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

GanGa

If that Glance is so important,then roll out as a nothing widget app on google play,, someone who wants the Glance,can download it from there..there is no need of rollout and adding in os 4 as a compulsary question in exam.

Anonymous903

GanGa Changing lock screen is usually more feature rich for apps that are directly integrated into the system. They can add a link to read/share about the picture like windows lock screen

GanGa

Anonymous903 my previous phone was phone 2,, before that,i had redmi note8pro, this feature was inbuilt in that phone…and trust me,,i never Turned On that option.

PacificScroll48

I’ve been with Nothing since the very beginning because I believed in your vision — clean, minimal software without the clutter that other brands push. That’s what made Nothing stand out for me. But this feels like the tipping point — and there’s no coming back from it. The constant push for unnecessary AI BS and now the addition of pre-installed partner apps completely destroy what made Nothing different. This is pure bloatware, no matter how you try to justify it. You’ve lost the very thing that set you apart, and sadly, this is where my support for Nothing ends.

SahilAhmed_03yW5NFitw

They don’t know many user including me bought their phone to experience stock Android experience not for hardware. For best hardware many other brands exist in to market to provide best specifications than nothing’s phone on every budget. Now they decide turn their software into garbage like Chinese brands 😏. So, What’s the point to buy nothing phone now? I and my suggestions to everyone,who aske me to suggest a phone never pick the nothing phone hereafter. So, Good bye nothing 🙂.

LTra

Akis I’m very disappointed; I was excited about trying Nothing OS. This is why I should never have switched from an iPhone to this.

Stereobasic

For me a bloatware is something i can’t uninstall. Nothing x is something i’ll never use, but i discovered that I can’t get rid of it. So it’s allready a bloatware for me. At the end my phone will be filled with useless things I don’t use and I don’t like that. 😭

Anonymous963

Stereobasic

You can use Wireless ADB to start Shizuku, and then an app like Hail to freeze pretty much any system package.

Bit annoying though, but relatively easy and all done on device without the need for a computer to use ADB

Stereobasic

Anonymous963 I don’t know how to do that at all 😅 But now I know I can do some digging to find it out. Thank you.

BriauRoyston

Akis @Rob ⚡️ please remove this feature we dont want ads

DeimossRider54

Man this sucks, thought Nothing OS was about enjoying a clean software no matter what device you had, CMF, nothing (a) series, etc.. Felt like their biggest selling point wasn’t just about design wise or how the software looked, it was also the fact that every other mid-range or budget device from other brands had the downside of including bloatware whereas Nothing phones didn’t and was really easy to recommend to anyone that wanted to experience a device in which you didn’t have to spend 10 min or so deactivating said bloatware and just start using it once you unbox and set it up.

LalitKhokhar

Only reason I liked Nothing phones was clean and smooth experience with no bloatware and ads not the hardware. If OS is cluttered then it’s same as Oneplus.

RafinMahdi

Akis is the Netflix going to be pre installed. If so are we going to get HDR support for Netflix. I think the announcement is very important and it is the high time to add Netflix HDR support and give us a good experience

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

MayankNotFound

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

Nirmith

Akis

Sad to see people make mountain out of a molehill here.

“I won’t buy a nothing phone next time”

What else are you gonna buy? Everything else has even more bloatware.

Yall like to complain but i guarantee you 99% of the user base will never care about this.

I personally don’t like it, i think it goes against the core philosophy of Nothing, but philosophy doesn’t put food on the table. As long as they commit to putting no more than 5 third party apps, I’m fine with it.

As for the lockscreen changer, I’ve been wanting that feature for so long. I hope it makes it to release.

Maggi Goreng

Nirmith

RajatDayal

Akis I compromised customization features of samsung for the Nothing OS. While the other manufacturers are adding tons of features, you just added two BRAND NEW CLOCK FACES.

Thanks for your service, I’ll be moving on to better devices now.

LaxMANArt

Time to switch to Something from Nothing🥲

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.

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