Nothing is wasting no time getting Android 16 onto its latest hardware, with Nothing OS 4.0 now making its way to the Nothing Phone 3.
The update brings a mix of visual tweaks, AI tricks, and multitasking upgrades that lean into the brand’s minimalist style. Other Nothing and CMF handsets are set to follow soon, so this is the start of a wider Android 16 wave for the lineup.
Nothing has confirmed that OS 4.0 is based on Android 16 and is arriving first on Phone 3, with the rest of the phones getting it over the coming weeks.
Every model except the 3a Lite should be covered before the end of the year, while that cheaper variant is due to see the update early next year. It shows Nothing sticking closely to the timeline it set when it launched the open beta back in October.
Visually, the update leans into cleaner, moodier looks. There is a new Extra Dark Mode with deeper blacks and higher contrast to help in low light and squeeze out a bit more battery life.
Native app icons have been refreshed with a minimalist look, the status bar has been simplified to match Android 16 styling, and the lock screen gets new clock faces and fonts. You can hide apps from the drawer without shuffling them into a Private Space and pick new 1×1 and 2×1 layouts for Weather, Pedometer and Screen Time widgets.
Nothing OS 4.0 also puts a lot of work into making the phone feel smoother and more useful in everyday use. Glyph Progress is now tied in more deeply with Android 16, which means the light strips on the back can track rides, deliveries and timers for most third-party apps, not just a handful of partners.
Multitasking gets a reworked Pop-up View that supports two floating apps at once, with gesture controls for switching between them. A new System and Apps Dashboard shows what is running in the background and lets you optimise performance with a single tap.
AI and customisation get a noticeable boost, too. A feature called Essential Apps Playground lets you generate functional widgets just by describing what you want in natural language, skipping the need for any coding.
Those widgets live in a new Widget Drawer that acts as a hub for your own creations and community-made options. There is also more transparency around AI usage, with a status bar hint whenever a large language model is active and a Usage Dashboard that tracks AI activity.
Nothing has kept a few extras back for the Phone 3 itself. Glyph Mirror Selfie uses the rear light matrix to create a stylised reflection you can save, while a smarter Flip to Glyph lets you choose between Vibrate and Silent when you place the phone face down.
Pocket Mode turns off the Glyph Matrix when the phone detects it is in your pocket to avoid accidental flashes, and two new Glyph Toys called Hourglass and Lunar Cycle add more playful light patterns. A further update to Essential Space is also on the way, promising smarter, context-aware search across your saved items using natural language.
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