Build Essential Apps on your phone

Zac 🛸 · 2026-07-23T16:41:00+00:00

![](https://cdn.nothing.community/2026-07-23/1784823402-112801-workhub-2026-07-23t171358637.png "banner") We’ve been working on a new native experience that lets you build, preview and deploy Essential Apps directly on your Nothing phone. Until now, Essential Apps could be deployed and used on your phone, but they had to be created through the web. We’re bringing the entire building experience onto the device, so everything can happen in one place. The app is now available on the Google Play Store, with access rolling out in stages. #### **How access will work** We’re starting with users who already have access to the Builder on the web. Over the coming weeks, we’ll gradually give access to more people on the waitlist. The app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store, but it will only work once access has been enabled for your account. Keep an eye on your inbox. We’ll email you as soon as it’s your turn, with everything you need to get started. You’ll need a Nothing phone to use the app. Over time, we’ll remove the waitlist and open Essential Apps more widely as part of the general release. > Users who don’t yet have access may see an error asking them to update AIWidget, the Essential Apps host app. This is expected. Once access has been enabled for your account, we’ll email you with everything you need to get started. > > [upl-image-preview uuid=d4510933-ee8a-4ac6-95a5-f301cd7c057b url=https://cdn.nothing.community/2026-07-23/1784823650-619423-screenshot-2026-07-23-at-172038.png alt={TEXT?}] #### **An update on Playground** ![](https://cdn.nothing.community/2026-07-23/1784823510-594900-google-play-banner-1024-500-2.png "banner") We’re temporarily pausing the publishing of apps to Playground. Right now, we’re focusing our efforts on building the best possible creation experience. Once that foundation is ready, we’ll turn our attention back to sharing and discovering community creations. Thanks for your patience and for helping us shape Essential Apps. The Nothing Team

sonny.exe

lolifnotely🇮🇱 thats one Point for you my friend.

But my point was more on the fact of the very poor translation-skills of the AI Nothing uses. Sure it cost maybe milions or bilions to get a AI on the Level of Gemini. But idk. Since Nothing, like everyone else, uses Googles Android… that already comes with the API and Stuff to run Gemini out of the Box i just thought at least a Option to choose the LLM would be neat…

mushipiei9

sonny.exe well yeah geminie Will be good but don’t forget claude is more better for coding and all that so they can use claude too and i think yes nothing uses geminie in essential space or anything

Once again my fav cat person i summon u for ur wisdom (luv this dude)

lolifnotely🇮🇱

sonny.exe They’re hiring AI services, they didn’t build one themselves. I think it’s really Gemini in this case too, but I’m not sure

sonny.exe

Well my dear friends, it turns out the LLM behind Nothing’s Essential Suite is Google’s Gemini Flash.

I checked where Essential Voice connects to when I use it, and strangely enough, the model seems to be hosted by Nothing itself on Amazon servers rather than connecting directly to Google’s servers.

Unfortunately, that still doesn’t explain my weird user experience with transcriptions that sometimes end up completely alienated from what I actually said.

From here on, I could only speculate, and that wouldn’t really get us anywhere.

Love to have read from you lolifnotely.

ChrisJ_Joseph_P1NpRo6vMr

sonny.exe I donno about German prompts to build widgets but it makes widgets nicely but takes 6-7 (hehe)attempts to build a polished widget for me it took more than 15 attempts because perfection was what I was after and some features and ideas came mid development of a widget

Jozf Benestin🇮🇳

jamshi993 S_Griff bro you need to manually update the essential apps ( not the app which you downloaded from play store) thare is an another system app call essential apps on your system which is part of Nothing OS 4.1 and you need to manually update it by downloading an apk from an nothing official website.

But to get access to that website, first you have to be selected for the nothing playground beta, which was happened at the time when they firstly launched nothing playground, and if you have been selected by them, then you will receive an official mail, with the download link of the essential apps apk. And after that you can use the app completely fine.

MayurKarthick

jakob_0805 how did you get that app ????

KartikBonde_B5xZ8p270E

I tried downloading it doesn’t and download fail what’s the issue

Agumago

I create some widgets in web version some weeks ago and It was a great feature the way to see generated code and rewrite it. I can’t see this feature in the new app. Will It be included in future updates? Thanks.

Anirudh

I have been waitlisted from essential playground website. Now again in app also when i get the access fir that anyone knows. ???

Thank you

IbnaRatul

Zac 🛸

jakob_0805 i have nothing phone 3a

there’s no option for np3a

jamshi993

I’ve been checking my Gmail every day for the Essential Apps access email ever since we were told access would be rolling out soon. I’ve been waiting for months since the web-based version was announced.

Now Essential Apps has been released on the Play Store, but many of us still haven’t received access. We were excited to create our own widgets, explore the features, and learn how the platform works, but it’s still limited to only a small group of users.

The lack of communication about the rollout is really frustrating. It would be great if the Nothing team could share a clear timeline or explain how users are being selected. Even a simple update would help manage expectations.

ChrisJ_Joseph_P1NpRo6vMr

jamshi993 I mean u could go ahead and install the app from playstore complete the survey like many of the users here above sharing screenshots of the survey and wait ….

I believe it will come soon , that is what I understood from this thread

jamshi993

ChrisJ_Joseph_P1NpRo6vMr Thanks. I’ve already installed the app from the Play Store and completed the survey. In fact, I had already applied months ago when the web-based Essential Apps signup was first announced. Since then, I’ve been checking my Gmail almost every day, but I still haven’t received access. It’s a bit frustrating to see the app publicly available while many early applicants are still waiting. I just hope Nothing provides a clearer rollout timeline or updates on how access is being granted.

ArcadeAlley

The nothing app builder has me confused in a bunch of different ways, I don’t know how to start. The app is on the play store in my region but it just shows an error. But recently the app started working and has told me that I have joined the waitlist, I have been on the wait list for quite sometime through the website and have no clue on how to get access. i feel like the community and nothing themselves should talk about it more and very less people on YouTube are seen using it for some reason they just say it’s there.

JoseRaphael

matevz_babnik

Can anyone who has access to Nothing app builder create a widget that collects and sorts calendar entries in several apps like: Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar, Essential space calendars … and present it in a cool way in sequence of when the calendar event’s start.

This would clear up my Nothing Phone 3 desktop a whole lot and consolidate everyting I need to see in only one widget.

I’d love to see something like this to be made.

Any takers?

(phishing for more?: do the same for the emails 😊 … and for tasks (greedy?) 😁)

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