Nothing OS 4.0 | General Release

Zac · 2025-11-21T11:08:00+00:00

https://youtu.be/EIQECQ9UJKQ **Hey Community,** You know when your brain works so well it feels like it’s not working at all? That’s the flow state. Nothing OS 4.0 is made for it. Today, we are officially starting the public rollout of Nothing OS 4.0, powered by Android 16. This update is experience-led, fast, and thoughtfully designed. It builds directly on the foundation of OS 3.0, but strengthens the core experience across speed, consistency, and interaction. From new minimalist icons that help your brain breathe, to interactions that move smoothly at speed, this update is about removing friction. We’ve tightened every part of the system. UI components now follow a more coherent structure, iconography has been refreshed for clarity, and animations have been reworked so navigation feels more responsive. Nothing OS 4.0 is a step focused on fundamentals. Faster responses, cleaner visuals, smoother interactions, and a platform that’s ready for what comes next. ### Refined by You We didn’t get here alone. The Open Beta Test gave us the real-world data we needed to finalise the feature set. OBT builds focused on a limited set of areas so we could isolate issues and prioritise what mattered most. Now, with the full rollout, we are introducing a wider set of refinements based on everything we learned together. * A lot of users highlighted areas where the visual experience could feel more consistent. This led to updated status bar icons, refreshed first-party app icons, deeper Extra Dark Mode coverage, a cleaner lock screen password interface and smoother animations. * Many shared thoughts on multitasking and day-to-day flow. That shaped improvements like a refined Pop-up View with Dual Windows, 2x2 Quick Settings tiles, more widget sizes and the ability to hide apps in the App Drawer. * There was also strong interest in having more glanceable information. This helped bring Live Updates to the lock screen and to the Glyph Interface, making rides, deliveries and timers easier to follow at a glance. Thank you again to everyone who joined the beta and shared your time, thoughts and suggestions. Your input played a meaningful role in shaping this release. ![](https://cdn.nothing.community/2025-11-20/1763671923-99439-workhub-88.png "banner") Here is everything you can expect in Nothing OS 4.0. ### Visuals & Interaction. Calm and Fast. Everything in Nothing OS 4.0 moves smooth... at speed. Interaction physics now carry natural weight and momentum, while visuals have been standardised across the system for a cleaner, more cohesive look. ![](https://cdn.nothing.community/2025-11-20/1763671942-776094-workhub-86.png "banner") **Refreshed First-Party Icons:** Native app icons now feature a cleaner, more minimal design. The home screen feels balanced, modern, and comfortable to use. **Refined Status Bar Icons:** Status bar icons like Wi-Fi, battery, and data indicators now follow a cohesive visual style inspired by Android 16. The simplified layout reduces noise, making status information easier to scan at a glance. ![](https://cdn.nothing.community/2025-11-21/1763714053-92010-adobe-express-20251120-191923-6.gif "banner")**New Lock Screen Clocks:** We have refreshed the clock fonts and style, and introduced two new clock faces. Both feature a futuristic, geek-forward aesthetic that stays true to our bold design language. ![](https://cdn.nothing.community/2025-11-20/1763672507-525819-adobe-express-ns1.gif "banner") **Interaction Animations:** Physics and motion across the system have been refined. The Notification Shade, app transitions, and gestures respond with sharper tactility and depth, making every swipe and tap feel smoother and more natural. **Haptic Feedback at Limits:** Subtle haptic feedback now kicks in at maximum and minimum volume. This gives you an immediate physical response, letting you adjust levels without looking at the screen. ### Functional Flow. Cancel Distractions. We’ve added features designed to keep you focused and efficient. ![](https://cdn.nothing.community/2025-11-20/1763672545-437894-adobe-express-20251120-191923-2-1.gif "banner") G**lyph Progress:** Stay informed without the distraction. Rides, deliveries, and timers now sync across your screen and the Glyph Interface, showing progress through light and motion. Built on Android 16, we are no longer limited to specific applications. We will begin integrating most apps that support this feature into Glyph Progress, rapidly expanding compatibility for the services you use most. ![](https://cdn.nothing.community/2025-11-21/1763718956-622500-workhub-91.png "banner") **Refined Pop-up View:** Multitasking without breaking your flow. Open two floating apps at once and switch between them with simple gestures. This boosts efficiency, letting you handle multiple tasks without losing your place. ![](https://cdn.nothing.community/2025-11-20/1763672593-489986-adobe-express-20251120-191923-4.gif "banner") **Extra Dark Mode:** Enjoy a screen that is gentle on your eyes at night and keeps your battery lasting longer. It delivers deeper blacks, improved contrast, and reduced power consumption for better visibility and comfort in low light. ![](https://cdn.nothing.community/2025-11-21/1763721629-332191-workhub-93.png "banner") **Hidden Icons:** Keep your layout clean. You can now hide any app from your App Drawer without moving it to a Private Space. It declutters your view while keeping less-used apps just a search away. ![](https://cdn.nothing.community/2025-11-20/1763672634-246347-adobe-express-hs3.gif "banner") **More Widget Sizes:** We’ve added 1×1 and 2×1 layouts for Weather, Pedometer, and Screen Time. This lets you slot at-a-glance info into tight spaces or build balanced layouts for a faster scanning and more personal Home screen. **System and App Optimisation:** The new System and Apps Dashboard helps your phone stay smooth and responsive. It shows which apps are running in the background and lets you optimise performance with a single tap. Everything stays fast, efficient and consistent, without you having to think about it. **Universal Search Settings:** Search results can now be filtered to show exactly what you want, making it faster to find what you need. ### Creativity. Unlock Your Flow. Now that you have headspace, take your mind to Playground. This is the biggest leap in Nothing OS history. It is a world of creativity where an idea is all you need. ![](https://cdn.nothing.community/2025-11-20/1763672765-443753-chat-version-2.png "banner") **Essential Apps (Playground):** Create your own widgets by simply chatting with AI. No coding required. AI does the hard work to bring your ideas to life instantly. **Widget Drawer:** A new, organized view for all the widgets you build or collect from the community. It keeps your creative tools organized so you can find, swap, and share widgets effortlessly. Your phone becomes a canvas that is personal, creative, and uniquely yours. ### Privacy. Transparent Intelligence. As we introduce more AI, we ensure you stay in control. ![](https://cdn.nothing.community/2025-11-21/1763714568-300383-adobe-express-20251120-191923-9.gif "banner") AI Status Hints & Usage Dashboard helps you see exactly when an LLM is active right in your status bar and track usage in the dashboard. This gives you total transparency and peace of mind, knowing exactly when and how AI is working for you. ### Phone (3) Exclusives For Phone (3) users, NOS 4.0 unlocks deeper hardware integration: ![](https://cdn.nothing.community/2025-11-21/1763713095-525914-adobe-express-20251120-191923-5.gif "banner") **Glyph Mirror Selfie:** Capture a Matrix-style reflection of yourself via the Glyph Interface. An extra Glyph Mirror selfie can be saved directly to the Gallery, making it easy to share your cool selfies with friends or use them as your social profile picture. **Smarter Flip to Glyph:** Choose between Vibrate or Silent modes when you flip your phone face down. This gives you the right level of awareness for the moment, whether you need total focus or subtle notifications. **Flip to Glyph AOD:** The Glyph Matrix’s AOD now activates only when Flip to Glyph is enabled. This reduces unnecessary battery use and better reflects real-world behaviour, since the back of the phone isn’t visible during everyday use. **Pocket Mode**: The Glyph Matrix now automatically disables in your pocket. This saves battery and prevents accidental triggers, so your phone is ready when you are. **New Glyph Toys:** Two new time-themed toys. Hourglass helps you visualise the passage of time, while Lunar Cycle shows the real position of the moon above you. ### Essential Memory. Your Second Brain. ![](https://cdn.nothing.community/2025-11-20/1763672815-185225-n-essmem-169.png "banner") With Nothing OS 4.0, Essential Memory becomes the next step in how Essential Space and Essential Search work together. Until now, Essential Space stored what you saved. With Memory, it starts to build an understanding of your captures. Anything you save in Essential Space becomes a memory your phone can recognise and recall when you need it. Ask naturally and your phone brings back the moment you captured. Say you save a poster from a design fair you want to attend and tag it “April events”. Later, you ask, “Is there anything interesting happening next month?”. Essential Search brings it back instantly. Space keeps it, Memory understands it, and Search retrieves it. Everything works together as one intuitive system. Essential Memory arrives soon with the next Essential Space update. ### Rollout Status: Nothing OS 4.0 begins rolling out today starting with Phone (3) and will expand to the rest of the Nothing smartphone lineup over the coming weeks, and to CMF smartphones by the end of the year. Phone (3a) Lite will follow early next year Let your mind flow.

