‘Just Move On’ — Carl Pei Responds to Hate and Harassment Over Nothing Phone (3)

Carl Pei isn't one to mince words. He never has been, but this time, his frustration is personal.

Amid all the backlash over the Nothing Phone (3)'s design for choosing the offbeat asymmetrical cameras, the missing Glyph lights, the experimental glyph matrix, there's been a growing undercurrent that's crossed a line. Not just criticism. Not just memes. But harassment.

"We have colleagues who are getting harassed now... for just doing their best job," Carl says in a reaction video to early reviews and community feedback.

Let that sink in. We're talking about engineers and designers, the people who spent years obsessing over circuit boards, thermal constraints, materials being abused online because the internet doesn't like how a phone looks - that they have a choice to not pay for.
And Carl's response? Refreshingly blunt and fair.

"I don't know why people are so emotional about a phone design. Either you like it or you don't like it. And if you don't like it, just move on."

It's a rare moment of CEO-level honesty in a world where brand statements are usually over-sanitized and endlessly polished. But it also reflects something deeper: a changing relationship between fans and the brands they once rooted for. Here's the full video:

We Asked for "Fun" in Tech, Then Mocked It Into Silence

Let's rewind. When Nothing launched its first products, people loved the risk. Transparent designs. Glyph lights. A UI that dared to be different. But now that the brand has gone even further left-field, that same crowd has turned... cruel.

Yes, criticism is fair game - especially at ₹80,000. You can read my perspective on why the company might have gone for a price tag that doesn't make sense for India, which even Pei acknowledged in the video.

It's not that I haven't criticised the absurd pricing of the Phone 3 in my review. I've said, "this phone doesn't offer the best performance, camera, or display for the price." And reviewers around the globe have shared similar views. But Reddit hate trains, and personal attacks on employees? That's something else entirely. This isn't feedback anymore. This is the internet's inability to separate dislike from disrespect and it's not just for Nothing.

And ironically, this toxicity comes from the same fanbase that asked for something new. You wanted something different and you got different. And now you're mad because it's not different your way? Well, that's unfair.

We weren't scammed with fake promises or refused refunds. We still have a choice not to buy it, and those who see value have a different option.

Feedback is Fine, Harassment Isn't

Phones are personal. They're emotional. But when did criticism become so hostile, so obsessive, that it turned into a pile-on? Somewhere between "this design's not for me" and "I hope your whole team gets fired," the line vanished.

This is hardly exclusive to Nothing. Pixel launches, iPhones with no charger, Samsung's foldables, every release brings with it a storm of digital drama. But the Nothing Phone (3) feels like a turning point because the reaction wasn't just loud, it was weirdly emotional.

Maybe This Phone Was Never Meant for You, And That's Okay

Nothing's whole pitch is about polarization. It's about taking bold swings, fully aware that not everyone will get it. Pei even calls it "high fashion" - not made to please everyone, but made to stand out.

"We can't be everything for everybody," he says. "But for the group of people we're targeting - they're really liking what we're doing."

There's a difference between being a tech enthusiast and becoming a tech extremist. You can hate the phone. You can skip the phone. But if your reaction to an asymmetrical camera is harassment, maybe the problem isn't the phone.

Maybe, as Carl said, you just need to move on.