Nothing said it planned to release the Phone 1 Android 13 update in the first half of 2023 and that is likely to be a reality sooner than later. Reportedly, Nothing OS 1.5.2 is already available, and it does include the January 2023 security patch and is based on a stable build of Android 13. The company had launched an open beta version of the Nothing OS 1.5 in December. It was also tipped earlier this week that the Android 13 update will start rolling out to Nothing Phone 1 by the end of this week in the UK.
An XDA Developers’ report said that according to a number of user reports on Nothing’s official Discord server and Reddit, Nothing OS 1.5.2 is the stable Android 13 update for the Nothing Phone 1. This is a relatively small update, weighing in at around 157MB when compared to the previous open beta. The update also includes the Android security patches for January 2023.
Nothing founder Carl Pei tweeted that battery performance has considerably improved with v1.5. Standby power consumption has been cut in half, according to the changelog. Along with fixing general bugs and system stability improvement, a new self-repair feature has reportedly been added to delete unused system dumps and cache on a regular basis to this version, as per the changelog. The accuracy of fingerprint unlocking is said to be improved by up to 12 percent and the startup speed of the app has reportedly increased by up to 71 percent.
The official changelog cited in the report adds that the update gets a new weather app where pressing a weather widget on the home screen now unlocks the corresponding city in the app rather than a link.
Nothing OS 1.5.2 reportedly introduces a new minimalist wallpaper collection, and a new Glyph sound pack with additional ringtone and notification sounds. The wallpaper selector offers additional colour schemes in this update and icons can match the colour of the user’s background to make the home screen look more consistent, as per the report. Lockscreen shortcuts can be customised to make shortcuts for the camera, flashlight, device controls, and wallet in this version, the report adds.
The update also reportedly allows users to easily switch data usage when using dual SIM with the enhanced network Quick Settings panel – within which the users can instantly display the current network and how much mobile data users have consumed. The Android 13 update also supposedly allows users to scan a QR code directly in the Camera app and that scanner is also accessible through a shortcut in Quick Settings. Users are said to be able to also choose language preferences for various apps.
Nothing Phone 1 Media Control reportedly gets a new look with the Nothing OS 1.5.2 update, with a broader set of music controls, the album artwork is fully displayed, and the volume settings panel is said to have been improved where the granular volume control is possible without having to unlock the device. Light notifications in Game Mode have been reportedly improved with this update resulting in less distraction while playing. This update is also said to offer smoother animations when switching the display on and off, and the Camera app interface has been improved.
With the Nothing OS 1.5.2 update, when an app accesses the user’s clipboard, they’ll receive an alert, and to prevent unauthorised access, it periodically clears the history, says the report. A Personal Safety app has been added for better privacy protection according to the report, including Photo Picker, permission to nearby Wi-Fi devices, and select media permission.
As previously stated, it was tipped earlier in the week that Nothing OS with stable Android 13 support will begin rolling out by the end of this week in the UK, which is in tandem with the company’s plan to roll out the version within the first half of 2023.