Recently, Nothing has branched away from offering only a single lineup of smartphones. The brand now offers a nice selection of midrange devices. Tomorrow, it’s branching off into one more segment: entry-level smartphones, starting with the Phone (3a) Lite.

Nothing’s lineups are a bit confusing. Let’s break it down a bit.

We’re currently living in the Phone (3) generation. The Phone (3), however, is the flagship. The Phone (3a), on the other hand, was released before the Phone (3) and is a midrange outing. Finally, the Phone (3a) Pro upgrades the former but is still a step below the flagship. Now, and as confirmed by Nothing, the Phone (3a) Lite is the company’s first entry-level smartphone.

As shared in a very short teaser, the upcoming entry-level phone will still feature the brand’s iconic transparent design. Further, the smartphone will seemingly see the return of the Glyph Lights. The brand notably departed from using the custom lights for the novelty of the new Glyph Matrix.

However, despite the clear return of customized lights, the Phone (3a) Lite will likely feature only one or a series of blinking LED dots, rather than a full strip. The teaser shows a single dot blinking in and out.

It won’t be long before a reveal, though. Nothing is scheduled to launch the new smartphone on October 29.

SEE ALSO: CMF will separate from Nothing soon

Compared to its contemporaries, Nothing OS offers one of the cleanest Android experiences today. The mobile operating system has a sleek design, a healthy helping of useful widgets, and no bloatware. Now, Nothing is apparently backtracking from its previous claim of offering no unnecessary software out of the box.

Previously, Nothing’s founder Carl Pei made a big deal about offering no bloatware inside his company’s smartphones. Based on how Nothing OS has been in its three iterations, this is a palpable truth. However, Nothing OS 4.0 is introducing a new feature which changes the brand’s stance on bloatware.

Nothing OS 4.0 will include something called Lock Glimpse. If you’ve seen a variety of smartphones over the past few years, this feature is likely familiar to you. Lock Glimpse turns the phone’s lock screen into a sliding carousel of wallpapers; some of which will feature links to content.

Aside from the thinly veiled ads in the Lock Glimpse feature, Nothing will more explicitly add “a carefully considered selection of third-party partner apps and services.”

The statement, crafted by co-founder Akis Evangelidis, assures users that the selection will not disrupt the Nothing experience. However, as an example, Evangelidis specifically names Instagram as one pre-installed app.

Further reassuring users, Evangelidis says that Lock Glimpse is turned off by default. Additionally, Nothing intends to release this update on non-flagship phones, starting with the Phone (3a) series. Still, it’s difficult to see this latest move other than a worrying change of heart from the company’s previous stance against bloatware.

SEE ALSO: Nothing teases redesign for Nothing OS 4.0

Vapor chamber cooling is a term you might often associate with gaming. Though a cooler smartphone is always a good thing, not all devices need it, unless they’re tailored for gaming or more robust uses. That said, Apple just added vapor chamber cooling to its iPhones. Now, it’s possible that the next iPad Pro might come with the feature, too.

Lest we forget the other side, vapor chamber cooling was a thing for Samsung already, starting with the Galaxy S23 series. The feature allowed for a cooler device. Because it dissipated heat more effectively, users can maximize more of the phone’s performance. Following suit, Apple did the same with the iPhone 17 series.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is adding the same to the iPad. The next iPad Pro will likely have vapor chamber cooling as well, maximizing the M6 chip, which will ship with the tablet series.

After years of enduring the stereotype that Apple users are not gamers, the company has recently pushed for more games in the App Store. Today, users can play popular games such as the Resident Evil series. Vapor chamber cooling will continue to push the company towards a brand reliable for games.

In terms of the iPad, the report speculates that the feature will help differentiate between the Pro model from the entire tablet lineup. Now, because of how the company has historically structured the tablet’s release schedule, the iPad Pro with an M6 chip will likely debut in 2027.

SEE ALSO: M5 iPad Pro review: The Most Powerful iPad Ever!