Nothing Confirms Android 16 Is Coming to Its Phones But You’ll Have to Wait a Bit
The Nothing Phone (3) made headlines on July 1 as the brand’s first “true flagship,” but there was one catch, it launched with Android 15, not Android 16. That might seem like a strange omission, especially since Google began rolling out Android 16 back on June 10.
But don’t panic. Android 16 is coming to Nothing phones, just not right away.
Carl Pei, Nothing’s co-founder and resident hype man, has confirmed that Android 16 and Nothing OS 4.0 will arrive “later this autumn.” No hard date yet, but at least we know it’s on the roadmap. With autumn officially kicking off late September and the Phone (3)’s reviewer’s guide hinting at a Q3 rollout, the smart money says we’ll see the update hit by the end of September, give or take a week or two.
The Phone (3) ships with Nothing OS 3.5
For now, the Nothing Phone (3) ships with Nothing OS 3.5, which already adds a few neat tricks, like upgrades to Essential Space, a refreshed Essential Search, and some updated UI flourishes. It’s clean, fast, and very Nothing.
As for the rest of the lineup? Expect the update to land on the Phone (3a) and 3a Pro next, then slowly trickle down to the Phone (2), 2a, and 2a Plus. But without an official rollout pattern from Nothing just yet, it’s mostly speculation.
Now, about Android 16 itself, don’t expect a dramatic overhaul. On Pixel devices, the update is relatively tame, focusing more on under-the-hood improvements than flashy new features. That said, Material You’s new “Expressive” design language is the big aesthetic shift, and it’s expected to debut fully with the Pixel 10 in late August.
Will Nothing adopt Material 3 Expressive?
Probably not wholesale. Nothing has its own minimalist visual language, and it’s unlikely to hand over creative control to Google’s full design vision.
Either way, it looks like Android 16 + Nothing OS 4.0 is only a few months away. So if you’re holding a Nothing phone, just hang tight, the next big update is coming soon.
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