Nothing, a London-based tech brand, has unveiled its new AI platform called Essential, aiming to become the company’s first AI-native operating system. The platform allows users to instantly create personalised apps using natural language and also share them through a community-driven hub called Playground. With this launch, Nothing positions itself as a challenger to legacy software makers by promoting openness, innovation, and hyper-personalisation.
What is Nothing Essential?
Essential is the brand’s ambitious new AI-powered ecosystem designed to transform how apps are created and shared. It introduces two major components:
- Essential Apps is a personalised app that can be generated instantly by describing your needs in natural language.
- Playground is a community-based platform where users can download, remix, and share apps created by others.
The company says this marks the beginning of a new era of AI-led operating systems.
How do Essential apps work?
Creating an app with Essential is as simple as giving a voice or text command. For example, if you ask the AI to “capture receipts from the camera roll”, it will generate a customised app that can be pinned directly to your home screen.
Nothing revealed that its community has already developed hundreds of Essential Apps, solving real-world problems and catering to specific needs.
Carl Pei on breaking the old system
Nothing’s CEO, Carl Pei, emphasised that Essential represents a shift away from traditional tech giants who, he claims, maintain a closed and elitist system.
He stated: “With Essential, we begin to chip away at the outdated and elitist system set up by the legacy market leaders. The future of software will be one of unrestricted access, collective innovation, and hyper-personalisation.”
Building a user-led ecosystem
The launch builds on Nothing’s recent growth, with the company crossing USD 1 billion in sales and shipping millions of devices in just five years. Unlike big incumbents, Nothing highlights its position as an independent challenger, with no incentive to preserve the status quo.
By giving users freedom to create and customise their own tools, the brand hopes to establish a truly open and user-led ecosystem for the future.
