Nothing Phone 3 gets Android 17 with Nothing OS 5, if you see right deal then grab it

Nothing OS 5 has arrived, and with it the OS brings not just some nifty tweaks, speed boost, more refined AI features but also the goodness of Android 17. The OS, combined with the selling price of the Nothing Phone 3, makes it a delectable choice for Indian consumers.Nothing OS 5 is now available as a public beta on the Nothing Phone 3.Nothing phones, with their mix of cyberpunk design and minimalistic ethos, are an acquired taste. That is for most people, because some takes a shine to them immediately due to their unique looks in terms of hardware as well as software. Given my taste sensibilities, I have always found the Nothing devices endearing. They have a personality that most Chinese phone brands do not give to their phones. And while some, after seeing what Nothing has done, have tried to follow somehow they always tend to overdo it unlike the OG that is bold and subtle with its design choices at the same time. But enough about the Nothing design and taste. This piece is mostly about the marriage of Nothing OS 5, the new software that is built on top of Android 17. One of these phones is the Nothing Phone 3, which was launched last year but has come into its own this year due to the peculiar phone market realities of 2026. The stable release of Nothing OS 5 will be available on the Nothing Phone 3 in October. The Nothing OS 5 is now available as a beta download for select Nothing phones. But the word select is a bit of a misnomer because the list of supported devices includes most of the latest Nothing phones. This means it is supported on: — Nothing Phone 3 — Nothing Phone 4b— Nothing Phone 4a — Phone 4a Pro— Nothing Phone 3a — Phone 3a Lite — Phone 3a Pro— Nothing Phone 2a— Phone 2a Plus— CMF Phone 2 Pro Currently the open beta is available only on the Nothing Phone 3, with the stable releases expected around mid October. But even in its beta, it is clear that the Nothing OS 5 is bringing some nifty changes to Nothing phones. I have been trying the new OS for the last few days, and while it is too early to be definitive about anything, I haven’t run into any major issue while using the Phone 3. Everything works the way it should, or rather everything that I have tried so far. The public beta of Nothing OS 5 actually makes the Nothing Phone 3 of the first phones to get Android 17. This is important because a new version of an OS is — almost — always better not just from a features point of view but also from the security point of view. One of the key updates in Nothing OS 5 is Glyph App. As far as the changes go, the Nothing OS 5 brings a somewhat tweaked user interface to Nothing Phone 3. The design ethos are still good old Nothing, which means an OS designed around minimalism but with lots of playful colour accents. In terms of interface, Nothing is now using a different font — Geist. It is not a significant change from the default Roboto, but it is slightly bolder and edgier, bringing the user interface in line with the rest of the design of the phone. At the same time, there are tweaks to Home Screen, the way it is managed — it is easier now to handle the widgets — as well as some more sprucing up in the notification and control centre. The notification bar has cleaner animations, and it is also contextual and can keep itself decluttered in a better way. One of the key highlights of the home screen — and a detail I absolutely love — is the colour accent in the widgets. It changes automatically on the basis of the dominant colour of the wallpaper. For example, if the wallpaper is mostly green, then the second hand in the clock widget too turns green. It is such a tiny but cool detail that I love it for thoughtfulness and playfulness. Similar design and interface changes are all across OS 5. These are mostly tweaks instead of radical overhaul, but they make the entire OS look more coherent as well as more in sync with the overall design style of Nothing. In terms of new features too, there is enough to appease the users. Or so I believe. The Gallery app has gotten some new features, including the ability to sort photos by either “recently added” or by “date taken.” There is a new widget as well, which measures how much time you spend away from the phone. This could be a companion to the feature that tells users how much screen time they have. The Essential Apps tool, which uses AI to create widgets on demand, now runs entirely on the phone. This is very handy, again in the right hands and if you know what you want to create. Similarly, Quick Share is now better and can generate a QR code on the fly, which allows content and files to be shared across devices with just a quick scan. In the middle of all this, one of the biggest additions is the new Glyph app. It is a dedicated app that lets users control their Glyph light on the back of the phone through one app instead of going into different settings and tweaking them one by one. I believe that once users get access to Nothing OS 5, this will be one of the most helpful updates they will find. Under the hood too there are improvements. Although, in use these are difficult to quantify. Nothing says that the OS 5 is smoother and has improved performance, particularly in areas like app scrolling, how background apps behave and touch response. But like I said, it is difficult to quantify, particularly with less than a week of use. And more so because I have always found the Nothing software fairly sorted in terms of speed, animations and fluidity. Nothing Phone 3 and Nothing OS 5 comboThis brings me to an interesting aspect, particularly from the point of view of Indian consumers. Nothing Phone 3 was launched last year, and most people found it somewhat overpriced for what it brought to the table. But 2026 is not 2025 in the phone industry. 2026 is the fire. Not technology wise but as far as prices are concerned. Everything is just so much more expensive. Companies are launching Rs 50,000 phones that have just 8GB RAM. While the Nothing Phone 3 was launched last year, in 2026 it has become a fairly good deal if you can buy it with some discounts. In such a market, the Nothing Phone 3 has suddenly become a very attractive preposition, particularly with all the deals and offers available on it. There are websites where the Phone 3 can be bought for as low as Rs 45,000 and at this price, with Nothing OS 5 inside it, this is an unbeatable deal.The chipset that looked slower for a Rs 80,000 phone last year, looks temptingly juicy for a Rs 50,000 phone this year. In a year of RAM pricing, which is squeezing everyone, the Phone 3 with its 12GB RAM and 256GB storage looks like a steal deal.The only concern I have: Nothing has been somewhat vague about the actual selling price of the Nothing Phone 3. This is a phone that you can buy today at a price of Rs 45,000 — and less if you apply for some offers and exchanges — on Amazon India. But then, Amazon is not listed as a nothing e-com partner on the official website. Instead, Flipkart is. And on Flipkart the phone has a much higher price. Similarly, there are other websites where the Nothing Phone 3 sells at a significantly lower price. The question then is, what really is the selling price of the Nothing Phone 3? I believe Nothing should clear the air on this. Because if you are getting this phone for around Rs 50,000, it is one hell of a deal in 2026.- EndsPublished On: Aug 26, 2026 16:35 IST