British tech brand Nothing has reportedly started rolling out its Android 16–based NothingOS 4.0 update to the Phone 3a series, marking the next major software milestone for the company’s mid-range smartphones. According to a report by GSMArena, both the Nothing Phone 3a and Phone 3a Pro — launched earlier this year — have begun receiving the update. Although Nothing has not issued an official announcement yet, the company previously confirmed that NothingOS 4.0 would be rolled out to additional models after arriving on the flagship Phone 3 last month.
With the update now live for the Phone 3a lineup, the Nothing Phone 2 and Phone 2a series are expected to be next in the rollout cycle. The newly launched Nothing Phone 3a Lite, introduced in India just last week, is also likely to receive the Android 16-based update soon as it currently ships with Android 15-based NothingOS 3.5 out of the box.
NothingOS 4.0: Major New Features
Essential Space upgrades
On the Nothing Phone 3, Essential Space now includes an enhanced AI activity dashboard that gives users deeper insight into how large AI models operate on the device, improving transparency around on-device AI performance.
Essential Apps and Playground
NothingOS 4.0 introduces Essential Apps — lightweight, AI-generated widgets that users can build and share through the Playground hub.
- Phone 3 supports up to six Essential Apps on the home screen
- Other compatible devices can currently place up to two
Photography enhancements
A new “Stretch” camera preset, developed in collaboration with fashion photographer Jordan Hemingway, adds a cinematic visual style straight from the Camera app with deeper shadows, wider highlights, and more expressive tones — designed to eliminate the need for post-processing.
App optimisation system
The update introduces smarter App Optimisation controls, allowing users to manage how apps launch and operate in the background. The system improves resource allocation to reduce app startup times and boost multitasking performance.
Performance and Stability Improvements
NothingOS 4.0 also brings several quality-of-life improvements across the system, including:
- Faster lock screen and Always-on Display responsiveness
- Smarter brightness control in varying lighting environments
- Better camera reliability and consistency
- Improved Bluetooth connection strength
- More stable Wi-Fi network behaviour
- General OS stability enhancements
Other Notable Additions
- Pop-up View: Now supports two floating app icons, making task switching easier. Users can swipe up to shrink a window or swipe down to return it to fullscreen.
- Design refresh: Updated UI elements, new lock screen clock styles, unified components, and a redesigned Quick Settings panel.
- Extra Dark Mode: Offers deeper blacks to reduce eye strain and improve power efficiency, especially on OLED displays.