Android 16: Phone 3a, 3a Pro get NothingOS 4.0 update

London-based consumer electronics major Nothing Inc. rolled out Android 16-based NothingOS 4.0 update to its mid-range Phone 3a and 3a Pro series.

The new NothingOS 4.0 brings several Android 16 features including Material 3-Expressive UI. It will be more fluid in terms of smooth transition, a natural expressive animation, while launching an app or while switching between apps.

The latest NothingOS 4.0 also brings a new 'Extra Dark Mode'. It is designed to save power and also lessen the strain on the eyes in low light.

The new update brings more size options for Weather, Pedometer, and Screen Time widgets.

Further, the new OS will offer more lock screen themes and AOD (Always-on-Display) with clearer brightness adjustments. It also ensures to bring stronger wireless connectivity across Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and improved overall stability.

It also introduces the new Pop-up View, which improves multitasking efficiency by supporting dual pop-up windows. It allows users to operate two apps on the same screen simultaneously. Users can simply swipe up from the bottom edge to quickly minimise a window or pull down to expand it to full screen.

NothingOS 4.0

The new update brings new Glyph UI feature—‘Flip to Glyph’. With the new option, users can choose turn on either switch the phone to Silent or Vibrate mode. 

And, the Glyph Progress feature now uses Android 16 Live Update notifications for improved compatibility with third-party apps such as cab service, food delivery and e-commerce.  It will show a live animated feed on the lock screen and also the LED flash on the back about the latest status update of the delivery or the estimated time of arrival of the taxi. 

NothingOS 4.0 brings new photography styles, filters (with added intensity adjustment) and exclusive ‘Stretch’ styles.

NothingOS 4.0.

Motion Photos feature will now support longer recording times and audio capture. Also, the new update brings Nothing-branded watermarks and artistic frames.

And, the native camera gets new refreshed camera UI design with optimised interactions.

The NothingOS 4.0 promises more user privacy and security. It will ensure all Artificial Intelligence-powered apps work with more transparency and are easy to manage in terms of enabling or disabling the permissions to access sensitive data in the phone.

Users can stay updated with AI (LLM) status hints, and an AI Usage Dashboard will help users be fully informed and in control. In Settings, users will be able to monitor usage trends at a glance, with both daily and weekly views. They will be able to see which LLMs are most active during a given period, and dive deeper into individual model usage for full visibility and control.

Further, Android 16 is bringing a strong mobile device protection feature. It enables an array of robust device security features that protect the user from online attacks, harmful apps, unsafe websites, scam calls and more. 

Also, there is a privacy security feature, which makes a stolen Android phone useless.

Android 16: Here’s how to install NothingOS 4.0 on Phone (3a) and (3a) Pro:

Step 1: Open Settings >>Navigate to the Settings app

Step 2: In System >> scroll down and tap on System.

Step 3: Then, check for updates >>Tap on System update. The device will automatically check for the new OS version.

Step 4: If the update is available for the device, you will see an option to Download and install. Follow the on-screen instructions

Step 5: And, restart phone.

Fyi, the latest version of NothingOS 4.0 is B4.0-251118-1551.

The phone will reboot to complete the installation and ensure you do not interrupt this process.

Nothing Phone (3a).

List of Nothing Phones eligible for Android 16-based NothingOS 4.0:

Besides Phone 3a and 3 Pro, the company has already released NothingOS 4.0 to Phone 3. The new Android 16-based update will be made available to older devices, including Phone 2, 2a, 2a Plus, CMF Phone 2 Pro and CMF Phone 1.

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