Nothing CEO Carl Pei says the 2023 flagship cannot move to Android 17 because of its older kernel and chipset support.
The Nothing Phone 2 will not receive the Android 17-based Nothing OS 5.0 update. Nothing CEO Carl Pei said the 2023 flagship cannot move to the newer Android version because its kernel is too old and its chipset vendor does not support Android 17.
Nothing CEO explains Phone 2 Android 17 decision
The Nothing Phone 2 launched in 2023 with Android 13-based Nothing OS 2.0. The company has now confirmed that the phone will not receive the Android 17-based Nothing OS 5.0 update.
The decision was discussed on Reddit after a user asked Nothing to provide another major Android update for the Phone 2. The user said the phone still has capable hardware and should receive longer software support. The post received more than 90 upvotes.
Carl Pei, CEO of Nothing, responded that the Phone 2 cannot move to Android 17. He said the phone’s kernel is too old, while its chipset vendor does not support the newer Android version.
Pei also said Nothing had already met its original software support promise for the Phone 2. However, he first said the device had received four major Android upgrades.
A Reddit user then pointed out that the Phone 2 started with Android 13. It later received Android 14, Android 15 and Android 16. That means the phone has received three major Android upgrades.
A Nothing employee later acknowledged that the information given to Pei was incorrect. Pei edited his comment and corrected the figure. The Phone 2 has received the three Android upgrades covered by Nothing’s original commitment.
Newer Nothing OS features remain a separate request
The Reddit discussion also raised the possibility of bringing some newer Nothing OS features to the Phone 2. The original poster asked Nothing to add features without requiring a full Android 17 upgrade.
They specifically mentioned the AI Vivid camera mode and a newer camera widget available on newer Nothing phones. They also asked for camera improvements with the Lucent theme update.
Another user asked if Nothing could extend chipset support through Qualcomm. The discussion did not establish whether that would be possible, and Nothing had not responded to those requests at the time of writing.
Nothing Phone 2 hardware and software background
The Nothing Phone 2 was launched with Android 13-based Nothing OS 2.0. It uses the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset and has dual 50-megapixel rear cameras.
The phone also has a 32-megapixel front camera. With Android 16 as its final major Android version, its major software upgrade path now ends with the current update cycle described by Nothing.
What happens next for Phone 2 users
Nothing has confirmed that the Phone 2 will not receive Android 17. Requests for selected newer Nothing OS features, including camera changes, remain separate from the Android version decision.
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