Carl Pei’s new company, Nothing, has unveiled its very first product: the Ear (1) earbuds. Priced at $99, the earbuds do a lot to stand out in the ever-crowding market of wireless headphones by offering a transparent design and a feature list typically associated with more premium buds.
The transparent look is certainly unique, and it’s incredibly different from competitors like AirPods and Galaxy Buds. Obviously, the earbuds themselves aren’t entirely transparent, but the stems offer enough translucency to establish the appearance of a see-through bud.
Nothing says these buds are lightweight at 4.7 grams. They come in a transparent case that plays into the overall aesthetic nicely. It’s vaguely reminiscent of the old EarPods case.
I’m sure you’re wondering what you get if you spend $99 on Nothing’s first product. Luckily, it looks like a lot. The Ear (1) earbuds have 11.6mm speaker drivers with tuning by Sweedish company Teenage Engineering. You get active noise cancellation for improved isolation, a transparency mode to listen to your surroundings (which is adjustable, by the way), and Bluetooth 5.2. If you wanna work out in them, you’ll be able to thanks to the IPX4 rating.
The Ear (1) buds offer up to five hours of listening on a full charge, while the case supplies up to 34 hours of listening. The buds can be recharged via USB-C or Qi wireless charging. Rounding things off, you’ll also find Google Fast Pair compatibility and a tracker to help you find your buds if you lose them through the Ear (1) app on Android and iOS.
Whether Nothing intends to compete with the big dogs by selling a ton of Ear (1) buds is unclear. for $99, they’re certainly priced right given their feature set. If reviews are mostly positive, Nothing might have a solid product on their hands.
As for the future of Nothing, Pei has promised the company won’t be sticking with audio-only products. The portfolio of gadgets the company ships will expand to other markets, although we don’t know which markets they’ll be just yet.
If you’re interested in buying these buds, the Ear (1)s will go on sale July 31st. You’ll be able to buy them from nothing.tech.
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