Nothing OS 4.0 Beta on Phone (3a) Series - Lock Glimpse & Future Plans

Akis · 2025-10-24T17:20:00+00:00

![](https://cdn.nothing.community/2025-10-24/1761326648-151450-glimpse.jpg "banner") Hi everyone, Today, we rolled out the Nothing OS 4.0 Open Beta for the Phone (3a) Series, which included Lock Glimpse and sparked a lot of questions. We had planned to cover this next week as part of a new product announcement, but we wanted to address it now to be transparent and provide you with the full context. Building Nothing from the ground up hasn’t been easy. We are the only smartphone brand in the last decade that has successfully launched, scaled and developed full end-to-end capabilities. This is no small feat in a market defined by high entry barriers, from massive capital requirements and complex supply chains to intense competition. One of the biggest challenges for any new entrant is managing the BOM (Bill of Materials) cost, which is higher than that of established players. On top of this, most brands also have software-based revenue streams, the most straightforward being pre-installed partner apps and services. This is a common approach across the industry, including for established brands like Samsung. For us, this means operating on razor-thin margins and making careful, deliberate choices for every aspect of the product while still delivering an optimal user experience. As we continue investing in hardware and software innovation as well as sustaining our growth, we need to explore sustainable revenue models to avoid passing costs and ensuring optimal pricings for our products - especially for entry- and mid-segment products. Moving forward, on select non-flagship devices, we’ll start including a carefully considered selection of third-party partner apps and services that don’t disrupt the Nothing OS experience you love. These are apps most people install on day one, like Instagram. They’re not random - we’re working with popular platforms many of you already use daily, and in some cases, these integrations can even enhance performance or provide tighter experiences, such as improved camera or sharing features. As part of this we have a new feature called Lock Glimpse being tested in the Nothing OS 4.0 Open Beta on the Phone (3a) Series. Lock Glimpse brings fresh, high-quality wallpapers to your lock screen, curated to your taste across nine categories. It can also surface timely updates and useful content, designed to enhance your experience, not distract you. A few important details: * On Phone (3a) Series, Lock Glimpse is off by default. * You can enable it anytime in Settings, or access it only by swiping left from your lock screen. * You can customize wallpaper categories, refresh anytime, or disable it completely. * In future updates, you’ll be able to use your own photos, replacing standard wallpapers entirely and making every unlock uniquely yours. * If you choose to turn it on, no personal data is shared. This is standard across the industry, but we’ll always do it the Nothing way - redesigning each element and integrating them into Nothing OS in the most optimal way (default designs look terrible…) - while keeping everything completely under your control, giving you the ability to remove things or turn features on and off as you wish. What’s not changing: our focus remains on delivering the best possible user experience while taking the steps needed to achieve our ambitions. We’ll always: * Keep partner apps minimal and easy to remove * Be upfront about what’s pre-installed and why * Give you full control over features like Lock Glimpse We’d rather be open and transparent about this change and hear your feedback and suggestions. We’ll keep you posted on any new developments regarding third-party apps and services. Thanks Akis **[ UPDATE ] - 30 OCT** Yesterday, we launched Phone (3a) Lite, the first entry-level smartphone from Nothing. As mentioned above, we want to remain open and transparent about the inclusion of third-party apps and services in Nothing OS, and we welcome your feedback and suggestions regarding this change. Continuing on that, we’ve made some new developments regarding third-party apps and services and have begun including a carefully selected range of third-party partner apps and app recommendation services in Phone (3a) Lite. These are some of the most widely used apps globally , the ones most users tend to install on day one. 1. TikTok - EU , UK and Japan 2. Instagram - All Regions ( except Japan ) 3. Facebook - All Regions ( except Japan ) Because these apps come pre-installed, they offer : * Faster startup: These apps launch 50 to 100 milliseconds quicker. * Smarter background performance: App background retention is optimized, so when you switch back to Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok, they resume exactly where you left off without reloading. * Better power efficiency: These apps are optimized for power efficiency, helping extend your device’s battery life by reducing power consumption. * Seamless camera access: Using the camera within these apps is smoother, providing a more fluid shooting experience and reducing the chance of lag or crashes. And importantly, you still retain full control. If you choose to, all three apps can be uninstalled at any time. Additionally, some community members have raised concerns about the Meta App Installer, Meta App Manager, and Meta Service. These apps are designed to ensure that pre-installed apps are updated to their latest versions in a timely manner and to maintain their stability. If users wish to disable them, they can do so by navigating to: Settings App > All apps > Tap the icon in the top-right corner > Select “Show system” > Find the Meta apps > Select the “disable” button. However, we recommend not disabling these apps if you intend to use the pre-installed apps, as they are essential for ensuring the stability and proper functioning of those apps. ‎ We are also introducing recommendation services which essentially recommend apps that are curated to enhance the initial setup experience for users by helping them quickly discover essential utility and social apps, rather than searching for and downloading each one individually from the Play Store. A few important details: * It’s only visible during the initial phone setup or when the phone is reactivated after a factory reset. Once the setup is complete, there are no more app suggestions during daily use. * Users have full control over it — you can choose to skip and not download any of the recommended apps. * The recommended apps are verified by a trusted partner, eliminating the risk of malware or low-quality software. If users wish to disable this feature , they can do so by navigating to: Settings App > All apps > Tap the icon in the top-right corner > Select “Show system” > Find “App services” > Select the “disable” button. ‎ **[ UPDATE ] 3 NOV** Hi everyone, Following your feedback and suggestions, we’ve been working on making pre-installed services more flexible and within your control. Starting later this month, you’ll be able to completely remove Meta App Installer, Meta App Manager, and Meta Services from your device. Previously, these could only be disabled. While we recommended keeping them active for better stability of pre-installed apps like Instagram or Facebook, we understand that some users prefer full control over what stays on their device. We’re aiming to roll this out by the end of the month and will confirm once it’s live. Thank you for your continued feedback. It helps us keep improving while staying true to our promise of openness and user choice. Akis

