Nothing just started letting people test out their new software, Nothing OS 4.0, which is based on the latest Android 16. It’s out for most of their phones – the 2, 3, 2a, and 2a Plus, with the 3a models coming soon. Sounds cool, right? Getting the newest Android early?
Well, hold on. There’s a pretty big surprise tucked inside this beta, and people aren’t happy: ads. Right there on your lock screen.
ADS? Ugh.
They’re calling this feature “Lock Glimpse.” Nothing’s official spin is that it’s a neat way to get “fresh, high-quality wallpapers” and “timely updates.” You can swipe left on your lock screen to “discover captivating content.” But, uh oh. People actually using the beta are saying it’s basically just – ads. A lot like that Glance thing you see pre-installed on a bunch of budget phones these days.
While you do get some nice backgrounds, you also get sponsored stuff popping up. This feels really weird for Nothing, a company that built its whole image on being clean, minimal, and not shoving ads in your face like so many other Android phone makers do.
Right now, you have to choose to turn Lock Glimpse on, so you can ignore it if you want. But everyone’s worried about the obvious next step: what if they make it the default setting in a future update or make it difficult to turn it off? We’ve seen that movie before with other brands (no, we are not absolutely not looking at a certain South Korean major).
Is Nothing slowly losing the plot?
Look, maybe, maybe there’s a version of this that could actually be useful, showing cool content or helpful info. But let’s be honest, it usually just ends up being ads.
This feels like a really dangerous move for Nothing. People bought their phones specifically to avoid this kind of clutter. Adding lock screen ads, even if optional for now, chips away at the trust they’ve built.
If they’re not careful, they’ll end up looking just like every other phone company trying to squeeze a few extra bucks out of you, completely ditching the cool, clean vibe that made them stand out in the first place. They really need to tread carefully here and keep giving users control.
