It’s October, and time for another Nothing Newsletter. We have quite a lot to talk about, with the launch of Ear (open), and the Nothing OS 3.0 announcement. But that’s not all. Get ready for the Phone (2a) Community Edition drop. Read on for all our latest news.

We Went Under the Skin of Ear (open) with Our Latest Teardown

We have recently released Ear (open), our first open wearable stereo (OWS) earbuds. Designed to provide an elevated listening experience, Ear (open) blends superior sound quality with comfort and situational awareness, delivering a revolutionary, more connected way to experience audio.

Ear (open) offers Nothing’s Open Sound Technology, which creates a more immersive audio experience while maintaining users’ awareness of their surroundings. Whether it’s birds singing or the hum of the city, users can stay connected to their environment without compromising on sound quality. Discover more about Ear (open) in our latest teardown on nothing.community.

Nothing OS 3.0: The Software We Always Wanted to Make

We have recently announced Nothing OS 3.0, a redesigned user interface with refined typography, enhanced dot matrix animations, and newly customisable lock screens. Nothing OS 3.0 features a revamped Quick Settings experience and integrates an AI-powered Smart Drawer to get the most out of all your apps. The release also includes the long-awaited Nothing Gallery app, improving photo processing speed, and bringing AI image segmentation as well as future AI upscaling to elevate the photo experience. Shared widgets allow users to connect with friends and family, adding a social layer to the OS. The open beta is now live for Phone (2a) users - you can see all the download instructions here. For more details on the features of Nothing OS 3.0, view the video with Carl and Yuri.

October 30th: Save the Date for the Launch of Phone (2a) Community Edition

Get ready to see what we have been working on behind the scenes with @Astrid and @KentaAkasaki, @Ian_H_Simmonds, @Andres_123 and @Palmix Art 🇮🇹. We are thrilled to share that the Phone (2a) Community Edition will be presented on October 30th during our Q3 Community Update. While the release is still a bit far away, we will not leave you hanging. Look out for sneak peaks on nothing.community and our social channels in the coming weeks.

PS: In case you lived under a rock for the past 6 months, the Phone (2a) Community Edition Project is our industry first co-creation project empowering our community to build a smartphone of their own imagination. The winners of each stage of the project have worked hand in hand with our team to co-design and co-develop the Hardware Design, Wallpaper Design, Packaging Design and Marketing Campaign.

Community Shout-Outs: Introducing Ear (web) and The Better Glyph Composer

A new month, same incredible work from some members of our community. The first shout-out goes to @RapidZapper for releasing Ear (web), a web-based application allowing users to adjust all of the settings of their Nothing and CMF by Nothing devices directly from their laptop or desktop computer. The app can be used on any recent chromium-based browser including Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge Brave and Arc - Give it a try!

Community member @chris._.sin recently released another web-based app called Better Glyph Composer - this tool enables anyone to create custom Glyph patterns by uploading an audio file and building Glyph animations on a timeline-based interface. There are granular controls to adjust each Glyph segment and its brightness, all from the comfort of your browser! You can then export them for use on their Nothing device via the Composer app - simply awesome!

Nothing Library: What are the Nothing Team Reading and Listening To?

Starting this month, we are opening the doors to the Nothing library, a collection of books and podcasts that are keeping our team inspired and busy. We hope you’ll find some inspiration too!

Book - The Leviathan - recommended by Lewis, Soho Store Manager

“The Leviathan (book by Rosie Andrews, not the sea serpent) is a historical fiction set in Norfolk during the English Civil War. It explores themes of loyalty, superstition and witchcraft, and considers the moral complexities of the time period. I’m really enjoying its mystery, great writing and exploration of 17th Century Norfolk.”

Podcast - Black Box - recommended by Lucy, CMF Design Lead

“Black Box is a podcast from the Guardian about AI - how it was first conceived, where we are now, the threat and the opportunity that exists for the technology. It raises some really interesting points and thought starters which feel particularly relevant for us.”

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That’s everything for October. We hope you enjoyed this month’s digest and you have enough to listen to or read from our team. As always, let us know what you found most interesting below!