This is one of my biggest criticisms of Nothing’s software strategy.
Nothing introduced Nothing OS during the Android 12 era. Since then, we’ve had Android 13, Android 14, Android 15, and now Android 16. However, even though we’re already on Android 16, many parts of the system still appear to be based on Android 12, 13, 14, and 15.
My main point is that whenever Google releases a new Android version, it doesn’t just change the version number. Google also updates the core Android framework, SystemUI, Settings, Material Design, AOSP components, and many other platform-level elements. Every year, Android evolves, and Google even delivers additional improvements through QPR updates.
In my opinion, Nothing should migrate its software to Google’s latest Android core with every major Android release. Instead, it seems to keep many of its older AOSP-based customizations and carry them forward into newer Android versions. This results in the software being a mixture of multiple Android generations rather than a clean implementation of the latest Android platform.
A good example is the Settings app. The newer Nothing Phone 4a series uses the newer stacked Settings layout, while many older Nothing phones are still using the older Android 14/15-style implementation. This shows that different Nothing devices are running different generations of Android’s core UI despite being on the same Android version.
Nothing could also adopt Google’s latest AOSP design changes, including Material 3 Expressive, which Google introduced last year. However, implementing those changes properly would require significant work because Nothing has heavily customized many core system components, such as the status bar and SystemUI.
Take the status bar as an example. It’s already quite different from Google’s AOSP version. If Nothing wanted to fully adopt Google’s latest implementation, it would have to redesign and optimize many of these custom components. That takes time and engineering effort.
Instead, it appears that Nothing prefers to reuse its existing Android core, make only the necessary adjustments for compatibility, and release the next Android version. This approach requires less effort than rebuilding the software around Google’s latest Android framework.
This is probably one of the reasons why Nothing was able to release Android 16 for almost all supported devices as early as last November. The company received a lot of praise for the fast rollout, but in my opinion, much of the underlying Android core didn’t change as much as it should have. The Android version number changed, but many platform-level components remained from previous Android generations.
Looking ahead to Android 17, I wouldn’t be surprised if Nothing mainly brings features such as the merged network icon, stacked Settings layout, Essential Voice, AI Gallery, and possibly icon size customization. Except for icon size, most of these features are already available on the Nothing Phone 4a series. That suggests these features are simply being rolled out gradually to older devices instead of delivering a completely updated Android core.
For me, a true Android upgrade isn’t just about changing the version number. Every major Android release should also bring Google’s latest core framework, platform architecture, SystemUI, AOSP components, and design changes to supported devices. Otherwise, even on Android 16, the software still carries pieces of Android 12, 13, 14, and 15 underneath.
