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

Maggi Goreng

Nirmith

NP3User

RafinMahdi not just Netflix … there is no support for any ott or any native apps … even in YouTube and Instagram some it’s fail to show proper HDR . Even in NP3 which is there FLAGSHIP …..

HDR is not properly implemented

RafinMahdi

NP3User i think nothing team should seriously look after the issue. Ruining the experience in the worst manner.

NP3User

ArnimZola I would like to see LineageOS on my NP3 for stock android experience and appeal ..

Does anyone know how to reqst them for a NP3 build of LineageOS ?

Abhijith_K

Akis Nothing os started to lose its charm, feeling sad to see this, the os convinced me to buy the 3a

Kumar_WeygXjgLSV

Abhijith_K same with me

SubrahmanyaHegde

Akis We chose Nothing over other Android brands because it was clean and bloatware-free. Now, adding features like the lock screen glimpse that can’t even be uninstalled is disappointing. Carl initially emphasized the “bloat-free” experience — that was the core reason many of us joined the Nothing community. Including unavoidable system apps takes away the brand’s uniqueness and trust. If this continues across all models, Nothing risks losing the loyal users who believed in its original vision.

Anuzzi

Sad to see nothing OS taking these steps. Seems like my next update is going to be a custom rom instead of NOS4.0.. (I’m kidding but seriously it could be a better decision)

AlexMrngstr69

I am not okay with the lock screen glimpse feature at all. Nothing was known for its clean bloatware free experience. But Glance is complete utter nonsense.

I am ok with some pre-installed apps - netflix,prime instagram etc that can be deleted if required.. as they can give Good Integrations like hdr support in them etc..

But lock screen glimpse is a bad move…..

Only reason I don’t want to go for s OnePlus or samsung is that they have bloatware and ads… but nothing should not go in that direction…

Very bad move nothing… 😞 😞 😞

SnrMannie

Akis nobody likes glimpse, nobody likes Instagram or Facebook or Twitter or telegram pre-installed even if it can be easily uninstalled. Do away with bloatware. I want nothing on my Nothing. I left pixel for you - don’t send me back please.

MayankNotFound

RafinMahdi If they do start pre installing Netflix then will older device get HDR support too?

RafinMahdi

MayankNotFound i think yes with the update

MayankNotFound

RafinMahdi then I can take it, otherwise I’m just gonna switch to pixel. I bought NP3a in September and can’t believe I’m already gonna sell this phone with just 1 month use

RafinMahdi

MayankNotFound you can wait for 1 month with the next updates. Except this Netflix hdr issue i don’t find nothing that bad. Switching to pixel means bad battery backup, greenline issues. I think you should stick with nothing for few more days. As nothing is very good at software updates

Kumar_WeygXjgLSV

Arya i really hate Lock Glimpse[ glance in other phones].

Arya

Kumar_WeygXjgLSV Ikr,

I have pretty bad luck when it comes to switching phones. Last time I switched to OnePlus, they merged with ColorOS, and now that I’ve switched to Nothing, they’re introducing “ads”.

MayankNotFound

RafinMahdi I will wait till the end of the year, but if they will not revert this change I’m definitely gonna switch to another phone

Banjer

mandila1234 You should realize that Akis is just the messenger, and might not have any say in the decision to include Lock Glimpse… calling him a loser for that is just plain silly. It’s words like yours than are ruining this community.

justarandomstan

Banjer he’s the co-founder of the company. If you think that he’s got no say in what goes, then maybe you need to get your facts straight first.

endless_empathy

I completely understand the point of 3rd party apps as additional source of revenue. What I don’t understand is what Lock Glimpse brings to the end user? Like in case of Netflix we are getting HDR content support, Lock Glimpse on the other hand is just a bunch of images and advertisement articles.

Even if it would allow us to use our images in future, why would we use it in the first place? I bet nothing users wouldn’t complain that much if you started this with instagram as you mentioned or netflix or other popular app. But adding essentially a platform for ads to the lockscreen seems like L move from my side. Additionally you tell us If we choose to turn it on, no personal data is shared, but from what I saw BOYUAN privacy policy suggests otherwise.

Also this could’ve been and should’ve been communicated prior to update if you really wanted to be transparent.

RayanGhosh

Akis this is not okay you guys are just kind of reversing on everything first you provide a phone like phone 3 which should have been 50k INR at max but your selling it for 80k INR and offering 8s gen 4 glyph matrix instead of your signature glyph lights and now bloatware might as well add hot apps and hot ganes in the future and give the excuse of everyday essential apps … wow nothing just wow… only Google now remains to give pure stock Android… I genuinely had believed that you guys were different but guess like very other brand at the end of the day you will make the user the product

AbhinavSaxena_lRbHCjO2cK

SinXCosXTanX true😢

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