Nothing Phone 3a update adds camera support for Essential Space

While the hype was real for a little bit, the Nothing Phone 3a series has now faded into the background after its release for those in the US. It’s not that the products aren’t exciting, but it all really comes down to the support that’s not being offered, since these can only be obtained through the brand’s beta program in the US.

Of course, if you’re someone that likes living on the edge, then this type of program won’t scare you off, and neither will the non-existent warranty on the new Nothing phone that you’ve purchased. With that said, outside of those issues, Nothing’s done a pretty good job of delivering software updates to its phones, with the latest Nothing OS 3.1 update arriving to the Phone 3a series (via 9to5Google).

Some minor improvements and one big change

You can now download the latest update that’s available for the Phone 3a and 3a Pro. You’ll get the usual improvements that you’d expect from an update like this, with enhancements to the camera like intuitive zoom interaction, improvements to skin color for selfies, enhanced white balance, better overall performance, and more.

But perhaps the big addition here is that you can now use the camera to save to your Essential Space. If you’re not sure what this is, it’s Nothing’s new approach to saving and organizing information that’s important to you. Users can activate it using the Essential Key, which is a dedicated physical button that can be found on both phones to access the new tool.

Although it’s pretty bare bones for now, the brand envisions that it will become your go-to method to keep things organized once it gets all the pieces in place. With this latest update, users will now have the option to use their camera by pressing the Essential Key, while also adding a voice note or text to what was captured.

As you can imagine, this could be very useful, especially if you’re out and about and just need to get some information down quickly and aren’t free to really go in-depth with another app. In addition to the above, Nothing has also provided a clear roadmap, with the brand trying to add Smart Collections, Focused Search, and Flip to Record to its Essential Space.

Of course, as stated before, this is just one of those things that’s going to continue to evolve over time, and could actually become a huge part of Nothing’s identity going forward. This is going to be important because while Nothing is still offering budget and mid-range phones, things could change this year with the brand’s first flagship ever.

If you want to give this new update a try, you can head into the Settings menu, then navigate to the System section, and then tap the System Updates option. If you aren’t seeing these updates yet, give it some time, as this is going to be a gradual release.