Nothing is finally letting the “dot matrix” aesthetic catch up with the future. As of Saturday, December 27, 2025, the stable rollout of Nothing OS 4.0 (based on Android 16) is officially hitting devices. While the Phone (3) was the first in line, the big news today is the update finally landing on the budget-friendly CMF Phone (1) and Phone (2) Pro.
The thing is, Nothing is leaning hard into the “Essential” theme. Or nothing. Let’s be real, while Samsung and Apple are trying to make AI do everything, Nothing just wants it to help you find that one screenshot of a cafe you liked three months ago. Those too.
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The “Essential” Upgrades
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Essential Memory: This is the big one. It’s an ongoing situation where your phone now “understands” what you save to Essential Space. If you tag a photo of a concert as “December plans,” you can later just ask your phone, “What am I doing this month?” and it’ll pull it up.
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AI Status Dashboard: Total transparency. A little icon in the status bar now glows when an on-device Large Language Model (LLM) is actually processing your data.
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Glyph Progress: It’s no longer just for Uber or Zomato. Thanks to Android 16’s “Live Update” tech, almost any app with a progress bar can now light up the back of your phone.
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The Rollout Roadmap
| Device | Status / Timeline |
| Phone (3) | Stable Rollout Complete |
| Phone (3a) / (3a) Pro | Rolling Out Now |
| CMF Phone (1) | Starts Today (Dec 27) |
| CMF Phone (2) Pro | Expected by Jan 1st week |
| Phone (3a) Lite | Scheduled for January 2026 |
The Phone (3) “Exclusives”
And here’s the kicker: if you’re on the flagship Phone (3), you get the Glyph Matrix toys. We’re talking about “Hourglass” (a physical light-based timer) and “Lunar Cycle,” which actually mimics the moon’s real-time phase using the LEDs. Plus, the Glyph Mirror Selfie now lets you use the back lights as a ring light for the main camera, saving a “matrix-styled” version of the photo alongside the original.
The update is a chunky 2GB to 3GB download, so maybe don’t try to pull it down on a shaky 5G connection in the middle of a Delhi fog.
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