From being called vanilla Android UI to becoming one of the unique and feature-rich Android user interfaces, Nothing OS has come a long way. Nothing OS 2.5 (review) based on Android 14 was one of the biggest and best Android OS releases of 2023, and that makes us excited for Nothing OS 3.0, which will arrive later this year. Fortunately, Nothing’s founder Carl Pei has already revealed a few tidbits about the UI and the direction it’s headed toward. Hence, here’s everything we know about Nothing OS 3.0 so far.
Nothing OS 3.0: When Will It Release?
The last major Nothing OS version, Nothing OS 2.5, first arrived for the Phone (2) in December last year, around two months after the stable Android 14 release.
Now, we know that Google will officially release Android 15 alongside the Pixel 9 series in August, so if we go by the same timeline as OS 2.5 then we expect Nothing OS 3.0 based on Android 15 to arrive sometime in October.
In fact, Nothing released Android 15 Developer Preview Beta 1 for Phone (2) and (2a) back in May, and we may hear more about the next beta in a few weeks. Nothing’s usually quick to push out new Android updates so this assumption shouldn’t be a far-fetched reality, at least not if the company’s planning a major UI overhaul and adding tons of features which may take a lot of time and testing.
Nothing OS 3.0: Supported Phones
All Nothing phones launched so far are promised to receive three years of major updates, except for the CMF Phone 1, which will get two major OS updates.
Considering Nothing Phone (1) released with Android 12, it is still eligible for one major Android update. Therefore, all Nothing phones released to date are eligible for the upcoming Nothing OS 3.0 update based on Android 15. Here is a list of supported models:
- Nothing Phone (2a) Plus [launching on July 31]
- Nothing Phone (2a)
- Nothing Phone (2)
- Nothing Phone (1)
- CMF Phone 1
The Nothing Phone (2a) and Nothing Phone (2a) Plus should be the first ones to receive the Android 15 update with the new skin in September or October since they are the latest Nothing devices. They will be followed by the Nothing Phone (2) and CMF Phone 1 in November and Phone (1) probably in December or January 2024. The timelines may differ. These are based on our best assumptions.
Nothing OS 3.0: Confirmed & Expected Features
Here are all the confirmed and expected features of Nothing OS 3.0 based on Android 15 will bring to all Nothing phones. While some are developed by Nothing, some of them like Private Space are a part of Android 15.
1. Enhanced Lock Screen Customization
Nothing OS 3.0 will take the existing lock screen customizations to the next level. Shared by Carl Pei on X (formerly Twitter), you can see a few new clock styles and widget customizations on the lock screen. There will be a revamped widget selection and a new tray to add new widgets to the lock screen.
Besides, Nothing OS 3.0 will allow users to shrink the clock face to make space for notifications. The lock screen clock is aligned centrally. We can already see three clock face designs, reminiscent of Apple’s lock screen clocks.
This change probably wasn’t at the top of a Nothing user’s bucket list. However, the choice to select from different styles to enhance a function or two is always a good step.
2. Redesigned Quick Settings Panel
A redesigned Quick settings panel is one of the oldest asks of Nothing users, and this might finally happen in Nothing OS 3.0. The new design shared by Pei looks quite indistinct from the existing quick settings panel.
It’s much cleaner when you compare it to the current interface and feels more in line with Nothing’s design language. Getting rid of huge Wi-Fi and Bluetooth tiles and replacing them with smaller tiles is a nice touch.
The red accent in the tile, when it is active, adds a nice touch to the grays and blacks in the tiles. Similarly, the bottom part of the Quick Settings panel seems to add a gradient effect by taking the colors off of the media player thumbnail.
3. Interactive Dot Animations
We still don’t have enough info to call the shots on what exactly Interactive Dot Animations could be, but from what Carl shared, these animations might apply to app icons and widgets to make them more dynamic and responsive.
For example, we could see a Quick Settings widget to adjust brightness which, when used, has a nice animation and dynamically shows the brightness level.
4. Community and Gallery Apps
Nothing has been working on delivering Gallery and Community apps. While there are no recent updates on the same, we think we will see them in Nothing OS 3.0. The Nothing Gallery app is one of the most requested standalone Nothing apps by fans besides the Dialer and Calculator app.
Similarly, to give people easier access to Nothing Community which is currently web-only, Nothing seems to be developing a dedicated Community app. Again, we haven’t heard much about these two apps besides the acknowledgment from Carl that the Nothing team is working on developing more apps.
5. Private Space
Private Space is one of the biggest features to arrive with Android 15, and it seems like Nothing could adopt the same. Carl previously tweeted and asked for opinions about Private Space and if Nothing should shift to the same over the ability to hide icons, to which many said yes.
I think Private Space hits three birds with one stone — the ability to hide apps, lock them, and app cloning. Adding Private Space would lift some weight off Nothing devs, and they could shift focus from maintaining the app hide/clone features to other things.
6. App Archiving
App archiving is a core feature that will come to all devices with Android 15, including Nothing OS 3.0. It can help you get rid of apps you don’t actively use but don’t want to delete completely either.
For those unaware, when you archive an app, the base APK is deleted, but its data is kept on your device. When you re-install that app, Android will restore the app and in-app account to its previous state with all of its data remaining intact.
And that’s about everything we know so far about Nothing OS 3.0. What are your thoughts on the latest and upcoming features of Nothing OS 3.0? What are some of the features you’d like to see in the UI? Let us know in the comments.
