Nothing OS 5.0 Announced With Over 80 Design Changes, Performance Upgrades: See Release Schedule

Nothing OS 5.0 was introduced on Tuesday as the UK-based tech firm's latest user interface for its smartphones. The new UI is based on the latest Android 17 version, which was launched earlier this year. The smartphone maker says that Nothing OS 5.0 brings more than 80 updates to its handsets, including design changes, new personalisation options, performance enhancements, and AI tools. The Carl Pei-led tech firm has also announced the Nothing OS 5.0 open beta programme. The beta version of the software will be first rolled out to Nothing Phone (3), the London-based company's flagship handset.

Nothing OS 5.0 Availability, Rollout Schedule

In a press release, the Carl Pei-led tech firm announced the launch of Nothing OS 5.0. It has been introduced as the company's latest software version for its handsets, which is built on Android 17. Nothing has announced that the Nothing OS 5.0 Open Beta version will start rolling out on August 26 (Wednesday), at 3:30 pm IST. The Nothing Phone (3) will be the first smartphone from the company to receive the beta version of the latest software, with the stable release planned for the middle of October.

After the Nothing Phone 3, the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro will get the Nothing OS 5.0 beta version in early September, followed by the Phone (4a), Phone (3a) Pro, and Phone (3a) in late September. These four models will receive the stable Nothing OS 5.0 update in early November. Meanwhile, the Nothing Phone (2a) and Phone (2a) Plus will get the beta update in the middle of October, with the stable release planned for the middle of November.

The best version of the Nothing OS 5.0 update will starting rolling out on Wednesday.
Photo Credit: Nothing

The Nothing Phone (4b) will also receive the Nothing OS 5.0 beta version in the middle of December and the stable version in the middle of January. Lastly, the Nothing Phone (3a) Lite and the CMF Phone 2 Pro will also get the stable Nothing OS 5.0 update in late December and the middle of January, respectively. The CMF Phone 2 Pro is the only handset from the company's sub-brand to make it to the list of eligible devices.

Nothing OS 5.0 Design Changes and Performance Upgrades

The Nothing OS 5.0 will upgrade the eligible smartphones to Android 17. It brings redesigned icons for apps, Settings, Camera, Gallery, and the status bar. Widgets and the search bar have been redesigned to feature transparent details, which is said to add “depth and layering”. The Nothing OS 5.0 updates Gallery with similar transparent details. It also introduces a new adaptive colour system, which is capable of drawing shades from the Home Screen wallpaper, adding tints to app icons and widgets.

On top of this, the Nothing OS 5.0 update brings the Geist typeface, while revising system text size. The OS also introduces two new lock screen clock faces, namely Gooey and Micrographics. Users will also be able to select and move multiple apps and widgets across the Home Screen at once. It also brings two new widgets, dubbed Collector and Away Time.

The Nothing OS 5.0 introduces a dedicated app for the Glyph Interface, along with a Glyph Timer widget. The tech firm claims that the Android 17-based update improves touch response and background app retention, along with enhanced system resource management. The OS will also ship with other system-level refinements and fresh system animations.

Lastly, the Nothing OS 5.0 update also makes the Essential Voice tool “faster”, while also improving its performance to deliver better transcriptions. The Essential Space also gets the Smart Collections feature, which is capable of organising and recommending content for new and existing Collections. Finally, the Essential Apps Builder will now be available as a standalone app with the Nothing OS 5.0 update.