Nothing OS 5.0 beta launches August 26 with adaptive colors and new Glyph app

A new dedicated Glyph Interface app consolidates all controls and features for the phone’s lighting system into one place. The update also adds two new lock-screen clockfaces: a bubbly “Gooey” design and an information-dense “Micrographics” one, both of which can also adopt colors from the wallpaper.

Nothing OS 5.0 includes several Android 17 platform updates, such as enhanced quick share, Noto 3D emojis, and expanded dark theme support. Additional highlights include the new “Geist” system typeface, an Away Time widget that tracks time away from the phone, a Collector widget that turns pictures of items into home or lock screen icons, the ability to select multiple home screen app icons to move them at once, animated status bar icons for actions like toggling airplane mode, and single-tap Bluetooth controls in Quick Settings.

The company also notes updates to its Essential AI features, including support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP), cleaner transcriptions from Essential Voice, a Smart Collections feature for organizing Essential Space captures, and support for building Essential Apps on-device.

However, the update will not be available for every Nothing device. Users with the Phone 1, Phone 2, or CMF Phone 1 will not receive Nothing OS 5.0, according to The Verge. The rest of Nothing’s lineup is expected to get the update eventually, though the report does not specify a timeline.