Nothing’s AI Tool Lets Users Build Apps with Prompts, No Coding Required

Nothing has dropped a bold new tool into the AI race with Playground, an app builder that ditches code in favor of plain language prompts. Anyone with a Nothing device can now dream up simple widgets, such as flight trackers or meeting reminders, and bring them to life with a sentence or two, then share them on the Essential Apps platform for the whole Nothing community to try out. It’s customization without complexity, although technical tinkerers can still dive into the code for extra tweaks.

At this stage, Playground is not about creating full-fledged, full-screen apps. Nothing admits the tech isn’t ready for that leap. But as an early taste of the company’s ambition, it signals a push toward a personalized digital experience that bigger brands have largely ignored. CEO Carl Pei has been vocal about his frustration with the slow software evolution across the smartphone industry, and Playground is pitched as a cure: rapid, user-driven software upgrades powered by generative AI, not just incremental OS updates dictated by industry giants.

The launch comes on the heels of a fresh 200 million dollar investment, with Tiger Global leading the charge, aimed at accelerating Nothing’s vision for AI-centric devices and software. The Essential Apps storefront, which launched with a modest set of community-built widgets, marks the first phase of an AI-flavored operating system. This is not an Android replacement, but a layer of rapid personalization sitting on top.

Pei knows the hurdles are real. Previous efforts at AI-powered “vibe coding” have stumbled due to security and maintenance challenges. Letting anyone create and share apps risks bugs and breaches, so Nothing is putting security at the core as it scales up, aiming for frictionless creativity without opening the door to chaos.

Curiously, this new suite of AI tools is launching free, with no paid tier in sight. Instead, Nothing is betting on community. A thriving app marketplace, viral contributions, and feedback-driven evolution are shaping the project. With less than 1 percent of the global smartphone share, Nothing is still a scrappy player, but with Playground, it is betting big on breaking old software habits and letting users, not just engineers, shape the future of mobile apps.