After the first announcement of the Nothing OS 4.0 closed beta for the Phone (3), the company promised that the open beta would follow in September. Sticking to its words, Nothing has now launched the Nothing OS 4.0 Open Beta, based on Android 16, right at the end of September.
While users expected only Phone (3) to get this update, Nothing has surprised us with the new update rollout to the Phone (2), Phone (2a), and Phone (2a) Plus, giving more users early access to its latest software features.
Nothing OS 4.0 Key Features
For the Phone (3), the update brings an AI usage dashboard in Essential Space, designed to give users greater visibility into how large models operate in the background.
Alongside this, the device also benefits from overall improvements, including better lock screen and Always-on Display performance, smoother brightness behaviour, stronger Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections, enhanced camera stability, and broader system fixes.
Meanwhile, the Phone (2), Phone (2a), and Phone (2a) Plus gain the new “Stretch” camera preset, created with photographer Jordan Hemingway. This preset boosts photo quality with rich shadows and brighter highlights, giving pictures a more artistic finish.
These models also receive system-level app optimisation, designed to make apps launch faster and run more smoothly.
Across all supported devices, users will find several common additions: Pop-up View with two floating icons for quicker multitasking, two fresh lock screen clock styles, 2×2 Quick Settings tiles, and an Extra Dark Mode option under Display settings.
Essential Apps are now available as well, allowing users to create and share AI-powered widgets in Playground. Phone (3) supports up to six widgets, while the other models are currently capped at two to maintain stability.
How To Join The Nothing OS 4.0 Beta
Interested users can download the Beta Updates Hub .apk via the Nothing Community. After installing, they must head to Settings > System > Nothing Beta Hub and tap Join Beta.
Once registered, they can upgrade through the update option or check manually in System updates.
Applications for the open beta will remain open until October 14. However, Nothing advises against installing beta builds on primary devices, since early versions often contain bugs and may affect performance.
