Mr. Mikla/Shutterstock
The Nothing phone brand has quickly caught the attention of many Android phone buyers with its unique transparent aesthetic and affordable mid-range and budget offerings. Although the company sells everything from phones to audio devices to smartwatches under two brands – Nothing and CMF – smartphones remain its best-known product. While there’s a lot to like about the Nothing-branded smartphones, anyone who thinks about it will probably be wondering about the company’s software update policy.
Unfortunately, Nothing doesn’t seem to have a standardized software update policy for its smartphones, which isn’t surprising for a young brand. However, it does mean that you have to pay attention to what the brand promises for the phone you want to buy or already own. For example, with the July 2026 update, the company officially ended software support for its first phone, the Nothing Phone (1). The phone launched with Android 12 and received the Android 15 update in 2025, essentially three major Android OS updates. While this isn’t a great support period compared to major Android phone brands like Google and Samsung, which promise seven years of software updates, it’s better than Motorola, which often only provides two major Android OS updates for its budget phones.
Table of Contents
Promised software updates for various Nothing phones
Stas Malyarevsky/Shutterstock
As mentioned earlier, Nothing has slightly different software update policies for each of its phones. For example, the Nothing Phone (3), currently the highest-quality model in the company’s US portfolio, receives seven years of software support. However, the company will only provide five major Android OS updates while security patches will be released for another two years. This is certainly a big upgrade over both the Nothing Phone (1) and the Phone (2), with the latter promised to receive three major Android OS updates and four years of security patches.
Among the cheaper A-series models, the Nothing Phone (2a) has the same software support period as the Phone (2), meaning you get three Android OS updates and four years of security patches. However, the company has increased the duration for which the Phone (3a), Phone (4a) and Phone (4a) Pro receive security patches to six years, while keeping the number of Android OS updates at three years. The Nothing Phone (4b) – the latest addition to the company’s portfolio – and the Phone (3a) Lite also have the same support period as the Phone (3a) and (4a).
When it comes to CMF-branded phones, the CMF Phone (1) is promised to only get two major Android OS updates and three years of security patches, while the CMF Phone (2) Pro gets three Android OS upgrades and six years of security patches. If you want a Nothing Phone with the longest software support period, the Phone (3) is basically your best choice.
https://www.bgr.com/2215658/nothing-phones-how-many-software-updates/
