Nothing’s next major software update is starting to come into focus, and the latest tease reveals a more square, refined interface, new lock screen clock styles, a deeper camera treatment and a dedicated dashboard for tracking AI-like activity. Built on top of Android 16, Nothing OS 4.0 feels like a refinement-first update with some bold gestures that tease how the company imagines it will be taking its phones next.
A smoother, more consistent user interface
Then there’s OS 4.0, where visual elements have been standardized across the UI, with cleaner Quick Settings tiles, matching layouts and more uniform components.
It’s a small change, but consistency is a huge usability win — in particular, when telling what quick actions, toggles and sliders are going to do from screen to screen.
The teaser also includes floating icons on behalf of running apps, a nice reference that is probably for accessibility overlay controls that might enable users to switch between tasks more quickly. It’s still very much Nothing’s design language, i.e., minimal with purpose and a little wry, but there are fewer sharp angles and more clarity to the cut of things day after day.
Lock screen style and AOD customization
OS 4.0 introduces new fonts and clock styles to the lock screen, which has become more of a place for users to personalize identity on their devices. Count on different typography and layout options that will play well with Nothing’s dot-matrix look without trapping you in just the one.
There will also be an “Extra Dark” mode — a true black for OLED panels — in addition to optimizations for the Always On Display and brightness sliders. Dark elements on OLED save you power, the Android team has long said (since black pixels are essentially off), so the tiny optimizations made to AOD and brightness management can actually add up to significant battery gains over a day.
AI comes into focus with a usage dashboard
Among the most interesting features is an AI dashboard revealing when large language model (LLM) tasks are fired on your phone and how frequently they operate across apps. In a market where “AI” can often still feel like a black box, surfacing transparent usage signals is smart product design — and an important, timely move as regulators apply pressure for better disclosures around automated decision-making.
Nothing’s teaser also hints that voice tasks within Essential Space — the company’s local hub for utilities — could be powered by OpenAI’s Whisper model for transcription. This aligns with a general direction of travel towards special purpose, modular AI: you put the right model for the job inside the house and keep everything else slim.
There are indications of a monthly usage limit to Essential Space as well as the potential for a paid tier, although previous teases suggested an annual price in the low triple digits. Other smartphone companies have dabbled with subscriptions for AI functionality after initial free periods, so for Nothing to meter some of its features would not be off-pitch even in an era, the prevalence of ad bundling notwithstanding, where what carriers ask of customers is relatively simple and upfront. The trick will be to make the value obvious — in terms of reliability, speed and privacy controls — not just wall off features.
Camera and Gallery get useful enhancements
Nothing hints at a refreshed user interface for the Camera and Gallery apps, along with shooting presets. It’s where today’s phones succeed and fail: well-conceived defaults, instant access to crucial tools and rapid processing that doesn’t smother detail. But reference to a “smarter” Gallery also suggests AI-assisted organization, or other improvements that go beyond text recognition for better search and more relevant results — places where on-device intelligence can quietly save you time.
Computational photography is so integral to midrange and premium phones that even small pipeline tweaks can show up as visible improvements. If it can step up capture speed, smooth out the HDR variation, or lessen shutter lag, it’ll be one of those updates that users recognize as interesting.
Rollout and what the process will look like
There is nothing indicating a closed beta for qualifying devices is on the horizon.
The original model is end-of-life and won’t be offered, but the company says it’s exploring ways to keep those customers engaged. More recent models such as the Phone (2) and the Phone (2a) would be logical candidates for early updates as per past update cadence.
OS 4.0 combines this with Android 16, as adoption continues to build momentum in the industry.
Some have already sent out stable builds, while others are still working on staged betas. Nothing’s community-powered method of seeding betas to tyros, harvesting feedback, and then refining has helped it stabilize substantial releases before without losing forward motion.
Big picture, this teaser makes OS 4.0 look like a focused update: polish the UI, boost personalization on the lock screen, refine camera and gallery workflows and make AI usage more clear and controllable. For a young brand, that’s the right kind of ambition — less flash, more trust and features you might actually notice.
Sources: Company community posts; Android developer guidance on OLED power behavior; industry reporting of AI subscriptions across mobile platforms; OpenAI documentation for Whisper. Market surveys from firms such as Counterpoint Research suggest increasing appetite for down-to-earth, on-device AI functions, bolstering the case for Nothing’s transparency drive.
