Nothing Phone (3) gets Essential Apps Builder, an AI tool that builds custom widgets with a single prompt | Technology News
2 min readNew DelhiFeb 11, 2026 03:11 PM IST
In September last year, Nothing unveiled the Essential Apps Builder, an AI-powered tool that allowed users to create personalised apps using simple prompts.
However, it was limited to a handful of people. Now, the Carl Pei-led phone maker is bringing Essential Apps Builder to Nothing Phone (3) (review) users. In a community post, Nothing announced that Essential Apps Builder will be available in the Playground hub, but users will have to join the waitlist to get the beta version of the app.
What is Essential Apps Builder?
Nothing’s Essential Apps Builder is basically an AI-powered tool that enables users to create their very own homescreen widgets from scratch. Also, the functionality is limited to the widget itself, meaning they won’t replace apps.
The feature works with users typing a prompt which describes what functionality they want, after which it will use AI to generate the widget. Currently, the feature allows users to create “location-based reminders, agenda views, meeting countdowns and one-tap contact widgets.”
However, Nothing says it is planning to add more capabilities in the future version of the app, including access to the camera, microphone, notifications, calling, Bluetooth and network features.
In a post on LinkedIn, Nothing CEO Carl Pei added that Essential Apps Builder now also supports image upload and comes with a refreshed design that improves spacing, typography, tap areas, dark mode consistency and accessibility.
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Also, the feature handles updates differently compared to traditional apps in the sense that when you make changes, only the parts you edited are updated.
Scheduled to launch later this year, the UK-based phone maker confirmed that Essential Apps Builder will be coming to Nothing and CMF devices running on Nothing OS 4.0 or newer versions.