Abid_b5ZoHGoe3C

When it will be available for CMF phone 2 pro

mackie_cmf

JP we are happy we have such a smooth phone at this price, so we wait for it to be better 😭😭 CMF phone is too good for its price man… no other company could in this price

JP

mackie_cmf correct… great phone at this price point…if nos4 make my phone laggy i will be downgrading to current version of 3.2… 👌🏻

SamitSah

Why is Nothing Playground not open to general users for creating widgets? It has been a very disappointing experience 😕.

BasilAl-attas

Zac the nothing launcher is draining the battery in the background after the update!! What’s the solution?

mackie_cmf

Dear Nothing, I need the NOS4 update on my CMF Phone 2 Pro in the next 48 hours, or else I am never going to look back at nothing as a company, u all have changed COMPLETELY. This was not the company I saw you become into.

48 Hours. Switching to a different company. 48 Hours.

TheUnluckyThirteen

mackie_cmf what are you gonna do switch companies?? 😂😂

be patient man update will be here at newyears eve most probably.

mackie_cmf

TheUnluckyThirteen Not about CMf Phones, some Nothing Phone 3’s too didn’t get the update. Like is this company for real? They take 13 months to change the icon of the battery which is worse btw, and can’t ship that on time to everyone even on their flagship devices?

Carl on the other hand is busy making viral reels on tiktok and Instagram. Which are baseless and pointless.

What is this company upto?

TheUnluckyThirteen

mackie_cmf well thats true. things they added in this NOS4 could have been the minor updates in 3.X

JP

TheUnluckyThirteen are considering going from Android 15 to 16 is minor thing.?🤔

thelahee

Cmf update when?

LockGlimpseUnEnjoyer

Discovered another potentially serious 4.0 bug.

I downgraded back to 3.2 just to test this… for some reason upgrading to 4.0 grants user installed apps the access_restricted_settings permission.

On Android 15 AppOps shows all my user apps set to Default - this denies unless you toggle it on.

After upgrading to Android 16 a bunch of apps have it set to Allow…

Bit odd and seems unintended?

Screenshot from 15:

Screenshot from 16 (can see apps have ‘Allow’ set when they have previously been denied with the Default permission:

TheUnluckyThirteen

JP i am talking about the features not android update.

if i am beingy fully honnest nothing OS does not provide any significant features that android 16 provides

JP

TheUnluckyThirteen what features are you referring here?

TheUnluckyThirteen

JP is there a way to talk privately ? i dont want to clutter the thread with our discussion

JP

TheUnluckyThirteen there are ways… but no need to worry..this is a nos 4 discussion and we’re talking about it so posts will not get deleted

TheUnluckyThirteen

JP i am mostly talking about the lockscreen and homescreen customisation. like what google has not like other companies who just clutter everything

JP

TheUnluckyThirteen ohh… i personally like my phone in minimal style so those things doesn’t bother me that much… if you want them you can try searching for apps..there are multiple apps that can do those lockscreen styles

anilnaniyadav8

Zac

Nothing Os 4.0 for CMF phone 1 updates released or not, still this 17th December but not received.

MdAdeel

anilnaniyadav8 same qus, what are they doing

« Previous Page Next Page »