Nothing has confirmed its Phone (2) will not receive Android 17, leaving Android 16 as the final major operating system upgrade for the 2023 handset.

Chief executive Carl Pei addressed complaints from owners during a Reddit Ask Me Anything session, blaming the decision on the device’s ageing software kernel and a lack of support from its chipset supplier.

“The kernel is unfortunately too old, and Android 17 won’t be supported by the chipset vendor,” Pei said.

The Phone (2) uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor. Without continued vendor support, bringing Android 17 and the accompanying Nothing OS 5.0 release to the handset would require additional development work from Nothing.

Pei initially claimed the Phone (2) had received four major Android updates before correcting his post. The handset launched with Android 13 and subsequently received Android 14, Android 15 and Android 16, amounting to three major upgrades.

Nothing has therefore fulfilled the software commitment made when the Phone (2) launched. The company promised three major Android updates and four years of security patches.

Security updates will continue until July 2027, meaning the handset can remain in use despite missing future Android features and operating-system improvements.

The original Nothing Phone (1) and CMF Phone 1 were also absent from the company’s Nothing OS 5.0 rollout schedule. However, the cheaper Phone (2a) is eligible to receive the Android 17-based update.

The decision highlights the rapidly growing gap between smartphone manufacturers’ update policies. Samsung and Google now promise up to seven years of operating-system and security updates for selected devices.

Nothing has extended support for newer products, but it remains behind those rivals. Its Phone (3) is promised five major operating-system upgrades, compared with the three supplied to Phone (2).