Nothing has expanded the rollout of its Android 16-based Nothing OS 4.0 stable update to include two additional smartphones: the Nothing Phone (3a) and the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro, following last week’s release for the Nothing Phone (3).
The latest Nothing OS 4.0 update introduces a range of new features, visual improvements, camera enhancements, and more. Key highlights of the update include:
- New Features:
- AI Usage Dashboard tracks AI large model usage automatically for improved privacy transparency (Settings > Intelligence toolkit > AI usage).
- Ability to hide apps directly from the Home screen and App drawer, with hidden apps accessible via Home screen > App drawer > Hidden icons.
- Search scope management within the App drawer to filter results.
- Additional size options for Weather, Pedometer, and Screen Time widgets.
- Support for 2×2 size on most Quick Settings tiles.
- Pop-up View now allows two floating icons for easier multitasking.
- Improved app optimization during system upgrades to enhance startup speed (Settings > Apps > App optimisation).
- Essential Innovations:
- Flip to Record now enables photo capture and note-taking during video recording, with all content saved together in Essential Space.
- Playground (Alpha) offers unique community-created content, including Essential Apps, Camera Presets, and EQ Profiles.
- Essential Apps (Alpha) are available for download, featuring AI-powered community-developed apps.
- Visual Enhancements:
- Redesigned Nothing app icons for a fresh appearance.
- Updated, more intuitive status bar icons.
- Two new lock screen clock faces added.
- New Extra Dark Mode available for a deeper dark theme experience (Settings > Display > Dark theme > Extra dark mode).
- Smoother transition animations enhancing overall fluidity.
- Glyph Interface Improvements:
- New option to select whether Flip to Glyph sets the phone to Silent or Vibrate mode.
- Glyph Progress now supports Android 16 Live Update notifications for better compatibility with third-party apps.
- Camera Enhancements:
- Updated default presets with new popular styles.
- Filters now feature intensity adjustment and exclusive “Stretch” styles.
- Motion Photos support longer recording durations and audio capture.
- New Nothing brand watermarks and artistic frames added.
- Refreshed camera UI with optimized interactions.
Nothing notes that the stable Nothing OS 4.0 update is currently rolling out to a limited number of Nothing Phone (3a) and (3a) Pro users. A wider release will follow if the initial rollout proves successful.
Users must update the Essential Space app to the latest version to benefit from the enhanced Flip to Record feature. It is also recommended to back up data prior to installing this update.
