Build Widgets Easily: Nothing’s AI Playground Overview
Nothing, a smartphone maker, launched an AI tool called Playground on September 30 2025.. The tool lets users create simple mobile apps—currently limited to widgets—using natural‑language prompts. It is part of the company’s Essential Apps platform, and users can build a flight‑tracker, meeting brief, virtual pet or other small widgets from scratch or customise existing onestechcrunch.com. Advanced users can view and modify the generated code to fine‑tune behaviourtechcrunch.com. At launch, the product is free; Nothing says it plans to build a community rather than monetise the tool immediatelytechcrunch.com. The company highlights ease of use and security; CEO Carl Pei noted that mobile software evolves slowly and that AI should make operating systems more personaltechcrunch.com. Nothing has less than 1 % of the global smartphone markettechcrunch.com, so the company sees Playground as a way to differentiate its devices.
Key features
| Feature | Details | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Prompt‑based app building | Users describe the widget they want, and Playground turns the description into a basic app (e.g., flight tracker or virtual pet)techcrunch.com. | TechCrunch reported that Playground lets users build widgets from scratch using text promptstechcrunch.com. |
| Customisation | You can customise generated apps or modify existing “Essential Apps” on the platform; advanced users can edit the code to refine behaviourtechcrunch.com. | TechCrunch notes that more technical users can adjust code to fine‑tune how an app workstechcrunch.com. |
| Widget‑only (no full‑screen apps) | Playground currently creates only widgets, not full‑screen apps; Nothing says full‑screen support is not mature enough yettechcrunch.com. | According to TechCrunch, developers cannot build full‑screen apps because the technology is not maturetechcrunch.com. |
| Free at launch | Nothing isn’t charging for Playground; there is no paid tier planned yettechcrunch.com. | TechCrunch notes that the company is focused on building a community and has no paid tier plannedtechcrunch.com. |
| Security emphasis | Past mobile AI‑app attempts have failed due to security and maintenance issuestechcrunch.com. Nothing stresses that apps must be “easy to use and hard to make a mistake on”techcrunch.com. | TechCrunch quotes CEO Carl Pei saying that maintaining security and ease‑of‑use will be importanttechcrunch.com. |
Pros and cons
Advantages
Easy entry for non‑programmers – Users can turn ideas into simple widgets using natural language. For beginners, not having to write code lowers the barrier to creating small appstechcrunch.com.
Customisation for power users – Unlike some no‑code builders, Playground exposes code for fine‑tuning, so technical users can refine functionalitytechcrunch.com.
Free at launch – There are no subscription fees, making it risk‑free to experimenttechcrunch.com.
Community focus – Nothing wants to build a user community around the tool, which could lead to shared widgets and faster evolutiontechcrunch.com.
Disadvantages
Limited scope – The tool currently supports only small widgets; there is no way to build full‑screen or complex appstechcrunch.com.
Early‑stage reliability – As the first release, it may lack polish. There is little information on performance, integration with other services or error handling.
Platform tie‑in – Playground is aimed at Nothing’s smartphone ecosystem; cross‑platform support is unclear. Users of other phones may not benefit from the Essential Apps platform.
Security concerns – Although Nothing stresses security, mobile AI‑app platforms in the past have struggled with security and maintenancetechcrunch.com. The company will need to prove it can avoid those pitfalls.
Comparison to other AI app builders (2025)
AI‑based app builders are evolving quickly. Here is how Playground compares to some leading tools listed in Zapier’s February 2025 review of AI app builders:
| Tool | Main use case / standout features | Pricing (Feb 2025) | Key strengths | Key limitations | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nothing Playground (2025) | Build mini‑apps (widgets) on Nothing phones using text promptstechcrunch.com. Users can customise apps or edit codetechcrunch.com. | Free at launchtechcrunch.com. | Accessible; exposes code for customisation; community‑oriented; runs on device. | Limited to widgets; no full‑screen appstechcrunch.com; early stage; tied to Nothing ecosystem; unknown integration options. | TechCrunch coveragetechcrunch.com. |
| Softr | A no‑code platform that turns natural‑language prompts into full web apps with dashboards, login pages and list pageszapier.com. | Free plan; paid plans from US$59/monthzapier.com. | Fast generation; easy data storage in Airtable or Google Sheetszapier.com; user‑friendly editor with many componentszapier.com; integrates with Zapier for automationzapier.com. | Limited advanced logiczapier.com; editing via prompts is not available—you must use the visual editorzapier.com. | Zapier reviewzapier.com. |
| Microsoft Power Apps with Copilot | Uses AI to create and edit internal tools; allows users to start an app from a prompt and refine database schema and UI through a chat interfacezapier.com. | Starts at US$20 per user per monthzapier.com. | Very flexible; accessible advanced logic; continuous AI assistance for adding pages, buttons and formszapier.com. | Setup can be complicatedzapier.com; full features may require other Microsoft serviceszapier.com. | Zapier reviewzapier.com. |
| Quickbase with Smart Builder | Builds enterprise‑grade internal apps from detailed prompts and generates dashboards, tables and formszapier.com. | Starts at US$35 per user per month (minimum 20 users)zapier.com. | Produces comprehensive, multi‑page apps with graphs and tableszapier.com; can become a central hub for business operations and integrates with automation toolszapier.com. | Building can take up to 10 minuteszapier.com; occasional slow performancezapier.com; aimed at enterprise customers. | Zapier reviewzapier.com. |
| Create (app builder) | Generates an entire app from a single prompt (supports simple use cases)zapier.com. | Free plan; paid plans from US$19/monthzapier.com. | Enables quick draft generation with minimal input; good for prototypes. | Less control over structure; advanced features may require paid plan; details limited. | Zapier overviewzapier.com. |
| Databutton | Uses an AI agent to build web apps, showing its reasoning so users can intervenezapier.com. | Starts at US$20/monthzapier.com. | Transparent AI thought process; more control compared with single‑prompt builders. | May be slower; may require technical understanding to interpret AI reasoning. | Zapier overviewzapier.com. |
Overall impression
Playground showcases the “vibe coding” idea—creating small apps on a phone by describing them. It lowers the barrier for people who want to experiment with widget ideas without setting up development tools. The ability to tweak code gives flexibility to tinkerers. However, compared with established AI app builders like Softr or Microsoft Power Apps, Playground is limited because it only produces widgets and is tied to Nothing’s ecosystem. If you need a full‑fledged web or mobile application or integration with other services, the more mature tools offer greater capabilities, albeit at a cost. Playground is best viewed as an early experiment. For casual users and fans of Nothing devices it could be a fun way to build simple widgets, but those seeking production‑ready applications should consider broader AI app builders.
Bottom line
Who it’s for: People with a Nothing phone who want to create and share small, personal widgets without learning to code.
Who should look elsewhere: Users who need fully featured applications, cross‑platform deployment, or robust data management should consider Softr, Power Apps, Quickbase or similar AI app builders.
What to watch: Whether Nothing expands Playground to support full‑screen apps, adds integrations, and ensures security will determine if it becomes a serious player in AI‑assisted app development.