Amoled Display

Ant-e-so-shial READ BEFORE YOU WRITE.

PLKA

Akis I would understand it IF Nothing OS was not in a beta state overall. There are so few features that are actually useful and cool. All Nothing do is giving fake promises and hyperbolized expectations. I am not sure that my next phone will be Nothing

Samit_Sah

Really! I switched from another brand and bought the 3a pro with my 11 months of savings. I will tell my friends not to buy this brand and go with another one which is trustworthy.

DibyadyutiDas

Akis in other word it’s an ad

RishavRaj_YMuH0s9CnY

Mine next phone is definately be Samsung after my 3a runs out of support. I switched from samsung to nothing for a clean experience but nah Thanks I was good Samsung user and will be going back there

ShreekrishnaSNattoja

Akis

Y the big hate ,idfc if few important apps like Instagram is pre installed and I don’t think lock glimpse is huge bloatware

Stereobasic

ShreekrishnaSNattoja yes but thinking like that is kind of slippery because you love some thing and don’t love some other, but that change for everyone. Then not easy. I don’t use Instagram at all, so i’m not happy if they force that app. You use Instagram so you don’t care. But next time it will be an app you don’t use and then you can’t argue it’s bad because you have stated that you are ok for Instagram or Netflix.

It’s bloatware free or not.

Anyway they advertised it’s bloatware free device, so changing the promise afterwards is just crazy. It’s like buying Coca zero sugars, and then someone comes to you home, open your fridge and put sugar on your bottle because someone give them money for put it in now. Just crazy.

j_Downgradist_

I tried using the app, but hmm… I couldn’t find a single decent background image. All the images looked cheap and tacky—something only people in their 60s or 70s might like, completely out of touch with Nothing’s style. I was really disappointed. If I could delete the app, I probably would right away. The default Wallpaper Studio feature is way better.

