Let’s keep this brief and not mess around here - Carl’s latest tweet was a real digest! For many reasons, but mostly because there was the first official mention of Phone (3), as well as the initial concept designs of what an AI focused homescreen could look like. So here’s the break down:

“Today we’re going to talk about AI”

So already, this got me hooked as AI is the main topic of conversation around all things tech related. I won’t dive into too much detail, but there’s been some sus reviews and comments about certain handheld devices that haven’t quite met the experience levels we were expecting. This is somewhat where Carl takes the conversation, with his opinion that AI will still be contained in software format on people’s smartphones because…

Which leads me on nicely to the next point that I found really interesting, but certainly the way I also see things going:

“In the future, there will be no more apps”

Playing on the idea here that the OS will do everything for you, serve for you and know everything about you isn’t something too far off from reality - many assistant services already can do a lot of this for you, it’s now about pushing this boundary more and that’s what Nothing is looking at for it’s future NothingOS inspiration.

“So how can we be more like Nintendo?”

And interesting phrase that I didn’t think I would hear, but leads on to the future of how can Nothing’s OS change so dramatically, to suit the needs of the future consumer. This point also allowed Carl to reiterate back to one of Nothing’s main ethos’ about ‘making tech fun again’, which they’ve managed to achieve through product design. But what about AI, is the same achieveable? Well, according to Carl that’s exactly what’s about to hit us…enter Walid, Software Engineer.

“Dynamic and Context Aware”

There’s so much to admire about this early concept of what an AI focused homescreen could look like, but this iteration from Nothing certainly hits the spot for me. Why? Well it’s new, different, unique, personal and tailored to the user. Think of all the widgets and use cases we currently have from our devices, this initial screen brings all of that into one place, in a fun way.

“My name is Oliver”

Walid continues to show what the initial start up could look like, where he interacts with a familiar sounding and looking AI interface. What’s striking here, is the conversation they’re having where the AI is learning about his specific preferences, and how he would like this to be in the future. Within a few moments, the AI’s model has changed to be more friendly just as Walid asked for. It’s exciting hearing there’s been lots of different companions acquired from various team members during the initial trials too!

“Phone (3) next year”

So there we have it, Phone (3) is also confirmed for next year and what’s exciting, is that some of these capabilities will be part of that device! I’ve been wondering for a while how Nothing can mix up their OS or design for the next device, but now we have first hand an insight into what the team are working on and cooking up for 2025 (and beyond!).

I really like the way Carl ended things, alluding back to his whole ethos of breaking down the barriers and that across the past few years, Nothing has spent time creating products that will allow us, consumers, to achieve such results. Now we have the tech and hardware, it’s clear that Nothing’s next move is to focus on software and importantly, AI developments.

It’s a lot to digest, but I’d love to hear your thoughts about all of this? What do you think about the early homescreen concepts? Do you think the whole AI integration and personalisation is the right way forward? How excited are you for Phone (3)?

Let’s hear it all below in the comments 🔽

    Related discussions

    Excited for Nothing to bring about the next chapter of OS. I was hooked to this on twitter , watched it twice already. The early design looks clean too although we all know it would be elegant yet simple when official. However, I think you guys should just make it clear if the launch of Nothing Phone 3 has shifted to next year. It’s because like me every one else who has been here since the start , is expecting the Phone 3 launch in July 2024 ( as was the case with Phone 1 and 2 ).

    Since every smartphone maker has a set date for their flagships , naturally we expect the same. While it might be good to see what Apple and Google are upto , it might also be a hard sell afterwards. All the best to the team. It’s unreal , seeing how far we have come in no time.

    So no Nothing OS 3 this year ?

    Will nothing 1, 2, 2a get the ai update like it will be in phone 3?

      Louis ☕️ Lovely recap Lou!

      So much to digest in one short video! Like you, I’m excited about the reimagining of the smartphone home screen - who needs a series of apps to browse when the most important content could automatically appear without prompt!

        Very interesting! 💯 I think that it is very clever to release Phone (3) next year because until then there will be a lot of innovation that we wouldn’t have this year (e.g. 3nm processors, R&D in AI, optimized Android 15, optimized NOS to use AI properly and I think there are still some other questions that Nothing has to face regarding their future developments). I am super excited what the future will bring and to be a part of it! 💥

        I am little worried about where this is all going. Phones are already too distracting, and I thought nothing is about to reduce that distraction and bring us back to the world. Such aggressive AI implementation, the fact that every information we possibly would like to consume, is given at your fingertips, would suck us even more. Maybe you could ease me a little sharing your point. But that’s not what I expect from a phone. What is even more funny, is that people who are really into the develop part of such things or are somehow related to the inventions, know best the risks and the amount of time sucked out of life with newer and newer features of consumer technology. My teacher who holds a patent in many countries in Europe related to neural network is using an old Nokia without internet connection and things I mentioned are the exact reasons for it. It is very useful though, on the research site, educational, or economical, environmental (I couldn’t imagine learning in college as efficient as now without wolfram or others). Share your thoughts

          Lovely recap here! 👀

          Watched the video as it dropped and just had a second viewing before visiting this thread.

