no ill intent," he added.

That said, this whole issue has created a certain level of mistrust among people who were intending to purchase the phone. Using misleading visuals to promote a product's key feature, like its camera quality, is definitely playing with the buyer's trust.

This isn't the first time Nothing has had to clarify about its camera's abilities. Earlier this year, the company compared the iPhone 16 Pro Max's ultrawide camera video to the Phone 3a's main camera video.

YouTube commenters were quick to point out that the clip comparison was misleading, as the iPhone 16 Pro Max's ultrawide camera isn't great at taking videos, to which Nothing later stated that they had "no intent to mislead."