Nothing OS 4.0 based on Android 16: when the stable update rolls out

Nothing is finally ready to push a major refresh to its phones, and this time it’s a big one: Nothing OS 4.0, the company’s custom skin built on top of Android 16. The software was officially introduced back in September as a headline feature for Nothing’s ecosystem, and since then early adopters have been poking at it through open beta builds while everyone else has been asking the same question: when does the stable version actually arrive?

Nothing has now put a firm date on the calendar.

The stable rollout of Nothing OS 4.0 is scheduled to begin on November 21, marking the moment when regular users can leave the beta track behind and install Android 16 with Nothing’s latest design and feature tweaks. On the same day the company is also promising a full announcement, where it is expected to walk through the most important visual changes, new tools and performance improvements arriving with the update.

What Nothing still hasn’t clarified is how quickly that update will reach every supported device. Most Android brands prefer staged rollouts, sending the new firmware to a limited number of users and regions first, before widening the release to avoid nasty surprises. Nothing has not said whether it will follow that familiar playbook, but it would be surprising to see all of its phones updated at exactly the same moment.

If the company follows the standard Android script, the Nothing Phone (3) is the obvious candidate to be first in line. It is the brand’s current flagship and the device most closely associated with its latest features, so it makes perfect sense to showcase Android 16 and Nothing OS 4.0 there before pushing it to older hardware.

For people who jumped into the open beta program back in September, the stable release should feel very familiar, just more polished. Beta builds are designed to expose bugs and rough edges; the November rollout is about delivering something you can rely on every day, with smoother animations, fewer crashes and tighter integration with Google’s under-the-hood Android 16 changes.

Whether you are holding out for the update notification or planning to install it the moment it appears, November 21 is the date Nothing owners will be watching. Back up your data, free up some storage, make sure your phone has enough battery, and be prepared for the possibility that the update might land on your phone slightly later than on someone else’s. The important part is that the waiting game for the stable version of Nothing OS 4.0 based on Android 16 is finally coming to an end.