Nothing
Nothing Phone (1) Receives Massive Boost in Performance and Battery Life After Nothing OS 2.6 Update
Last week, Nothing OS 2.6 update was released for Nothing Phone (1) and users were waiting for this one with quite some enthusiasm. This update does seem to bring not only performance improvements but also better battery life, so this should make it a worthy upgrade for the device.
The latest benchmarks, after the update, posted that the performance scores were better or, in this case, the Geekbench CPU single-core score increased from 992 to 1026, and the multi-core score from 2833 to 2972. Nearly the same GPU scores, which is actually a good thing, show that graphical performance has been very stable. The real change comes in with the way the battery will be managed on the device and more efficiency overall.
Antutu Benchmark Score: 602310
CPU Throttling Test: CPU throttled to 83% of its max performance
Battery lives do particularly vary, but screen-on time has certainly seen an upswing. Before the update, users were reporting an average of 5-6 hours of screen-on time. Else, some are even clocking as much as six hours and nineteen minutes—with major usage going toward media playback, and usage of hotspot services.
Although with the improvements, there still are some discrepancies in the performance and life of the batteries amongst users, the operating system seems quite stable and efficient after the update, irradiating the result of Nothing OS 2.6 as a movement in the right direction toward consistency in user experience.
All in all, this update could be taken as a sort of a shot in the arm for the performance credentials of the Nothing Phone (1). One, however, shall be able to judge the real difference the update can make only when shared users’ experiences actually start adding up. The update seems to promise handling with more efficiency and without a superfast battery drain, specifically in scenarios like gaming, browsing, and streaming.
Himanshu Tandon, the head of POCO India, has stepped down from his role and is likely to join the smartphone company Nothing in August. According to a report by Moneycontrol, he is expected to lead Nothing’s CMF division.
Tandon was part of the founding team of POCO and became the head of its India operations in 2022. He worked under Sandeep Singh Arora, Xiaomi India’s Chief Business Officer, who joined the company from Samsung earlier this year.
This is the second major leadership change at Xiaomi India in less than a year. Earlier, in November 2024, Xiaomi India’s President Muralikrishnan B also left the company.
Xiaomi Faces Market Challenges, POCO Shows Growth
Tandon’s exit comes as Xiaomi is facing tough times in India. In the second quarter of 2025, the company’s smartphone shipments dropped by 25% compared to last year, falling to 5 million units. Its market share also dropped from 18% to 13%.
Despite this, POCO performed well. It increased its share of Xiaomi’s shipments in India from 30% to 41%, with 2.03 million units sold. According to Canalys, POCO’s success came from targeting Gen Z users, offering gaming features, and growing offline sales through JioMart Digital.
Tandon Likely to Lead Nothing’s CMF Division
Tandon is expected to join Nothing’s affordable and design-focused brand CMF. The London-based company recently shifted its global marketing team to India.
Nothing’s CMF brand, led by company co-founder Akis Evangelidis in India, has seen fast growth — 229% in Q2 — thanks to products like the CMF Phone 2 Pro and Phone 3a series.
Both Xiaomi and Nothing are expected to officially announce Tandon’s move in the coming days.
A new app called NoVolume is gaining attention among Nothing Phone users for its clean, minimal design that matches the unique style of Nothing OS. If you’re bored of the default Android volume slider, this app might be the perfect upgrade.
The NoVolume app lets users slide to adjust the volume smoothly, swipe right to show the default Android volume panel, and even change the position and sensitivity of the slider. It works well with Nothing Phone (1), Phone (2), Phone (2a), Phone (2a), Phone (3a), Phone (3a) Pro, CMF Phone 1, CMF Phone 2 Pro, Nothing Phone (3) and even other Android phones.
What makes it stand out is its simple UI and customizability. It blends perfectly with the Nothing Phone’s transparent and minimal design language. Users can personalize how and where the slider appears, making it both functional and stylish.
You can download the NoVolume app from Google Play Store.
The best part? It doesn’t require root access. Just install it like any other app and start using it right away.
For those who love the Nothing OS aesthetic and want to add a new touch to their phone’s interface, the NoVolume app is worth checking out.
Nothing recently launched its Phone (3), which the company says is its first true flagship device. But now, new rumors suggest that Nothing may be planning to expand its smartphone lineup even further.
According to a well-known Indian leaker on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the company might be working on new models under the “Lite” or “T” series. The leaker claims that “Pro models are just not cutting it,” hinting that Nothing might be looking for a new direction.
It’s not completely clear which models the leaker is referring to. Recently, the only Pro version from Nothing was the Phone (3a) Pro which is a mid-range phone with better specs than the regular Phone (3a).
At this time, no detailed information has been shared about the possible Lite or T models. For example, it’s unclear whether Nothing will release a Phone (3) Lite, a Phone (3a) Lite, or both. Each could target different types of users depending on price and features.
If the rumor is true, more leaks and official updates from Nothing may follow soon. Until then, users can check out the company’s current flagship that is the Nothing Phone (3) which is already available.