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

Akis

Akis Added some more context to the original post

Banjer

Akis Nice update, but all it talks about is the (3a) lite, are these things going to be pushed to current (3a) and (3a) pro series phones? And what about the other “older” models, like the 2a etc.

Dev.

Akis Fine. you released a new phone with all this stuff. But why do 3a and 3a Pro users are subjected to this changes? Answer this simple question.

CelestialColosseum

Akis

So not only we'll get the apps, we also get the Meta spyware services running in the background even if we uninstall the apps. You are literally bundling background processes of a 3rd party company into the phones.

This is a turning point, you don't get to choose what runs on your phone anymore, have fun with the spyware, we all know Meta is a really trustworthy company afterall.

I'm dropping Nothing as a brand 100%, i've just bought the 3a Pro and you are shafting us in the name of profit. If i wanted bloatware i could get better hardware along with that from other brands.

Lying and two faced people is what you are, this will be your downfall. Will actively recommend avoiding this brand onwards in the tech forums i write on.

Flocky

Akis I don’t use any of those apps and I would like to have full control over what gets installed on my device, not what is already installed :/

This still feels like breaking the whole Nothing mindset and a betrayal for us loyal fans

Phantom

I’m more concerned by ugly new icons now 😂

AlimAli_vGmQtkd2tb

couldve added netflix with HDR support, but nope, metaverse

Flocky

AlimAli_vGmQtkd2tb or nothing?

Anonymous996

🤣🤣🤣 more like motorola or oppo like feel we will get on setting up device

It’s just like clarifying to me that i have stabbed you but you can go to the hospital and heal yourself

nautrish

CMF1_hacker Yes, u r right he needs to keep company running. Then he should do it with newer devices that are coming up. User would already know that there are bloatwares and glimpse type shit in it, so if he still wants to purchase that is fine.

But potraying as a clean software messanger and taking a U turn in old devices is what that is wrong here..

CMF1_hacker

nautrish you’re correct. It’s a somewhat crappy result for 3a/pro owners.

I doubt that NTL had an option to do nothing with the 3a update as I’m sure that the board has access to sales numbers and profit per device.

If one takes Carl at his word and believes that what he wanted to accomplish initially, i.e bloatware free devices, then anyone wanting to get upset at Carl personally, could frame it as being due to his naïvity that this wouldn’t be the outcome all along.

Another way to consider this trajectory, is that this was the plan from Day 1, and it’s going perfectly, which I don’t support but it is possible. Carl has real-world experience with 1+, but her couldn’t predict the AI revolution since 2023 that’s absolutely changed the funding landscape. (Also, the sanctions on Russian money over the last 3.5 years has reduced the pool of VC money available, and this is acutely felt in London, believe me as I know.)

The concept that Carl is destroying NTL is the lunacy of 13-year-olds that are over-ambitious and under-experienced.

Maggi Goreng

CMF1_hacker I’m one of those frustrated 3a Pro users… For now, all I can do is wait and see how Nothing responds, hopefully they’ve really heard what the community’s been saying👆. I’m not in a rush anyway, at least there’s still a Google Pixel in the market as backup.

PanPuszek

I have given nothing a chance after the reveal of Phone (3). I won’t lie, I’m not too big on the design, but nonetheless I went for it because I was charmed by the clean OS experience. I was pleasantly surprised how little there was installed on a phone out of the box.

I am well aware that those changes are most probably not directed towards that phone model, but I feel nothing short of betrayed. Now, I really regret giving nothing a chance and buying Phone (3). I really wish I’ve never done it. Too bad it’s too late for return. Thanks for… nothing.

Nectar

You killed yourself Nothing… Read my another comment and rollback rigtht now

Banjer

Nectar I did…

Nectar I am not currently a Nothing user,

Nectar

Banjer Because where i live, theres no Nothing reseller when i bought my another phone the past year. Right now in october 2025 i can find nothings phones in my country, but i wont change my phone with a year of use. in 2 or 3 years i though to buy a nothing phone. but with the ads in the systems that put nothing… i will back to samsung (currently i am a pixel user)

Amudhan_Sundararajan

Akis 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.

This is BS. You’re just placing their trackers in the name of optimization. I don’t use any Meta apps other than WhatsApp. Why’d I want more trackers from meta in the name of optimization? As far as I know, other brands who includes Meta apps such as Facebook and Instagram don’t include such BS. why are you doing this? Nothing is sinking deeper and deeper.

Amudhan_Sundararajan

Maggi Goreng wait for a while. We might get more custom ROMs for nothing 3a pro as it’s using Snapdragon processor.

Maggi Goreng

Amudhan_Sundararajan Let’s look forward to it together, buddy🤙

Siemens NX

Akis 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.

You went from “they will be UNINSTALLABLE easily” to “Settings App > All apps > Tap the icon in the top-right corner > Select “Show system” > Find the Meta apps > Select the “DISABLE” button”. You’re making the situation worse every time you speak.

What happened to UNINSTALLING (not DISABLING)? How do you even expect regular users to notice they have those bloatware services and find this route? Why did you lie about it in the first place?

Stereobasic

I don’t use any of those apps 😭 Looks like i’m an extra-terrestrial.

CMF1_hacker

Stereobasic same, why change I why I’m likely here so much. I only do what my professional job requires on those platforms.

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