Nothing dips into the weird and wonderful with its Phone 3a Community Edition

What you need to know

• Nothing announced that its Phone 3a Community Edition, the company's second ever, will launch on December 9 at 1 PM GMT (8 AM EST).
• The device was crafted with the top four winners from its previous submission period, which involved an expanded nine-month development process that touched on more aspects of its phone than before.
• Nothing launched 1,000 units of its first project, the Phone 2a Plus Community Edition, in 2024.

Nothing's co-creation campaign is heating the biting winter, as the company announces when to expect its second Community Edition phone.

As Nothing did with its first edition, it brought in four winners to London to collaborate on what would become the Phone 3a Community Edition earlier in 2025. While the newest edition isn't launching until December 9 at 1 PM GMT (8 AM EST), the company's press release states the phone is the culmination of several aspects. Together with Nothing, these four people worked on its hardware and accessory design, as well as its lock screen clock and wallpaper.

What's more, everyone had a hand in the phone's marketing campaign, which we're now seeing come to light.

Nothing is highlighting its lessons learned from its first collaborative Community Edition by stating it's revamped its development timeline by "extending the co-creation window." This year, everyone reportedly worked together for nine months. Even the aspects of the phone's design were expanded, so everyone could get more involved with the Community Edition from top to bottom.

The winning creators were gifted a £1,000 cash prize, as well, for their involvement during the submission process and beyond. Nothing states that this year's Community Edition embodies its "ambitious and bold" mindset for product design.

Made with the community

Nothing mentioned its lessons learned from its first Community Edition, which was the Phone 2a Plus that launched in 2024. Similar to what we're getting soon, Nothing created that device with "input from the fans." The device also featured similar internals to what consumers received during the Phone 2a Plus' original launch that same year.

What resulted after the long creation process was a 2a Plus that glowed in the dark. It's important to note that, during its first Community Edition, Nothing only made 1,000 units. It was a limited-time run that surely gripped those involved and others who enjoyed that glowing aesthetic. It remains to be seen if Nothing will do something similar with its Phone 3a Community Edition.

In other news, Nothing's been rolling out its OS 4.0 update to its recent phones. The company's flagship Phone 3 received the patch first, late in November. It came with some exclusive features, too, like Glyph Toys, Glyph Mirror Selfie, Flip to Glyph controls, and more. Most recently, and in good timing, the Phone 3a started receiving its major Android 16 upgrade.

The Phone 3a sits on the budget side of the line, but Nothing's not treating it as such. The company is quickly rolling out its promised Nothing OS 4 update after its flagship received it officially. System animations, battery optimization, and much more are involved in this update, making the Phone 3a much better in all areas.