AI-powered app development is really taking off, and smartphone maker Nothing seems intent on capitalizing on the bandwagon: the company on Monday revealed Playground, an AI tool that lets users create apps with simple text prompts and deploy them to a platform of sorts known as Essential Apps.
Currently all Playground lets you build are widgets, like a flight tracker, a next meeting brief, or a virtual pet, from scratch using text prompts, or customize an existing app on the Essential Apps platform to your purposes. More technical users can modify the code to fine-tune how an app works.
Nothing says it is not yet letting developers build full-screen apps, as the technology is not currently mature enough.
The vibe-coding launch comes mere weeks after Nothing raised $200 million in a round led by Tiger Global. At the time, Nothing CEO Carl Pei said the company wanted to build an operating system with AI-powered features, alongside developing new AI-centric devices.
In a conversation with TechCrunch last week, Pei said smartphone makers are reluctant to change software.
“Something that has always bothered me is why we aren’t improving software? A lot of people look at what big companies like Apple do, and follow that because that is the safer path. I think software iteration is very slow,” Pei said.
“With breakthroughs in AI, we believe that operating systems will change and become more personal. Our devices have so much context on us, but that is not being leveraged right now,” he added.
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That said, Nothing has so far only launched one AI-enabled app: Essential Space lets users share screenshots, record voice notes, and get transcription for meetings. It’s worth noting that most modern smartphone operating systems today can do all of that and more, and if they can’t, there’s nothing to stop users from simply installing AI apps on their phones.
Nothing has made a name for itself as a smartphone manufacturer, but it is still a small company compared to the likes of Google, Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Apple and Samsung. According to data from analytics firm IDC, the company has less than 1% share of the worldwide smartphone market.
But Pei feels Nothing’s position is advantageous. He has said previously that the company wants to build hardware specifically for using AI, and if it can get it right on smartphones, building hardware with specific use cases would be easier.
Vibe coding is promising on paper, but so far, apps that have tried to offer similar functionality on smartphones haven’t taken off, per data from analytics firm AppFigures, mostly due to security and maintenance concerns. Pei acknowledged this and said maintaining security while allowing developers to create apps will be crucial going forward.
“We have millions of users on our devices. So whatever we ship should be easy to use and hard to make a mistake on. That is why, for us, maintaining a level of security with these apps will be important,” he said.
At the moment, the company isn’t charging for these AI tools, and a paid tier doesn’t seem to be in the works right now. Pei mentioned that the focus is on building a vibrant community around the new tool and recognizing people who make good contributions.
