Nothing OS 4.0 (on Nothing Phone (2a) Plus)

Good as their word recently, Nothing dropped the OTA upgrade to a number of their phones including the (2a) Plus which I still have here, so I thought I'd get it installed and see what the changes bring. Just a reminder that the (2a) Plus was the last phone in the line which did NOT come with an Essential Space button on the side. So outside of what Google offer and/or the user downloads, pretty much no AI or hardware buttons getting in the way!

I say that like it's an advantage to NOT have it, but I do know some enjoy the function - and to be fair, Nothing are working to get the data from it out beyond the confines of the device and its world. At this stage, mostly via the Share menu options, but in time, maybe more. Anyway, for now, I don't have to think about that!

The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus arrived with Android 14 and was promised 3 OS updates. Nothing OS 4.0 brings Android 16 with it, so yes, one more to go - and Google Security patches guaranteed to 2028. So still plenty of life left in it. I did a comparison piece between the Nothing Phone (2a) and Nothing Phone (3a) when the newer model was en route to me but never actually got to review the (3a). I was disappointed with the blocky shape and size-hike compared to the (2a) Plus so lost enthusiasm really quickly. Nothing have continued to make phones big, square-cornered and bulky. Carl Pei has gone on record saying that he likes smaller phones and one day hopes to create one for users. In the meantime, I much prefer the size/shape of the (2a) Plus than anything newer.

To the update, then. And the OTA Nothing OS 4.0 update for the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus weighed in at 2.09GB with Android 16 of course and Google's November Security patch. Here, ahead, lies the data lifted straight from the ongoingly excellent changelogs that Nothing provides, that few other do these days in quite the same detail and manner.

New Features

Hiding apps directly from the home screen and App drawer is now supported. Find hidden apps via: Home screen > App drawer > Hidden icons. They sit as a placeholder then want your biometrics to open when tapped. Same as what everyone else has been doing for yonks. Not something I feel the need to use!

Managing the search scope is now supported in App drawer to display results within a specific scope. Time needed to assess this one I guess.

Added more size options for Weather, Pedometer, Screen Time widgets. Yes - present and accounted for!

2x2 size is now supported for most Quick Settings tiles. I can't seem to make any of them work other than the connectivity one - so maybe it only works with certain ones.

Pop-up view now supports two floating icons for easier switching. Yes, this seems to be working as described. Accessed via the Recents and Pop-up option.

System upgrade supports app optimisation to improve startup speed. Path: Settings > Apps > App optimisation. Apparently this is ODEX Optimisation. I thought I'd ask Gemma to explain more on this. (Of course, she might not be right!) Hopefully the payoff is not blocking notification speeds! Anyway, here's what she said.

ODEX optimisation is the process of creating Optimised Dalvik Executable (ODEX) files for Android applications to improve their performance by pre-compiling parts of the app. This speeds up app startup times by reducing the work the Android runtime has to do when the app launches, but it can also make apps harder to modify and consumes some additional storage space.

How it works

Pre-compilation: When an app is installed, Android converts the .dex code inside the .apk file into an ODEX file, which is an optimised version.

Faster startup: Because some parts are already pre-compiled, the app can start and run faster than if it had to perform the optimisation from scratch every time.

Device-specific: ODEX files are optimised for a specific device's hardware and therefore cannot be easily transferred to a different device.

Storage: The ODEX file is stored separately from the original APK file, which can take up some extra space.

Why it's used

Performance: The primary goal is to improve app performance, especially during the initial launch and boot-up.

System stability: Having these pre-optimised files can contribute to a more stable and efficient system.

Security: ODEX files can make it more difficult for malicious actors to tamper with an application's code because the optimised code is in a separate file.

Modern alternatives

ART and dex2oat: Modern Android versions use the new Android Runtime (ART) and a tool called dex2oat for optimisation. dex2oat is more advanced and can perform ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation to create ODEX files, but it can also be used for more detailed optimisations.

Profile-guided optimisation: Newer methods like profile-guided optimisation (PGO) can compile only the most used parts of an app for maximum performance.

Essential Innovations

Introducing Playground (Alpha) - come to experience unique creations from the Community, including Essential Apps, Camera Presets, and EQ Profiles. Essential Apps (Alpha) are now open for download. Enjoy the Al-powered, community-crafted apps that blend creativity with efficiency. For more details of Playground & Essential Apps, visit Nothing Playground. I had a play with some of the Essential Apps in the Nothing Playground and some work OK, some are glitchy, most are pretty minimalist and of dubious value - but there might be some really useful widget or other in there for some folk. And we'll see how easy it is to create one when they let me - I have registered and asked for access but have to wait.

Visual Enhancements

Nothing app icons have been redesigned with an all-new, fresh look. For those who like the very Nothing look/feel of black/white/red.

Updated status bar icons with a more intuitive look. Yes, this is very much Android 16 and something like how the Pixel Status Bar looks - though not exactly. For example, the battery percentage on the Pixel is inside the Battery Icon but here, should you choose to have it on, is outside. The battery icon does turn green when the phone is charging in the same way.

Added 2 new lock screen clock faces in Customisation. They're not very exciting!

Extra dark mode is now available, bringing a more immersive dark style. Path: Settings > Display > Dark theme > Extra dark mode. This, I prefer. The blacker the blacks, the better. But for those who prefer the grey/black, there's the option. Nice one.

Glyph Interface

Added a setting to choose whether Flip to Glyph switches your phone to Silent or Vibrate mode. Useful, yes, little improvements like this - attention to detail.

Glyph Progress now uses Android 16 Live Update notifications for improved compatibility with third-party apps. OK - yep, that seems to work, progress tracking.

Camera Enhancements

Presets: Updated default list with new popular styles. Some of these Camera Presets seems to work but others report that they were designed for a later OS version(?!) so I don't quite understand that! Here's one I took of my (needing a clean) coffee machine in the Amelie pre-set. You can see what the person was trying to do with those orangey/yellow/sepia tones all over the Amelie film!

Filters: Added intensity adjustment and exclusive 'Stretch' styles.

Motion Photos: Supports longer recording times and audio capture.

Watermarks: Introduced new Nothing brand watermarks and artistic frames. Not sure why anyone would want to use watermarks, especially Nothing-branded ones, but OK.

Interface: Refreshed camera Ul design with optimised interactions. All looking very nicely done.

I noticed that Android 16's Notification Cooldown is on by default, so watch out for that one. For those who have a Nothing Phone 3, there's more of this stuff and I shall point you here to my Phones Show Chat co-host Joe Hickey's YouTube video as he highlights, summarises and demonstrates 26 Changes on the newer, more flagship-level phone. Nothing OS 4.0 - What's New?

As for the phone itself, the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus, is great. Works perfectly well still, feels fast-enough and fluid across the UI, it's got an (almost) great Always on Display (almost, because it could be brighter or have user-controls to decide whether to make it so or not), unlike the new phone it also has the 3 big Glyph bars on the back that (apart from anything else) dance along with music, has a perfectly-adequate 256GB storage and excessive 12GB RAM, battery performance is great, the sound from the stereo speakers is remarkably good for its price-point on release, it feels great in the hand, has a nice bright and colourful OLED screen and, with Nothing OS, has a fun-factor missing from most every other phone outside of their stable (and CMF). The cherry on the cake, for me and the only thing that I can honestly say would improve the offering, would be wireless charging - but with 50W wired it kind of offsets that. Oh and I guess for those who use cameras on a phone, perhaps a 2 or 3 x optical zoom. So yes - let the fun go on as Nothing continue to make their mark on the smartphone industry and evolve their software offerings.