Nothing has announced the next major update for its Essential Apps Beta, its experimental platform that lets users build custom widgets. The service is now moving from the web to a native mobile app, with a broader beta rollout set to begin soon.
In a press release, the brand has confirmed that its Essential Apps Beta will go from being a web-based widget builder to a dedicated mobile app designed specifically for Nothing phones.
The company says the move comes after gathering feedback from early beta testers since the platform's debut for the Nothing Phone (3) earlier this year.
Alongside the transition, Nothing has upgraded the widget builder to generate more polished and personalised widgets. The update also introduces transparent widget backgrounds, additional widget themes and improved system integrations for better reliability.
It also brings the ability to link widgets directly to supported system apps once they are deployed. According to Nothing, these improvements are to make the platform more scalable as it gradually opens access to more users.
Going forward, the entire Essential Apps builder experience will be handled through the new mobile app. However, access won't be available to everyone immediately.
Nothing says it will begin whitelisting new users starting next week, with invitations rolling out in phases. Users who are selected will receive a welcome email containing instructions on how to access and use the builder app.
Until then, the app will remain inaccessible, and the builder can only be used on supported Nothing phones.
Alongside the new app rollout, Nothing is also temporarily disabling widget publishing to Playground, its community platform for sharing widgets.
The brand says that this decision allows its relatively small team to focus on improving the core widget-building experience before investing more resources into sharing and discovery features.
Once the Nothing Essentials Apps builder experience is more mature, Nothing plans to resume development of Playground's community features.
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