Nothing finally kicks off its big Android 16 rollout – here's what's new

Nothing has started the roll-out of Nothing OS 4.0, its latest software based on Android 16. It will come to the Nothing Phone (3) first, hitting the rest of the Nothing models over the next weeks, before moving onto CMF devices. The Nothing Phone (3a) Lite will be updated in early 2026.

Nothing OS 4.0 was first mentioned in July at the launch of the Nothing Phone (3), so there's been plenty of anticipation, especially since the open beta started in September. At its core it's Android 16, but many of the visual changes fall into Nothing's interface.

They are wide-ranging too, with Nothing saying in a blog on the community forum that it's about "removing friction". That aligns with the general aims of Android 16, where the Material 3 Expressive update was about making things clearer and more obvious.

Onto the specifics and Nothing details that the update covers:

• Refreshed first-party icons
• Refined status bar options
• New lock screen clocks
• Interaction animation refinement
• Haptic feedback a volume limits
• Glyph progress indicator
• Refined pop-up view
• Extra dark mode
• Hidden icons
• More widget sizes
• System and app optimisation
• Universal search settings filtering
• Essential apps (Playground) creation
• Widget drawer
• LLM status tracker

That's a huge swathe of new tweaks across the device – but the Glyph progress indicator is interesting. This will give you a simple indicator so you can track progress without all the distractions elsewhere in your phone. This just tracks across the Glyph Interface to track rides, deliveries or timers. More app integration is due here too.

The Nothing Phone (3) gets more exclusive features in this update, taking the integration a little deeper into the hardware, with a Glyph selfie mirror, better flip to Glyph mode, pocket mode to turn off the interface when it's in your pocket, and new Glyph toys – Lunar Cycle and Hourglass.

Essential Space now also works better with Essential Search to understand the things that are saved. And with Essential Memory, the things saved in Essential Space are understood for better recall using natural language.

Nothing OS 4.0: Let your mind flow - YouTube

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Nothing continues to push the idea of minimalism through the update, suggesting that the minimalist icons are designed to "help your brain breathe", while distractions are removed and there's more flexibility through customisation.

Nothing even gives a nod to beta testers, saying that number of features were developed directly from feedback and keeping that link to the community that Nothing continues to nurture.

The update is rolling out now with Nothing Phones expected to be updated in the coming weeks (except Nothing Phone (1)) and CMF Phone models by the end of 2025.