          Main take aways are that the concept is a nice start. I am excited to see it before more “Nothing”-esque and streamlined as we approach a Phone (3) launch in 2025. Also, to see what further personalised options are available. Walid mentioned the Glyphs being used as part of these new AI Companions, so I am glad to hear the Glyph shall remain! 🔥

          Another point to note is the acknowledgement that AI isn’t going anywhere, it is the latest leap in technology and finding a great way to integrate it, could make or break this young company. I am confident that the team shall deliver an experience that is personable, efficient and useful!

          Finally, that note of “Phone (3), next year”. Great to hear that a successor is in the works, and isn’t being rushed for the sake of it. It is rare to see a company take their time to release a product when it makes sense for them. Most just stick to their annual releases and we have seen from others that they usually require severe fixes weeks/months into their release cycle.

          I shall be watching this space and utilising ChatGPT on my Nothing audio products until the integrated companions come next year! 🔥

            KarolWo_kowski I also thought it should be simple, less distracting, let the user decide what they want and wanna do. Plenty of AI choice out there, whether chatgpt, gemini, bing, or perplexity for everyone’s preference and available on app store. But can’t blame them, they listen to this community, many people asking this and that. Just hope that it won’t get too heavy and affect battery/performance.

              there will be no apps in future? Really!i mean isn’t it strange? I dont think it would be better if there ll be no apps whats to scroll then nothing?😂

              Honestly really love the idea of a contextual home screen and the demo shown looks pretty great already. But as someone mentioned above, the idea of this potentially causing even more of a distraction than a smartphone already is could be a draw back but I’m sure this will all get sorted out by the time we start to see these ideas come to fruition when Phone (3) launches next year.

              Not working in Russia without VPN. Classic.

              Ealesy101 hey man…can you confirm if he meant to release the ai features or the phone(3) itself by 2025?

                  I don’t know if OP has any insider info but I really didn’t get “Phone (3) launching next year” from that Twitter post. I understood it like the mentioned AI features will start appearing in the Phone (3) next year not that the Phone (3) is launching next year…

                  So no phone 3 this year?

                  That was a little confusing, did he meant that phone 3 by itself is coming in 2025, or the ai features on the NP 3 are coming next year.

                  And if we are not seeing the phone 3 this year, will the nothing os 3 be also delayed, and if so, are you guys skipping andriod 15 to the 16 or what?

                  Personally, the future will still be full of apps. It’s just that AI will continue feeding on such apps and hopefully bring the end goal of a personalized, contextual home screen experience as mentioned.

                  I only have a pet peeve for AI, and that’s the issue of how it’s feeding on certain elements with copyright. We’ve seen this with certain art channels and how they’re vehemently against AI for art generation for example. It would be interesting to see how AI will combat these potential risks and deliver something that should theoretically benefit the user, rather than harm them.

                  Hopefully that Nothing Phone (2a), 2, and 1 will also be able to experience the future being envisioned here. And best of luck by the way for Phone (3)!

                  I don’t like the concept of the AI stuff tbh. I just want a phone. I don’t need another assistant.

                  The fact that the Phone (3) gets delayed is sad too. I really wanted to buy the phone this summer, but now I will need to buy the Phone (2).

                  Has Nothing said anything about disabling the AI crap completely to be able to use the phone like we would use it right now? Just a Launcher with Apps is what I want.

                  I’m hyped for this! As someone who’s already into smarthome products, I’m ready to embrace AI if it’s accurate and secure - i.e. not sending all of my data somewhere. Hopefully by next year, we’ll have more AI advancements that minimise hallucinations too. I’ve often wished that Google Assistant was more clever at anticipating what I need, what I want to do or what I’m asking. It sounds like Nothing are coming up with the solution for that.

                  I especially loved the home screen concept, showing the information you need to see right in front of you when you need it. I don’t need to buy a separate device for that if the device I carry with me every day can do it instead.

                  Looking forward to see what’s ahead!

                  Sigh. Goodbye Nothing then i guess. If this all is true. First i don’t want AI stuff and second, i need to buy phone this year. I was waiting for NP3 (have NP1 atm). Pixel 8/9 it is then.

                  This indeed will be an advancement. However not all the people want AI deeply integrated because of their data and privacy issues.

                  I understand that nothing has to be in the race as other competitors but there should be an option for the consumer to choose if he or she wants to go with the AI or not.

                  There should be an option to go ahead using the OS without the AI capabilities which will ensure it will not be accessing any data and consumers don’t want to share.

                  Although Google already have integrated it in the Android already such as Gemini and Google photos due to which some nothing phone users want their own suits of apps like gallery, dialer and file manager so that they can get the clean user interface according to their usage instead of selecting what the app is offering.