Hey everyone 👋
I recently kicked off 2026 with my first Board meeting as your Community Board Observer. Here’s everything that we discussed:
Nothing OS 4.0 has now fully rolled out. Feedback so far has been positive, elements like Extra Dark Mode, the New Status Bar, Widget Sizing, and performance improvements have gone down well. Alongside the continued work on Essential Space, Nothing OS is shaping up nicely for 2026 and beyond.
The response to Essential App has also been huge. A lot of you have already started getting access from the waitlist, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what you all build as Essential continues to evolve.
A few other positives we covered:
The Nothing India store announcement, with NYC & Tokyo confirmed to be next
Lock Glimpse can now be removed from your devices - now both in CMF and (3a) Lite, users can now completely remove from the system.
Strong community participation in Series C funding, with over 5,000 of you investing – totalling 13k Community Investors globally.
I also raised some ongoing frustrations from the community. One was around the Phone (3a) Community Edition launch. We were originally told there would be 1,000 units available, but after launch additional stock appeared in the store, which understandably caused confusion. Nothing acknowledged this and will aim to be much clearer around unit numbers and availability for any potential future Community Edition releases.
Another topic was the continued lack of CMF Watch 3 Pro availability in India, despite its global launch back in July ’25 and tease that it’s coming to India. Nothing is aware of this and is actively pushing for a release. Updates will be shared once timelines are confirmed.
We also talked about the lack of clarity around OS release timelines, particularly for existing devices. This led to a discussion about potentially having an official OS information page (similar to what others do). The Board acknowledged the usefulness of this, and further discussions are happening in the background.
One issue many of you have raised and something I pushed hard on — is the current state of Headphone (1) running software up to 1.0.1.80. I’ve seen posts from users who’ve returned, or considered returning, their devices due to sound quality issues. I shared this to the Board who also were concerned. I highlighted that the .81 beta released to a small group back in November made an immediate difference, and I strongly advocated for a public release alongside clearer communication while further improvements continue. The Board have immediately responded to this, with an update coming soon.
I also want to clear up some recent speculation which came to light from X posts: Nothing is not rebranding. However, with the introduction of a new Chief Brand Officer, Charlie Smith, there might be a natural evolution of the brand’s positioning in the market. I’ll be working closely with the team and touching base with Charlie, to make sure the community stays right at the centre of what Nothing does going forward.
It’s clear to me from this first meeting that community is extremely important to Nothing, and this year there are a lot of things they want to work on. It’s only the start for me again, but it’s already been a busy and exciting return to the role. You’ll hear from me regularly throughout the year, including on new initiatives where community input will be key.
As always, feel free to drop feedback below or reach out across the community channels. I’m really looking forward to working closely with the Community team this year and together, we read everything, even if it means not replying to every comment.
Catch you soon! — Louis
