News
Kea Essential Remapper Gets Power Button Support, New Actions and More
Kea Essential Remapper has received a major update for Nothing and CMF phone users. Version 1.1.0 brings several new features, including Power Button remapping, Lock Screen Overlay support, new actions, improved screen recording, and better compatibility.
Following the 1.1.0 release, Kea also received a smaller version 1.1.1 update with improvements to overlay placement, performance, and stability.
Kea 1.1.0: What’s New?
Version 1.1.0 adds several new features to make Kea more useful for Nothing and CMF phones.
Power Button Remapping
One of the biggest additions is support for the Power Button.
The Power Button now has its own independent mapping, allowing users to assign different actions to the Power Button and hardware keys.
For example, users can assign the Essential Key to open the flashlight while using a long press of the Power Button to open the Calculator.
This gives users more options to customize their phone’s physical buttons.
Lock Screen Overlay
Kea 1.1.0 also adds Lock Screen Overlay support.
The overlay allows users to see Kea’s visual feedback even when the phone is locked.
Users can also adjust the placement of the overlay to match the position of the button they are using.
New Actions
The update adds four new actions:
- Set a Timer
- Copy
- Paste
- Calculator
For example, users can assign Copy to a single press and Paste to a double press of the Essential Key.
The Set a Timer action can directly open the Google Clock app and take users to the timer screen.
Better Screen Recording
Kea’s screen recording feature has also received improvements.
The update fixes audio permission issues and adds support for recording device audio and microphone audio.
Users can also configure screen recording settings such as resolution and frame rate.
Adjustable Glow Effect
Kea now allows users to control the intensity of the overlay’s glow effect.
The glow can be adjusted based on the user’s preference, and the feature can also be enabled or disabled.
Improved Setup Experience
The setup process has been cleaned up in version 1.1.0.
Unnecessary options have been removed from the setup screen, leaving only the required system handlers. Detailed instructions have also been added to help users disable the Essential Key’s default action.
Kea also improves theme handling, including better support for light and dark modes during the setup process.
Compatibility Fixes
Version 1.1.0 also includes compatibility improvements for the CMF Phone 2 Pro and Nothing Phone (3a) Lite.
These fixes address issues that some users faced while setting up and using the Essential Key.
Performance Improvements
The update also includes UI improvements, smoother animations, and performance optimizations.
Kea has also been updated to target API level 37 (Android 17) for Google Play compliance.
Kea 1.1.1: Follow-Up Update
After releasing version 1.1.0, Kea received another update, version 1.1.1, focused mainly on improving the experience and fixing issues found after the initial release.
Independent Overlay Placement
Version 1.1.1 adds Independent Placement for the visual overlay.
Users can now position and fine-tune the on-screen overlay separately for Hardware Keys and the Power Button.
This is particularly useful when the two buttons are located in different areas of the phone.
Performance and Stability Improvements
The latest update also improves performance and stability.
Kea has refined its stock handler discovery for the CMF Phone 2 Pro and Nothing Phone (3a) Lite. The update also includes general fixes for Nothing OS.
These changes should make the setup and button-remapping experience more reliable on supported devices.
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Nothing OS
Nothing Phone (3a) and Phone (3a) Pro Get Nothing OS 5.0 Stable Update Based on Android 17
Nothing has started rolling out the Nothing OS 5.0 Stable Update based on Android 17 for the Nothing Phone (3a) and Nothing Phone (3a) Pro. The update brings several new features, UI changes, camera improvements and customisation options to both smartphones.
The new update is around 3.09GB in size and introduces a fresh Translucent Theme, redesigned Quick Settings, new widgets, lock screen customisation and more.
Nothing OS 5.0 Stable Update: What’s New?
One of the biggest changes is the new Translucent Theme. It brings a frosted-glass look to the home screen, with subtle colours that match the selected wallpaper. Users can enable it by going to Customisation > Theme & Style > Translucent.
Nothing has also introduced a new Glyph app, which provides quicker access to Glyph Interface settings. The Quick Settings and Notification Panel can now be separated, giving users a cleaner layout.
