Nothing Phone (1) to get Android 13 update next year, confirms company

Software is one of the key aspects of the Nothing Phone (1), which comes with a near-stock implementation of Android 12. However, despite the phone getting a promised 3 years of system updates, it seems like Nothing will take some time before it delivers the next version of Android on the Phone (1).
As per a new report Android Authority, Nothing has confirmed to the publication that the Android 13 update will come to the company’s first phone in H1 2023. The response comes after an underwhelming response Carl Pei to a Twitter user asking about the Android 13 update on the Phone (1).

A product is more than just its specs, features, and version numbers
— Carl Pei (@getpeid) August 17, 2022
Pei responded saying that a product is “more than just its specs, features, and version numbers.” While arguably true, the response didn’t really answer the question of when the Android 13 update would come to the Phone (1).
The Nothing Phone (1) is currently undergoing a rocky update situation, which isn’t exactly new for a newly launched device, especially when it’s a company’s first entry. With less than a month passed since its launch, the Phone (1) already has had three OTA updates that have added some features and fixed some bugs with the device.
Why Android 13 coming to the phone (1) next year is disappointing
A number of Android phones get a new Android version update the next year. This is also partially true because Google officially releases Android updates in the last few months of the calendar year. For most Android phones, the time between Google’s official release and the release for their own updates is spent tuning the new update as per the brand’s custom skin (Samsung’s OneUI, XIaomi’s MIUI, Oppo’s ColorOS, etc).

However, phones which come with a stock Android implementation and have a very light skin or no custom skin at all are usually quick to update to a newer version since there isn’t a lot of changing around to be done. In 2019, OnePlus released the official Android 10 update for the OnePlus 7T even before Google’s own Pixel phones got the stable system update. But keep in mind there’s also chipset manufacturer’s role in update testing as well, which can often lead to delays. This could be the reason why Nothing might take longer with the update.