Nothing has launched its Essential Apps Builder in beta, giving Nothing Phone (3) users early access to an AI-powered tool that lets them create and deploy small personal apps using plain-language prompts. Access is rolling out gradually through a waitlist, with a broader public release planned later this year.
The builder lives inside Playground, Nothing’s web-based creation hub. Users describe what they want in natural language, and the AI generates a working app that can be deployed to the phone’s homescreen with a single tap. While these apps appear as widgets, Nothing frames them as lightweight, context-aware personal tools designed to stay visible and update in place rather than launch into full standalone applications.
The beta marks the first major step toward Nothing’s broader “Essential Suite” vision — a collection of AI-powered tools that also includes Essential Space, Essential Search, and Essential Memory. The company says the goal is to make software adapt more naturally to how users think, rather than forcing users to navigate traditional app menus.
Unlike early prototypes previewed last year, the current Essential Apps Builder includes stability improvements. When users edit an app, only the specific requested changes are updated, while the rest of the app remains intact. If something breaks, a previous version can be restored with one tap. The updated interface also makes it clearer which versions are live, which are drafts, and what has changed.
For now, Essential Apps supports three permissions: Location, Calendar (read-only), and Contacts. That enables use cases such as meeting countdowns, agenda views, location-based reminders, and one-tap contact tools. A late February OS update will expand capabilities with activity recognition, usage statistics, sensor data, and access to a system weather API. Additional features — including camera, microphone, notifications, network fetching, calling, Bluetooth, and vibration — are planned for future beta updates.
Visually, apps support image uploads in JPEG, PNG, GIF, and WebP formats. Current widget sizes include 2×2 and 4×2, with 1×2 and 4×4 formats coming later. Nothing is also rolling out a refreshed design baseline aimed at improving typography, spacing, accessibility, and dark mode consistency.
The beta is initially limited to Phone (3) devices. Nothing says the exclusivity is tied to performance requirements, as the device is capable of running multiple Essential Apps while the system is refined. Once the beta stabilizes, the feature will expand to other Nothing and CMF devices running Nothing OS 4.0 and above.
Playground itself functions as both a development environment and a community space. Users can browse creations from others, publish their own apps, and install them directly to their device. A native Playground app is expected in the future.
In practice, the experience remains experimental. Some creations feel polished, while others require refinement — something Nothing acknowledges during the beta phase. The company says it is focused on improving reliability and learning how people actually use personal AI-built tools in everyday life before moving to full public release.
Essential Apps does not replace Nothing OS, according to the company. Instead, it layers AI-driven personalization on top of it. Whether users embrace building their own small apps — rather than relying entirely on traditional app stores — will determine how central this tool becomes to Nothing’s broader software strategy.
For now, Essential Apps is available in beta to Nothing Phone (3) users through Playground, with wider rollout expected later this year.
This analysis is based on reporting from https://www.gizbot.com/.
Image courtesy of Nothing.
This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy and quality.
