Nothing has published the full device list and rollout timeline for Nothing OS 5.0, its Android 17 update, and three phones are not on it: the Nothing Phone (1), the Nothing Phone (2) and the CMF Phone 1. Nothing’s own rollout chart says all three have reached the end of their major software support and will not receive the update. Ten devices are eligible, starting with an open beta for the Phone (3) on August 26.
Nothing OS 5.0 eligible devices and dates
Nothing has given each device two dates: when the open beta opens, and when the stable general release lands. Two devices skip the beta entirely and go straight to the stable build.
- Nothing Phone (3) — open beta August 26, general release mid-October
- Nothing Phone (4a) Pro — open beta early September, general release early November
- Nothing Phone (4a) — open beta late September, general release early November
- Nothing Phone (3a) Pro — open beta late September, general release early November
- Nothing Phone (3a) — open beta late September, general release early November
- Nothing Phone (2a) — open beta mid-October, general release mid-November
- Nothing Phone (2a) Plus — open beta mid-October, general release mid-November
- Nothing Phone (3a) Lite — no open beta, general release late December
- Nothing Phone (4b) — open beta mid-December, general release mid-January
- CMF Phone 2 Pro — no open beta, general release mid-January
Not getting Nothing OS 5.0: Nothing Phone (1), Nothing Phone (2), CMF Phone 1.
Nothing attaches the usual caveat that the timings are indicative and that the rollout will be phased by region and carrier where applicable — so a mid-October date on the chart is when the tap opens, not when the notification necessarily reaches your handset.
Two things are worth flagging for anyone reading that list as a purchase signal. The first is that the Phone (2) launched in July 2023 as Nothing’s flagship at the time, and it is being cut off after three Android versions; buyers who paid flagship money for it are watching a 2023 device stop at Android 16 while cheaper 2024 a-series phones move on. The second is that the Phone (4b) and CMF Phone 2 Pro — newer, cheaper devices — sit at the back of the queue with mid-January dates, which is nearly five months after the Phone (3). Update policies are measured in years, but the lived experience is measured in which end of this chart you are on.
What the update actually changes
Nothing OS 5.0 is a visual reset more than a feature dump. Geist replaces the previous system typeface, and the dot-matrix lettering that has defined the brand’s software is pulled back to accent use rather than body text — a readability decision that will please more people than it annoys. Settings, the status bar, Camera and Gallery all get new icons, spacing and animation work, and there is a redesigned home screen offered as an alternative theme alongside the existing one, with icons and widgets tinted from your wallpaper’s dominant colour.
Two new widgets arrive: Collector, which builds a visual set of things you have photographed, and Away Time, which tracks how long you have stayed off the phone. The Glyph Interface gets a dedicated app pulling its settings, sounds and schedules into one place, plus a Glyph Timer widget that counts down on the back of the phone. In Gallery, the main view can now be sorted by recently added or captured date and filtered by favourites, edits, photos, videos or screenshots, with sorting and filtering usable together.
On the AI side, Essential Space gains Smart Collections, which suggests captures to group together, and Model Context Protocol support so other AI tools can read from it — read-only in this release, arriving via Google Play in October. Essential Apps Builder, which previously ran in a browser, becomes an on-device app that builds and deploys small tools straight to the home screen; it remains in beta. That MCP hook deserves a moment’s thought before you enable it: Essential Space is where your screenshots, notes and voice captures accumulate, and opening it to third-party AI platforms is a meaningful widening of who can read that pile, even with writes blocked.
The Android 17 parts
Because Nothing OS 5.0 sits on Android 17, it inherits the platform’s headline changes. Notifications and Quick Settings can be split into separate panels — swipe down from the left for one, the right for the other — with the combined layout still available. Quick Share now generates a QR code that an iPhone user can scan to open a secure web link and download the files, no app required. Screen recording moves to a floating control capsule, and the status bar gets a three-colour privacy indicator: green for sensitive access, blue for location sharing, yellow for AI data processing.
There is also an expanded dark theme that can be forced on a per-app basis for apps that lack their own, separate volume control for assistant responses, enhanced HDR brightness that lifts photo and video highlights without raising the whole interface, updated location permission prompts, Noto 3D emoji and a redesigned Recents screen with a pill-shaped action menu on each card.
One caveat from Nothing itself: the redesigned launcher and the Micrographics clock face are still in development and will not be in the open beta. Both arrive with the general release starting in October.
