With a month-old security patch, Nothing Phone 1 finally receives a stable version of Android 13
In December, Nothing pushed out the first Nothing OS 1.5 Open Beta build for the Nothing Phone 1, allowing users to experience Android 13 prior to the official launch. After a brief testing phase, the company has now started rolling out the first stable version of the Nothing OS 1.5 branch for the smartphone.
According to numerous reports from Nothing’s official Discord server and Reddit, the stable Android 13 update for the Nothing Phone 1 is available in the form of Nothing OS 1.5.2. At around 157MB in size when updating from the last public beta, this is a relatively small update. Additionally, the release includes the January 2023 Android security patches.
While this is the initial stable build of Nothing OS 1.5, the current rollout might be restricted to existing Open Beta participants only. We expect the stable Android 13 OTA to be released to all users during the upcoming week, depending on any major issues that may arise.
- Weather app
- New Nothing weather app
- Tapping a weather widget on the homescreen now directly opens the corresponding city in the app instead of opening a link.
- Customisation
- All new Glyph soundpack for more ringtone and notification sounds.
- More color schemes available from the wallpaper selector.
- New collection of minimalist wallpapers.
- Icons can match your background color to make your home screen look more consistent.
- Lockscreen shortcut customisations. Create shortcuts for camera, torch, device controls, and wallet.
- Improved experience
- Easily switch data usage when using dual SIM with the improved network Quick Settings panel.
- Automatically show the current network and display how much mobile data you have used in Quick Settings.
- Directly scan a QR code in the Camera app. Scanner also appears as a shortcut in Quick Settings.
- Select language preferences for different apps.
- Visual improvement
- A New look for Media Control. Puts album artwork on full display with a wider set of music controls.
- Improved volume settings panel. Allows granular volume control without unlocking the device.
- Improved Game Mode light notifications. So there is less distraction when you are playing.
- Smoother animations when transitioning the display between on and off.
- More refined Camera app interface.
- Privacy and safety
- Get an alert when an app accesses your clipboard. Cleared history after a period of time to prevent unwanted access.
- Added Personal Safety app.
- Better privacy protection including Photo Picker, nearby Wi-Fi devices permission, and select media permission.
- System performance
- Fingerprint unlock accuracy has improved by up to 12%.
- App startup speed has increased by up to 71%.
- Standby power consumption has improved by up to 50%.
- Implemented a new self-repair feature to periodically delete unused system dumps and cache.
- Increased system stability.
- General bug fixes.
Source: XDA Developers