Nothing has announced the arrival of Nothing OS 3.0 Open Beta 1 update for the Nothing Phone 2a. This will allow users interested to test the update and some of the new features that come with it before the general public can install it in December.
Nothing OS 3.0 Open Beta 1 is based on Android 15 and includes more home and lock screen customization, better widgets, better camera support, and so on. There is no statement that the program will be released for its other devices like Phone 2 and CMF Phone 1 later in the year.
Nothing OS 3.0 Open Beta 1 features
- New page for lock screen customizations. Swiping the lock screen and juga by tapping the long press feature.
- Upgraded clock faces. Choose your favorite style.
- Increased widget dimensions, which means that you can put more widgets on the lock screen.
- Also introduced new Intelligent Smart Drawer mode that will arrange applications into folders if preferred by the user. To enhance its organization and to ensure that findings are easily accessible.
- You can add your beloved applications at the top of the app drawer. No scrolling is required.
- Revamped Quick Settings with focused editing featured more efficiently.
- Optimized aesthetics of the widget library.
- New icons for Settings with improved and more clear Network & Internet and Bluetooth icons.
- The quick startup time in the go-to Camera Widget.
- Shortened HDR scene processing time.
- Enhanced invasion of the face or an overall object in details such as blurred edges as smart when seen in the higher size, for instance, portrait effects optimized by regulating blur depths depending on the face size.
- Improved camera performance when taking photos and made videos shoot in low light.
- Better visualization of zoom slider.
- Enhanced pop-up view
- Ability to make pop-up windows mobile so that you can work without the unnecessary distractions taking up space.
- The pop-up view can be stretched and shrunk using the bottom right corners.
- By default, the pop-up view will always stick to the screen edge.
- These are snippets of info you can see even not exiting the currently used application; to pop into the pop-up window just swipe down the incoming notification. Enable under Settings > System > Pop-up view.
- New auto-archive function to advance free up space without deleting applications and files from a device.
- Content sharing in a broader manner to record the efficiency and security of the screen.
- Capture only the application or program in a single window in order not to capture everything on the screen.
- Improved setup wizard for the best start with Nothing OS by promoting it to version 3.0.
- Brought support for back animations in anticipation of apps that have signed up for the feature.
Nothing OS 3.0 Open Beta 1 has been released on the Phone 2a and can be downloaded at the moment. The release timeline of the beta update for other devices is listed below:
- Phone 2: November 2024
- Phone 1: December 2024
- Phone 2a Plus: December 2024
- CMF Phone 1: December 2024
How to Apply the Update
- Ensure you have installed NOS version 2.6, build number should be Pacman-U2.6-240828_1906
- Download the following APK and install it from your downloads.
- Navigate to Settings > System > Update to Beta version.
- Tap “Check for new version” and follow the steps to get started.
Nothing OS 3.0 Open Beta 1 Changelog
Lock screen
- New lock screen customisation page. Access by long-pressing the lock screen.
- Upgraded clock faces. Choose your favorite style.
- Expanded widget space, allowing you to place more widgets on your lock screen.
Smart Drawer
- Added AI-powered Smart Drawer feature to automatically categorize your apps into folders. For better organization and easy access.
- For ultimate convenience, you can pin your favorite apps to the top of the app drawer. No scrolling required.
Quick Settings
- Reconsidered Quick Settings design with an optimized editing experience.
- Enhanced widget library design.
- Updated visuals in Settings including better Network & Internet and Bluetooth options.
Camera improvements
- Faster camera launch speed under the Camera Widget.
- Reduced HDR scene processing time.
- Optimised portrait effects by fine-tuning blur intensity based on face size.
- Boosted camera performance in low-light environments.
- Improved zoom slider display.
Enhanced pop-up view
- Movable pop-up view for cleaner and more productive multi-tasking.
- Easily resize the pop-up view by dragging the bottom corners.
- Pin the pop-up view on the screen edge for quick access.
- View information without leaving your current app. Simply swipe down on incoming notifications to enter the pop-up view. Enable via Settings > System > Pop-up view.
Other improvements
- Added support for auto-archive function to automatically free up storage space without removing apps or data from your device.
- Partial screen sharing for more efficient and secure screen recording. Record just an app window rather than the entire screen.
- Updated setup wizard to version 3.0 for the smoothest introduction to Nothing OS.
- Enabled predictive back animations for apps that have opted in.
- New fingerprint animation with signature dot matrix styling.