DEEPAKS_hTu6NcG9ge

Akis i bought this phone because of zero bloatware and zero adds . For clean ui without any distraction . I taught nothing was different from other os . But now I feel shamed and lost trust on u guys. Bet you my next phone will not be from nothing anymore u almost lost one of your customer thanks for all this kind of shit .

A_N_L_I_N__

Akis I buyed nothing to experience a clean ui without any single ads or bloatware

Shafman

Business is business, I can’t blaim Nothing for being part of the hustle, but it’s a slippery slope.

Nothing be careful of what partner apps you curate, and what adds are allowed.

Literally the only things I want baked in are the Niagra Launcher and Proton products.

Amoled Display

Shafman THEY LITERALLY PARTNERED WITH THE “GLANCE”. BE CAREFUL 😭

b4bharatmahali89

Akis sabse bakwas update realme/mi se compare lock screen bnana hai to one plus jaise bnao

ANSHHHHHH_XD

Thanks to be transparent but don’t do such things to loose your regular consumers i bought the whole 3 series 3a, 3a pro and 3 and decided to gift my 3a series phones to my siblings ofc apple users just to prove them that not only phones with 60000 - 80000 INR pricing gives best software experience . BUT now i regret as soon as they update their phones they will see some exciting features (the wait which was called worth) ADS AND BLOATWARE ( are we paying for this) . Where real carl pie has gone ? And one more thing the new app icons are trash give us option to choose for the old nothing theme and new nothing theme . The Greatest Advantage of having nothing phones was nothing os but now we don’t have anything to defend . thanks nothing . Great choice for your own Downfall .*

Hey nothing , please don’t get that transparent that we could not see you . Please don’t do it nothing we do love and have a lot of trust on you at least listen to the community members .*

b4bharatmahali89

Akis notingh I started 💀 After me 🃏 if you want to copy then use Hyper OS only of iPhone, don’t forget Mi and Realme What are you doing, you bastard, you have ruined the whole Aura

JoeDissolvo

The sad thing for me is Id wager this is never going to be addressed either.

Its an overwhelming sentiment here and on Reddit that the beta is a disapointment across the board, and that Lock Crap is DOA.

If Nothing was watching and reading, theyd do some damage control. Theyd make a statement trying to relieve some fears, maybe outling some upcoming changes with the next beta or full release. Speaking more about the lockscreen thing. Anything is better than silence.

Id wager all we’re going to get is a tweet saying they hear the community. Then nothing.

Amol

Mojito 🇫🇷 well said.

I’d be okay with a few select pre-installed apps (that can be deleted easily) if it helps Nothing price their products better and be competitive and survive.

Not okay with the lock screen glimpse nonsense though. Do not trust that ad wallpaper application even if it’s off by default. I hope nothing kills this partnership.

Nothing needs to be very careful here.

MayankNotFound

Does this mean we can get HDR support on Netflix?? (on older devices)

Stereobasic

MayankNotFound No it don’t mean that I think.

MayankNotFound

Stereobasic If no, its better to just throw the phone in trash. I bought the phone in september and in just 1 month im dissapointed with nothing, and I will most likely switch to Pixel if they add blottware

Stereobasic

MayankNotFound Yes i’m sorry for you if you expected HDR in Netflix. I was known that it’s not available on Nothing phone or others because Netflix give it only if his bloatware is pre-installed in phones. And the promise of Nothing was “no bloatware in Nothing phones”. So next time when there is a feature that is vital for you, try to look before if the phone can handle it. I understand you are desapointed if it was important for you.

josecordoba

While this isn’t something that makes me happy, I hope you keep your word and don’t ruin the experience you have carefully created.

As a user, I don’t really understand the business side of things so I’m not going to pretend I do. All I can do is continue to hope your vision remains as clean as it has been.

The main reason I chose Nothing over other companies is the transparency (which you are still having, don’t get me wrong) and losing it would be the only thing that would make me switch companies.

If you are going to do it, then do it your own way. Don’t follow the trends, We’ve all seen how it turns out.

Remember your users trust you and chose you, please don’t let us down.

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