Here are some of the major changes included in the update:
1. New Features and UI Changes
- New Glyph App: A dedicated app for accessing Glyph Interface features.
- Separate Quick Settings: Users can now separate Quick Settings and Notifications.
- Bulk App Arrangement: Arrange multiple home screen icons together.
- New Status Bar Indicators: Three-colour indicators show sensitive access, location and AI processing activity.
- Translucent Theme: A new frosted-glass style for the launcher.
- New Clock Faces: Two new lock screen clock styles.
- Lock Screen Customisation: Users can now change the colour of the clock face.
- New Geist Typeface: Updated typography across the system.
2. New Widgets
Nothing OS 5.0 also brings some new widgets to the home screen.
- Collector Widget: Turn favourite photos into decorative home screen elements.
- Away Time Widget: Track how much time you spend away from your phone.
- Glyph Timer Widget: Start and access timers directly from the home screen.
3. Camera Improvements
The camera app has received several improvements with this update.
- Seven adjustable camera tuning effects with a reset option.
- Improved camera presets with easier editing.
- New 2×2 camera preset widget.
- Support for Filters and Tuning in video recording.
- Dual-view Video support.
- Improved zoom and close-up photography.
- Better QR scanning and Google Lens integration.
- Improved Motion Photo playback.
- Refreshed camera interface, controls and animations.
4. Other Improvements
Apart from the major features, Nothing has also added several useful improvements.
- Expanded Dark Theme support for more third-party apps.
- Enhanced HDR Brightness control.
- Depth Wallpapers now support pinch-to-shrink.
- Improved Live Updates experience.
- Noto 3D Emoji support in Gboard.
- Improved lock screen shortcuts.
- Bluetooth devices can now be connected or disconnected with a single tap from Quick Settings.
- Improved system animations and transitions.
Nothing OS 5.0 Update Size and Availability
The update size for this one is 3.09 GB, and the build number is Nothing OS C5.0-261023-2146.
The update is rolling out in phases, which means it may not be available to everyone at the same time. If you haven’t received it yet, you can check for it manually by going to Settings > System > System Update.
Nothing recommends backing up important data before installing the update.
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Nothing has started rolling out the Nothing OS 4.1 October 2026 update for the Nothing Phone (2). The update focuses on bug fixes, system stability improvements, and connectivity optimisations. It also brings the October 2026 security patch.
The update size is 107 MB, making it a relatively small maintenance update.
Nothing OS 4.1 October Update: What’s New?
According to the official changelog displayed on the device, the update includes the following improvements:
- Video playback: Improved smoothness for videos recorded at 1080p@ 60FPS.
- Bluetooth: Optimised connection stability when activating the voice assistant.
- Wi-Fi hotspot: Fixed an issue where the hotspot frequency did not match the selected option in certain cases.
- System stability: Enhanced overall system stability.
- Security: Updated to the October 2026 security patch.
How to Download the Update
Nothing Phone (2) users can check for the latest update by navigating to Settings > System > System Update. If the update is available, download and install it.
The rollout may happen in phases, so some users might have to wait before receiving the update.
If you don’t receive any OTA related to the update, you can manually update through our Nothing Firmware app.
Overall, the Nothing OS 4.1 October update is a minor maintenance release focused on improving the everyday user experience rather than introducing new features.
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Nothing has teased another Pokémon on its official X account and Nothing Community, hinting that a new product could be on the way. This time, the company has shared Kingdra, Pokémon #230 in the National Pokédex.
Kingdra is a Water/Dragon-type Pokémon introduced in Generation II. The teaser features the Pokémon alongside a cryptic description about sleeping deep on the ocean floor to build energy and causing tornadoes when it wakes up.
What Could Nothing Be Launching Next?
Nothing has not revealed which product the new Pokémon teaser refers to. However, the company has previously used Pokémon-themed teasers to build anticipation for upcoming devices, making this latest post worth watching.
An audio product, such as new Nothing Ear earbuds or headphones, could be one possibility. A new smartphone or another product category cannot be ruled out either.
For now, the product name, specifications, pricing and launch date remain unknown. More details may emerge through future teasers from the company.
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