The Nothing Phone 1 launched amidst much fanfare and hype. It is indeed one of the most unique phones to come out in the last few years with a design that stands out, largely because of that striking LED-laced back. But with no Android 13 update in sight, the Phone 1 fell severely behind other phones from Samsung and Google. Thankfully, the company is now catching up, with the Android 13 open beta for the Nothing Phone 1 starting next month.

While the Nothing Phone 1 may check a lot of boxes, from decent performance to a clean interface, it sure isn’t winning any awards for software support. It is the only phone in Nothing’s roster, but it will be updated to Android 13 only in the first half of 2023. That’s a pretty wide window the company has given itself but at least it’s on track to get there.

Nothing CEO Carl Pei took to Twitter to announce that the Phone 1 is getting its Android 13 closed beta starting today (November 30). There’s no word of how users can join this closed group of testers right now. However, those interested will be able to get on board the subsequent Android 13 open beta for the Nothing Phone 1 in two weeks. Once again, the company hasn’t specified exactly when the users can sign up, but we’ll keep an eye out for more details.

From what we’ve seen with other brands, major Android updates spend at least a couple of months in various beta stages before being rolled out to everyone as stable builds. You can expect a similar timeline for the Nothing Phone 1 as well if you aren’t eager to get an early look at the beta version of Nothing OS.

Meanwhile, if you want to be a bit adventurous with your Nothing Phone 1, you can install Paranoid Android’s custom ROM to get a taste of Android 13 before everybody else. But be sure to use a spare handset for installing any early-stage OS unless you’re okay with living with various bugs on your primary phone.