If you’ve been patiently awaiting the launch of Nothing 3.0, it’s closer than ever. It’s expected to be released in December of this year, but the Nothing 3.0 beta is now available for the Nothing Phone 2a .
Interestingly enough, only the Nothing Phone 2a can download the update right now. The Nothing Phone 2 will get access in November, while the Nothing Phone 1, Nothing Phone 2a Plus, and Nothing CMF Phone 1 will have to wait until December.
If you have one of these devices, you can join the open beta program to try out the update for yourself. Be warned: It’s a beta release, so instability problems are rampant. Nothing suggests users back up their data before installing it, and we recommend against using the beta on your daily driver.
If you’re interested in giving this a shot, download the Nothing Offline OTA Update APK and then look for the beta update afterward. It should appear in your system settings.
So what’s new? The Nothing OS 3.0 beta adds a lot of new features (and we’ve listed the entire change log below, courtesy of the Nothing Community), but there are several more noteworthy improvements. One of the most exciting is the AI-powered smart drawer that automatically sorts your apps into folders. Another big improvement is the lock screen customization, which lets you make your phone truly yours.
Lock screen
New lock screen customization page. Access by long-pressing the lock screen.
Smart Drawer
Quick Settings
Camera improvements
Enhanced pop-up view
Other improvements
New lock screen customization page. Access by long-pressing the lock screen.
Upgraded clock faces. Choose your favorite style.
Expanded widget space allows you to place more widgets on your lock screen.
Adds AI-powered Smart Drawer feature to automatically categorize your apps into folders for better organization and easy access.
For ultimate convenience, you can pin your favourite apps to the top of the app drawer. No scrolling required.
Reconsidered Quick Settings design with an optimized editing experience.
Updated visuals in Settings, including better Network & Internet and Bluetooth options.
Faster camera launch speed under the Camera Widget.
Boosted camera performance in lowlight environments.
Improved zoom slider display.
Movable pop-up view for cleaner and more productive multitasking.
Easily resize the pop-up view by dragging the bottom corners.
Pin the pop-up view on the screen edge for quick access.
View information without leaving your current app. Simply swipe down on incoming notifications to enter the pop-up view. Enable via
Settings > System > Pop-up view
.
Added support for auto-archive function to automatically free up storage space without removing apps or data from your device.
Partial screen sharing for more efficient and secure screen recording. Record just an app window rather than the entire screen.
Updated setup wizard to version 3.0 for the smoothest introduction to Nothing OS.
Enabled predictive back animations for apps that have opted in.
New fingerprint animation with signature dot matrix styling.
When we reviewed the Nothing Phone 2a, our writer called it “the best cheap phone in ages.” With the changes coming in the next OS, Nothing looks like it will get even better.
