Here’s why the Nothing Phone (2a) received Nothing OS 3.0 beta before Phone (2)


Nothing released the Nothing OS 3.0 open beta update for the Nothing Phone (2a) earlier this week, before the Phone (2), the company’s flagship which will get the beta update only in November and their other devices will get it in December.

Now the company has revealed the reason behind the staggered roll-out, and why the update for the Phone (2) is delayed.

Reason for staggered releases

Nothing said that it is a young company with a smaller team compared to established brands. Staggered releases allow them to gather feedback and make improvements before releasing the update to other devices.

Why Phone (2a) first

Phone (2a) is one of the newest and best-selling phones, allowing Nothing to collect feedback from a larger sample size. Nothing relies on chipset partners for Android updates, which can sometimes delay the release process.

MediaTek’s turnaround time was quicker with the Phone (2a)’s 7200 Pro processor, allowing it to be the first device with a stable version of the Nothing OS 3.0 beta before the Phone (2) powered by Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. Rather than delaying it to wait for the Phone (2) implementation, Nothing wanted some of the users to start testing it as soon as possible.

Releasing the beta update for all the devices at the same time will make the users until January, further pushing out the full release.

Future plans and final release

Nothing is working on scaling its capabilities and updating its processes to improve the update experience in the future. The stable release of Nothing OS 3.0 will be on Phone (2) and Phone (2a) first at the same time in December 2024.


Author: Srivatsan Sridhar

Srivatsan Sridhar is a Mobile Technology Enthusiast who is passionate about Mobile phones and Mobile apps. He uses the phones he reviews as his main phone. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram