Nothing has been running an open beta of Android 15 with Nothing OS 3.0 for several of its devices, including the Nothing Phone 2, Phone 2a, and CMF Phone 1. But now, if you have a Nothing Phone 2a Plus, you can also get the Android 15 beta.
The Nothing Phone 2a Plus is a bit of a weird phone. It’s another phone in the trend of manufacturers releasing something that is “new-but-not-really,” because the Nothing Phone 2a Plus is mostly the same as the Nothing Phone 2a, but with a slight bump in specs.
If you’re having a hard time figuring out the differences between the two, basically the Phone 2a Plus has a MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro chip instead of the Dimensity 7200 Pro in the Phone 2a, only comes with 256GB of storage, with no option for 128GB, and has a 50MP selfie camera instead of 32MP. Again, very marginal spec differences, as everything else is pretty much the same.
But if you had the Nothing Phone 2a Plus, well, now you can finally check out the Android 15 beta too, along with users of the Nothing Phone 2, Phone 2a, and CMF Phone 1.
The Android 15 beta with Nothing OS 3.0 is now available as of December 12, 2024. It features the same change log and install method as the other previously mentioned devices. Basically, you will have to download an APK and follow the instructions provided from Nothing to get it on your Nothing Phone 2a Plus. If you find out that the beta isn’t your thing, then yes, there is a rollback method to get back on a stable Android 14 build.
As of now, the only Nothing device that has yet to receive the Android 15 beta update is Nothing Phone 1.
Here’s the full change log:
- Shared Widgets
- Use widgets to link up with friends and family. See another person’s widgets displayed on your home screen and interact with each other through reactions.
- Lock screen
- New lock screen customization page. Access by long-pressing the lock screen or via the Customization page.
- Upgraded clock faces. Choose your favorite style.
- Expanded widget space, allowing you to place more widgets on your lock screen.
- Smart Drawer
- Added AI-powered Smart Drawer feature to automatically categorize your apps into folders. Offers better organization and easy access.
- For ultimate convenience, you can pin your favorite apps to the top of the app drawer. No scrolling required.
- Quick Settings
- Reconsidered Quick Settings design with an optimized editing experience.
- Enhanced widget library design.
- Updated visuals in Settings including better Network & Internet and Bluetooth options.
- Camera improvements
- Faster camera launch speed under the Camera Widget.
- Reduced HDR scene processing time.
- Smoother user interface after countdown photos
- Improved zoom slider display.
- Enhanced pop-up view
- Movable pop-up view for cleaner and more productive multitasking.
- Easily resize the pop-up view by dragging the bottom corners.
- Pin the pop-up view on the screen edge for quick access.
- View information without leaving your current app. Simply swipe down on incoming notifications to enter the pop-up view. Enable via Settings > System > Pop-up view.
- Other improvements
- AI-powered selection and prioritization of your frequently used apps, keeping them at your fingertips for a more efficient experience
- Added support for auto-archive function to automatically free up storage space without removing apps or data from your device.
- Partial screen sharing for more efficient and secure screen recording. Record just an app window rather than the entire screen.
- Updated setup wizard to version 3.0 for the smoothest introduction to Nothing OS.
- Enabled predictive back animations for apps that have opted in.
- New fingerprint animation with signature dot matrix styling.
- New charging animation with signature dot matrix styling.
- Note:
- Shared Widgets are currently supported by Nothing devices only. At this stage, only Photo Widgets (square) can be shared. We are rapidly developing support for other widgets, so stay tuned.
- Since Shared Widgets are in beta, you might encounter some issues.
Christine Romero-Chan has been writing about technology, specifically Apple, for over a decade. She graduated from California…
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