Nothing OS Questions & Impressions

Badinek

Hello! I have purchased the Nothing Phone 2a few days ago (converting from iPhone 🙂) and so far I have been very satisfied, but there are some twerks… namely with the operation system. I know Nothing OS is supposed to be stock Android and very simplistic, but some things are really lacking. As a former iPhone user I expected the phone to be a lot more customizable and such..

Lack of basic system apps.

This is the thing that I dislike the most. Nothing OS seems to be missing classic apps such as its own Gallery, File manager, Notes, etc. My question is, are any of these apps planned in the future? Right now you have all the Google cr*p preinstalled, which isnt really ideal when it comes to integration with the system. I know the magic of android is being able to download third party apps, but lets be honest, these arent very ideal for apps like these.

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The system color picker

Its very neat that you can make all your app icons be the same color with the icon packs, but in the Colors option you can only choose from a limited number of colors- it doesnt seem to let you choose your own. Kind of limiting.

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The preinstalled Nothing Icon pack doesnt convert all icons

This one I found really weird, I selected the Nothing Icons right away after setting up the device to see not all my icons got converted. I had to go to the Play Store and install the icons (again?), it seemed to replace them then. Is this a bug? The Nothing Icon pack seemed to get replaced by the new installed one, new one wasnt created.

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No widget for Vibrations Mode

Also one of things I dont really like. Im a big vibrations enthusiast (;D) so I put a DnD widget on my lock screen for toggling it while listening to music and such, only to find out DnD and Vibrations Mode is a separate thing and you cannot enable vibrations in DnD. In that case I looked for a Vibrations Mode widget and found nothing. Can this be added at some point, or a setting to DnD?

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Folders get closed when you exit the app

Whenever you open an app thats in a folder, then exit the app, the folder gets closed it sends you to the main screen. Kind of annyoing, since iOS kept the folders open.

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Inability to change the system font

the dotted font of Nothing OS is nice and all but it might not be for everyone. I think an option to change it would be a good thing to add.

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More small issues: When you want to edit the volume, tapping it in any part of the slider will slide it to wherever youre touching it, as opposed to getting selected and allowed to be adjusted; Inability to show number of notifications on icons (only shows a dot); replying to a notification from a messaging app like Discord doesnt delete the notification (mark it as read);

Thats about all I can think of at the moment; might add more to the post over time. Sorry if I posted it in a wrong thread of something.

Please dont get me wrong, as a former Apple product user Im very satisfied, Nothing Phones been great. Its just that some of these features seem kinda indispensable for daily use..

Ealesy101

Badinek

Badinek No widget for Vibrations Mode

In relation to this, there is a “Sound Mound” toggle widget. It is under Widgets > Quick Settings - Then it shall be called whatever your current profile is, Loud, Vibrate or Silent. Hope this helps.

Remi F

Basic apps :
They are working on the gallery app 😉 Tho, google apps are pretty great and well integrated into android, file app by google is really good for example

Colors :
Colors are meant to be dimed a lot in Nothing OS, I guess it’s a design point of view by the Nothing team. I don’t mind it myself

Icon pack :
The Nothiong Icon pack convert all icons indeed, maybe you have a bug or it is not well applied, but it changes all icons no matter what.

Folder get closed :
I think it’s an android behavior, so I don’t think Nothing wil be able to change that.

System fonts :
Their should be a workaround somewhere, try to look out the Nothing XDA Forum.

Badinek

Remi F Good to know gallery app is coming at some point!

Me personally, i dont really like most google apps, but the file manager is fine thats true I guess..

Colors should be customizable for sure.

About the icons, I believe that was a bug. Is there a bug report thread somewhere?

Shame the folders thing is supposedly an android behavior.. kinda sucks imo

Anyway, thanks for the reply!

Badinek

Ealesy101 Thanks, I will check it out.

By the way, can I suggest features anywhere? On the forum or somewhere else?

Badinek

Ealesy101 I was able to make the vibrations widget, big thanks for that! any idea why sometimes i seem to not get the notification previews with vibration mode though? And if I have Airpods on, i dont get vibrations at all.

Ealesy101

Badinek there is a thread titled “Nothing OS Wishlist” which you can certainly submit suggestions.

However the best way to send feedback to the team is via your Nothing Phone itself. Found via “Settings > System > Feedback”.

NavazPerumbala

Still i have no received update 2.5.5a in my nothing phone 2a , how can I install manually?? Please help.. i purchased from Qatar international version.or is there any option to get updates early access all updates??

Badinek

Ealesy101 Thanks!

Ealesy101

Badinek some notifications could be down as “Silent Notifications” these won’t alert you on screen.

Best thing to check is when these notifications happen, scroll down until you see a “Silent” banner. This could be the cause. Press and hold and you may have the option to change from “Silent” to “Default”.

Not sure about the reasoning with AirPods however, sorry.

Badinek

Ealesy101 They are just normal notifications, sometimes i get the pop up and vibration and sometimes not. weird

Ealesy101

Badinek That is weird, may be a bug. Do a power cycle of the device, if you haven’t already.

Any further issues, report it via Settings > System > Feedback.

Badinek

Ealesy101 I have figured it out, it was a user error in the sertings lol. Thanks for being nice and helpful anyway

Ealesy101

Badinek - ahh great news! Happy to have been of assistance!

All the best 🔥