Nothing Phone (3a) Series Gets 6 Years Of Updates, But Only 3 Android OS Upgrades

The Nothing Phone (3a) series has gone official, and with it, Nothing promises an extended 6 years of updates, the longest it has offered to date. This promise is slightly different than we’ve been seeing from other brands, though, as the company only promises 3 years of Android upgrades over that 6-year span.

The past few years have shown us that OEMs are more willing to stand by products running Android. Starting with Google in the Pixel 8 series, a 7-year schedule is quickly becoming the norm for flagships. Samsung, while at one point offering very little in terms of upgrade guarantees, now offers up to 7 years of Android updates and security updates for the Galaxy S25. Honor also this week announced it would start providing 7 years of updates for its flagship devices.

Nothing’s Phone (3a) and Phone (3a) Pro aren’t high-end flagships, though. The series starts at $379 and offers a pretty solid setup for the price, as well as Nothing’s usual collection of selling points, namely the unique design, clean software, and the Glyph interface. This updated model also brings a dedicated “Essential key” meant for opening a specialized space for notes and ideas.

• Nothing Phone (3a) and Phone (3a) Pro go official with telephoto cameras from $379

With that announcement, Nothing noted that the Phone (3a) series would get 6 years of security updates with only 3 years of Android upgrades.

Splitting the number of years of OS upgrades from security updates isn’t necessarily a new practice, but it’s a split from the ongoing trend. Google, for instance, offered 5 years of updates on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7, but only 3 years of OS upgrades (which Google has now extended to a full 5 years for both). Offering 6 years of security updates, however good that is, and supplementing it with half of that time’s worth of Android upgrades seems dated compared to what we’ve become accustomed to. Samsung, notably, offers 6 years of both security and OS updates on its mid-range Galaxy A-series devices.

The Nothing Phone (3a) is a budget-oriented device, so it might make sense to hedge its update lifespan a bit with the specs it brings. Still, it would be nice to see the company begin to up the amount of Android upgrades users can count on seeing with their devices.

The Nothing Phone (3a) launches with Android 15 and should be supported through Android 18. The Phone (3a) series will start shipping later this month.

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