Nothing’s Android 16-powered update brings a bunch of new features to its phones, including its own spin on Google’s live updates. With Nothing OS 4.0, users can track deliveries, rides, or timers using the Glyph interface – the dot-matrix on the back of the Phone 3, or the system of lights on the Phone 3A and older models.
Google’s live updates look slightly different depending on which Nothing device you use. A GIF shared by the company shows a light on the Phone 3A slowly burning to match the progress of the live update, while the dot-matrix of the Phone 3 shows an animated progress bar. Live updates may also appear on the device’s lock screen.
In addition to this feature, Nothing is launching its AI-powered Essential Apps tool that allows users to create their own widgets by providing a written description to the chatbot. Meanwhile, updates to Nothing OS include more minimalist native app icons, new lock screen clocks, and animations that “respond with sharper tact and depth, making every swipe and tap feel smoother.”
You can now open two floating apps at once and switch between them by swiping up from the bottom of your screen to minimize them, or swiping down to make them full-screen. There’s also an additional new Dark Mode with darker blacks than the original.
Some features specific to the Phone 3 are also not being released, such as “Pocket Mode” that automatically turns off the device’s glyph matrix when it detects it is in the user’s pocket, as well as new “toys” that display an hourglass and show the position of the moon on the dot-matrix.
Nothing OS 4.0 will begin rolling out to the Phone 3 starting today, before expanding to other devices in the lineup “in the coming weeks.” CMF devices will get the update before the end of the year, but the Nothing Phone 3A Lite will have to wait until early 2026.