Nothing OS 3.0 Release Date and Key Features Revealed

From its vanilla Android UI name to that of a unique and feature-rich Android UI, Nothing OS has come a long way. Nothing OS 2.5 (review) based on Android 14 has been one of the biggest and best Android OS releases of 2023, and that makes us excited for Nothing OS 3.0, which is coming in a few months. We already have a lot of information about Nothing OS 3.0 thanks to the recent changelog leaks, and here is everything you need to know about Nothing OS 3.0.

Update (September 5): Added Nothing OS 3.0 changelog and new features

Nothing OS 3.0: When will it be released?

The latest major version of Nothing OS, Nothing OS 2.5, first arrived on the Phone (2) in December last year, about two months after the stable release of Android 14.

Google has released Android 15 on AOSP. Manufacturers usually take a month to push new Android updates. Compared to the 2.5 version schedule, we can expect Nothing OS 3.0 based on Android 15 to arrive in October.

Nothing has released a closed beta to a group of testers, and we’ve already leaked screenshots of all the features that could potentially make their way to the stable version. The company is usually quick to release new Android updates, so this assumption shouldn’t be a far-fetched reality, at least not if it’s running into issues with features and UI testing.

Nothing OS 3.0: Supported Phones

All Nothing phones launched so far are expected to receive three years of major updates, except the CMF Phone 1, which will get two major OS updates.

Considering that Nothing Phone (1) was released with Android 12, it is still eligible for a 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:

• Phone Nothing (2a) More
• Nothing Phone (2a)
• Nothing Phone (2)
• Nothing Phone (1)
• CMF Phone 1

The Nothing Phone (2a) and Nothing Phone (2a) Plus are expected to be the first 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 the Phone (1) likely in December or January 2024. Timeframes may differ and these are based on our best guesses.

Nothing OS 3.0: Confirmed and Expected Features

The Nothing OS 3.0 changelog recently leaked, revealing all the features that could be coming to the stable update. The changelog mentioned features exclusive to Nothing OS and features specific to Android 15 like app archiving, partial screen recording, and Private Space.

1. Improved lock screen customizations

Nothing OS 3.0 will take existing lock screen customizations to the next level. Carl Pei on X (formerly Twitter), you can see some of them new clock styles and widget customizations on the lock screen.

The beta comes with something called Dynamic clock which automatically adjusts based on notifications and lock screen widgets. The lock screen clock is center-aligned, and Nothing has already given us a preview of the three clock faces drawings which are quite reminiscent of Apple’s lock screen designs.

This change probably wasn’t at the top of Nothing users’ wish lists, but the choice to pick and choose from different styles to improve one or two features is always a good step.

2. Redesigned Quick Settings Panel

A redesigned Quick Settings panel is one of the oldest requests from Nothing users, and it might finally be coming in Nothing OS 3.0. The new design looks quite different from the existing Quick Settings panel.

The interface is much cleaner than the current interface and seems more in line with Nothing’s design language. Getting rid of the huge Wi-Fi and Bluetooth tiles and replacing them with smaller ones is a nice touch.

THE red accent in the tile, when 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 removing the colors from the media player thumbnail.

Nothing OS 3.0 takes Quick Settings customizations a step further by allowing users to customize tile size at 1×1, 1×2, and 2×2 sizes, just like the Home and Lock screen widgets. Some tiles like Bluetooth and Volume change character depending on their size.

For example, a 1×2 audio tile has options to set the sound profile to vibrate and mute. The same goes for the Bluetooth tile, where the 2×2 size lets you expand the setting.

3. New fingerprint and boot animations

There are new fingerprint unlock and boot animations. There is only one fingerprint animation where the dots move and breathe outward when you press your finger. the boot animation is similar but orangeand it’s nothing (pun intended) out of the ordinary to write home about.

4. Revamped Settings app

The Settings app has been revamped and features two notable changes: the options are segmented, making them easier to readand the dot matrix text was replaced by Robotoalso for better readability.

5. Charging Assistant and Device Diagnostics

Battery settings now houses a few new options called Charging Assistant And Device DiagnosisYou may be familiar with the latter as it is a change in Android 15; however, Charging Assistant is a new feature. As the name suggests, it will notify you when the charging speed is slow and does not reach the fastest speeds.

There’s also a new Diagnostics app that tells you how many charge cycles it’s had and whether your battery’s health is good. However, there’s still no battery health percentage feature.

6. Interactive point animations

We still don’t have enough information to determine exactly what the interactive dot animations might be, but from what Carl shared, these animations could apply to app icons and widgets to make them more effective. more dynamic and responsive.

For example, we might see a Quick Settings widget to adjust brightness which, when used, has a nice animation and dynamically displays the brightness level.

7. Community, Dialer, Contacts and Gallery Apps

Nothing has been working on delivering the Gallery and Community apps. While there are no recent updates on these, we believe we will see them in Nothing OS 3.0. The Nothing Gallery app is one of the most requested standalone Nothing apps by fans, in addition to the Dialer, Contacts, and Calculator apps.

If we were to develop our own Gallery app, what would be the most important thing to get right?

— Carl Pei (@getpeid) November 2, 2023

Similarly, to make it easier to access Nothing Community, which is currently only available on the web, Nothing appears to be developing a dedicated community app. Again, we haven’t heard much about either app, other than Carl’s acknowledgement that the Nothing team is working on developing new apps.

8. Private space

Although there is no mention of Private Space in the latest closed beta, it could be coming to the stable version of Nothing OS 3.0. Carl tweeted and asked for opinions on Private Space and whether Nothing should evolve into the same existing features, to which many responded yes.

Private Space kills three birds with one stone: the possibility of hide apps, lock themand app cloning. Adding a private space would relieve Nothing developers, and they could focus on other tasks rather than maintaining app hiding/cloning features.

9. Archiving applications

App Archiving is a key feature that will be available on all devices running Android 15, including Nothing OS 3.0. It can help you Get rid of apps you’re not actively using but I don’t want to delete it completely either.

For those who don’t know, when you archive an app, the base APK is deleted, but its data remains on your device. When you reinstall that app, Android restores the app and the built-in account to its previous state, with all its data remaining intact.

10. Miscellaneous characteristics

Besides the ones we mentioned above, the next version of Nothing OS might also bring these features:

• Partial screen recording
• Predictive back gestures
• Improved Setup Wizard
• Data Standby Battery Saver
• Option to reset home screen layout
• Refined gesture navigation.

Features like partial screen recording and predictive back gestures are part of Android 15, while the rest are Nothing-specific features and improvements. We are particularly interested in the sleep battery saver feature, as it could increase the overall battery life of the device.

And that’s pretty much all we know so far about Nothing OS 3.0. What do you think about the latest features coming to Nothing OS 3.0? What are some features you’d like to see in the user interface? Let us know in the comments.