It seems like just yesterday Nothing announced that they would be coming out with their own smartphone. Fast forward three years, the London-based company is preparing to release nothing os 3.0 Based on Android 15. I got the Nothing OS 3.0 beta, and after more than a day of use on the Nothing Phone (2A), here are my early experiences.
All new quick settings
The Quick Settings panel has received a major makeover in Nothing OS 3.0. it is now Rounded and more dynamic toggles In place of those huge bullets. It not only looks more modern but also looks aesthetically pleasing. These toggles are resizable, so you can expand them to see more information if necessary.
For example, the extended Bluetooth toggle can show both connected and saved devices. This gives you more control than before over the layout of your quick settings. Now you can arrange it More toggles in one page By 16, double the amount you could have invested before. Nothing OS 3.0 also solved one of my problems by offering a separate data toggle. So now I don’t have to go to the Wi-Fi option to turn off data.
I also like that the brightness slider has moved to the bottom of the toggle, and increased in thickness. This makes it easier to hold and slide with one hand than it used to be. This also includes auto brightness toggle The community has requested this for some time. But sadly the brightness slider is still missing when you collapse the quick settings. I don’t know when they will change it.
A “Smarter” App Drawer
Nothing OS 3.0 includes a new “smart” app drawer in the home screen launcherThe “smart” part comes from the new layout, which happens automatically. Sorts your apps into different folders based on their functions. iPhone users will immediately point out that it bears a striking resemblance App Library in iOSAnd after using it, I can say that it’s almost the same thing.
You can’t create new folders, or add apps from one folder to another. I have two email apps, each in a different category for some reason, and I can’t do anything about it. But since the Smart App Drawer has a “beta” label, I would expect the company to add customization options later.
It also has an app pinning option, allowing you to Pin your frequently used apps To the top of the drawer. This has become one of my favorite features of Nothing OS 3.0.
This lets me pin my favorite apps, removing any guesswork from app suggestions. It’s a small but smart addition, and I can’t believe other OEMs didn’t come up with it earlier.
lock screen customization
Nothing OS 3.0 brings changes both inside and out. So the lock screen now has many customization options. Now, don’t get me wrong. I like the current lock screen editing options in the OS, but I’m definitely not a fan of how you have to go into Settings to make changes. This update fixes that, as you can do it now Long press on lock screen to customize,
there are 5 new clock facesEach with a different font and design. However, I would have appreciated additional analog clock options, as there is only one right now. You can now enlarge the widget area to hide the clock faces. This allows you to add Additional widgets on lock screenMaking it as information-dense as possible.
This is another change I like, because given the limited space you get to choose which widgets I add. You can also customize the left and right toggles directly from the lock screen.
Fresh look for the Settings app
The Settings page has also got a new look. Menus and options are now fragmented. This is easier on the eyes and also helps you easily access the settings you are looking for. Longtime Android users can immediately tell that it looks similar to how the Settings page looked in Android 7.0 Nougat.
There is also a new option – “special featuresWhich has RAM Booster, Game Mode, Pop-up View and Experimental Feature options. I must say that I’m seeing a lot of smart decisions on the Nothing OS design team. But there is another important change in Nothing OS 3.0 that some of you may like and some may not.
A departure from the n-dot font
When using Nothing OS 3.0, I immediately noticed that there was a conspicuous absence of Nothing’s iconic n-dot font throughout the UI. From the setup screen to the settings page, the n-dot font has been completely erased from the OS. Coming from an older version, this change felt a bit strange, as the N-dot font is so closely associated with the identity of Nothing OS. But this is a deliberate decision by the company, as they have decided to switch to a stylistic sans-serif font.
It has a reason better readabilityEven though N-Dot is iconic for nothing and matches widgets, app icons, and clock faces, in some places it’s hard to read and appears out of place with the rest of the interface, at least to me. The new font is user friendly and Complements the menu and UI Option. I quickly got used to it, and I don’t want to go back to the previous font.
Now, it’s not like the company is moving away from Dot Matrix completely. Instead, they are getting more creative in how they use it. They are introducing a new interactive dot matrix animation engine in the UI as well as in apps and widgets. We got a glimpse of this during Nothing OS 3.0 announced With fingerprint unlock animation and updated weather app. Although I don’t see the weather app in this build, I can say that the fingerprint animation is pretty neat.
Other notable changes
Apart from all these major changes, Nothing OS 3.0 also includes some other changes to the interface. The widgets page is now split In two sections, one with large folders for nothing exclusive widgets and another page for third-party apps you install.
Talking about widgets, some other changes are also going to come with the new OS. hourglass widget And widget sharing Speciality In the beta build I got my hands on, both of these were missing along with the new Nothing Gallery shown in the Nothing OS 3.0 reveal video.
The always-on display has also become dim. Compared to the previous version. This helps save battery and is easy on the eyes at night. Then there are new Android 15 features like partial screen recording, which lets you record just one app. And the new predictive back gesture that only works on certain apps.
app storage There’s also an app here that we’ve covered in detail, but allows you to uninstall only the APK package of an app while keeping your data and login information intact. This is similar to the app offloading option in iOS. However, private space Still missing.
Nothing OS 3.0 hands-on: A fresh coat of paint
Even in the beta stage, my hands-on experience with Nothing OS 3.0 was quite good. I installed all my favorite apps and never once had a problem. There was no impact on the performance of the device and the same applies to battery life. If anything I’d say it’s only improved as the phone went from 60% to 30% during my half day of setting up the device and installing my favorite apps, which drain the most battery. Still, the phone was pretty good.
In judgment, I would like to draw some parallels to the development of OxygenOS, which stuck to stock Android in its early years before later finding its own identity. I think this update indicates that nothing is going through the same journey. Nothing OS is maturing as an OS, moving away from its vanilla Android look and offering something special to its users.
I am quite optimistic about these new changes, and I am sure that enthusiasts and community members will be as excited as I am for this new release. Let us know your thoughts about this practical and generally nothing OS 3.0 in the comments below.
