After spending a few months with the Android 13 Beta, the Nothing Phone 1 has finally received the stable Android 13 release, which comes with a ton of new features, improvements, as well as fixes for security and stability for the device. Formally known as “Nothing OS 1.5.2.,” the update only weighs in at 157MB in size, provided that you are upgrading from the previous beta release. Here are the features included with the new software patch:
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.
It should be noted that the update comes with the January 2023 security patch, and should roll out via an OTA download for Nothing Phone 1 users who haven’t installed the beta.