Nothing Phone (2) won't get Android 17 — and the update gap with Samsung is glaring
If you bought a Nothing Phone (2) in 2023, it has received its last major Android upgrade. Nothing confirmed the phone will stay on Android 16 permanently, skipping Nothing OS 5.0 — the update based on Android 17 — which is rolling out to the newer Phone (3) and Phone (2a).
The chipset excuse
CEO Carl Pei addressed the cut-off in a Reddit AMA, pointing the finger squarely at Qualcomm. The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip inside the Phone (2) relies on a kernel that Qualcomm no longer supports, Pei argued, making an Android 17 port impractical. In the same post, he initially claimed Nothing had delivered "four major updates" — then quietly corrected it to three. The Phone (2) shipped with Android 13 and received Android 14, 15, and 16: exactly the three OS upgrades Nothing originally promised, per a Reddit AMA (Carl Pei). Security patches will continue until 2027, giving the phone four years of security support from launch.
Technically, Nothing delivered what it promised. The problem is that the promise itself has aged badly.
A shrinking standard
In 2026, three years of OS updates is no longer competitive. Samsung's Galaxy S23 and A54 lines cover six to seven years of updates; Google's Pixel 8 series commits to seven years. The Nothing Phone (2), by contrast, tops out at four years of security patches — ending in 2027 — with no further Android versions to come. TechRadar (2026) has a full breakdown of how major brands now stack up on longevity.
The Qualcomm blame also carries a wrinkle: Apple and Samsung have kept devices running on older chip architectures well past the point Nothing is drawing its line. Whether Qualcomm's kernel limitations genuinely forced the decision, or whether it reflects an internal cost call at Nothing, hasn't been confirmed by Qualcomm directly.
What Phone (2) owners can do
Nothing's cut-off affects the Phone (2) and the original CMF Phone 1. The Phone (2a) — a cheaper, mid-range sibling — does qualify for Android 17, which could cause confusion for anyone buying second-hand. If you own a Phone (2), the device will keep working and receiving security patches through 2027, but Android 16 is the end of the road for new features and OS-level improvements.
For anyone considering a Nothing device going forward, the Phone (3) comes with a five-year update pledge — still short of what Samsung and Google now offer, but a step up from the Phone (2)'s cycle.
