As spotted by XDA-Developers, Nothing has started to release its first major OS upgrade for its very first mobile device: the Phone 1. Remember the phone that goes blink blink blink? Yes, that one. Nothing’s Android 13 skin, Nothing OS 1.5, has been in beta testing since late 2022. Beta testers are now reporting on Reddit and Discord that the stable version has arrived in the form of Nothing OS 1.5.2.
The release notes for the beta include a long list of improvements, such as a Nothing-ified weather app with the company’s signature dot-matrix UI styling. Other expected Android 13 updates are also included, such as a QR code scanner in the quick settings menu and privacy updates for the photo picker. But the single upgrade that Phone 1 owners are likely most looking forward to is improved app loading speeds, with Nothing claiming that apps open up to 50 percent faster. This improvement is the result of a shift from external to in-house developers, as CEO Carl Pei told Android Authority that since the Phone 1’s launch, the company has staffed up its own engineering team. Switching from the externally developed codebase allowed them to make the system “smoother and more stable.”
If you’re a Phone 1 owner eager to check out the new updates but weren’t part of the beta program, it looks like you’ll have to keep waiting just a little while longer. Devices running the previous stable release don’t seem to be part of this first wave of updates, and that’s the case with my review unit too.
It’ll come not a moment too soon, as Android 14 beta testing is already underway.
