Nothing couldn’t wait to show off the Phone 4A by Jess Weatherbed
After teasing the upcoming launch of its midrange Phone 4A last week, Nothing has now revealed what the rear of the device looks like. An official render of the Phone 4A shared on X shows off the brand's familiar transparent-industrial stylings, alongside a new "Glyph Bar" lighting feature located to the right of the triple camera island.
Always tempted by the design of this phone. If I ever switch over to the Android side, I will be going with a Pixel though.
Vibe coding Nothing’s apps is fun, until you try to make them useful by Robert Hart
The second issue is a potentially fatal hurdle for a project like this: me. I’ve been reporting on AI tools for years, and one pattern keeps repeating—no matter how capable a system is, the hardest part is knowing how to use it to its potential. I immediately ran into that using Nothing’s Essential App Builder. It seems very capable and has great potential, but I didn’t always know what I wanted, and when I did, I didn’t always know how to ask for it. An ecosystem built on vibes is a great idea, but sometimes vibes aren’t enough.
Good to know that there may yet be a future for us techies.
Nothing’s community-designed Phone 3A adds some color and matching dice by Stevie Bonifield
The Nothing Phone 3A Community Edition revamps Nothing’s usual monochrome look with a 90s-inspired design infused by pops of color. It’s updating the basic 3A’s transparent backplate with a teal tint, plus yellow and magenta buttons.
Looks pretty!
Nothing’s new AI OS isn’t really an OS, or new by Robert Hart
Eventually — and here’s where the AI-native OS idea comes in — Pei says phones could be more proactive, changing apps’ placement, or even suggesting apps based on how we use the phone. But even then, this is not an OS. It is an interface. Pei admits as much, leaning on semantics to skirt the issue: “I guess the word or the noun ‘OS’ could be interpreted in different ways.”
It feels like Apple Shortcuts on steroids.
But the idea is exciting. The one thing this AI cycle has made possible is normal users building little tools to automatically do the arduous things they were doing manually.
Most of that has been on the desktop or the web.
This is exciting because it takes that same thing to mobile.