Nothing to skip flagship in 2026: Phone 4a, Headphone 1 successor planned

Nothing CEO Carl Pei rules out a new flagship phone in 2026, says the company will prioritise A-series with Phone 4a and expand its focus on over-ear headphones

Nothing has outlined what its product roadmap could look like in 2026 through a new video published on the company’s official YouTube channel. In the video, titled “Phone (4a): A New Chapter”, Carl Pei, CEO of Nothing, said the company plans to focus on its A-series smartphones this year, while ruling out a new flagship model launch in 2026.

 

Pei said Nothing will be “levelling up its A-series with 4a” this year and confirmed that there are no plans for a successor to the Nothing Phone 3 in 2026. He also indicated that the company wants to “double down” on over-ear headphones following the launch of Headphone 1 in 2025.

 

Nothing’s product line up in 2026: What to expect

No new flagship this year

In the video, Pei confirmed that Nothing does not plan to release a flagship-tier smartphone in 2026. “We’re not just going to churn out a new flagship every year for the sake of it. We want every upgrade to feel significant,” he said.

This is not the first time Nothing has skipped a flagship launch cycle. The company introduced its first smartphone, the Phone 1, in 2022, followed by the Phone 2 in 2023. However, the next model in its flagship number series, the Phone 3, did not arrive until mid-2025. With no flagship planned for 2026, Nothing appears set to continue its irregular release cadence for top-tier devices.

Nothing Phone 4a series

Discussing its smartphone plans for 2026, Pei said the company will focus on improving its A-series lineup with the upcoming Phone 4a models. While he did not share detailed specifications, Pei described the Phone 4a as “a complete evolution” over its predecessor, spanning the display, camera, and overall performance.

 

He also said Nothing is experimenting with more premium materials and new colour options to refresh the look and feel of the device. In addition, Pei confirmed that the next-generation A-series phones will move to UFS 3.1 storage, an upgrade from the UFS 2.2 standard used on the Phone (3a).

 

Earlier this week, 9To5Google reported that the Nothing Phone 4a series has started appearing in regulatory listings. The Pro variant was reportedly spotted on the European Union’s energy labelling database. According to the report, the Phone 4a models could feature a slightly larger battery, with listings showing a rated capacity of 5,080mAh. By comparison, the Phone 3a series ships with a 5,000mAh battery but has a rated capacity of 4,920mAh.

 

Separately, a report by GSMArena suggests that the Phone 4a series could be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 7-series chipsets. The Pro variant is also expected to support eSIM. The phones are reportedly planned to launch in blue, pink, white, and black colour options.

Nothing Headphone 1 successor

Pei also addressed Nothing’s audio plans in the video, saying the company intends to “double down” on over-ear headphones following the launch of Nothing Headphone 1. This suggests that a second-generation model could be in development for release this year.

 

However, Pei did not confirm whether the next product would be a direct successor or a more affordable A-series variant. Either approach would mark an expansion of Nothing’s over-ear headphone lineup, which currently consists of a single model.