Before it started selling smartphones, Carl Pei’s Nothing brand had its humble beginnings with the introduction of the Nothing Ear (1), a pair of wireless earbuds which set the tone for the company’s future hardware releases, especially in terms of design and aesthetics. With that in mind, Nothing recently announced its latest pair of wireless earbuds, the new Nothing Ear and Nothing Ear (a), a more affordable model.
As expected, the earbuds pack features and refinements that improve upon older models in the brand’s audio lineup, in addition to integrating AI functionality via ChatGPT. As per a statement from CEO Carl Pei:
“By integrating ChatGPT with Nothing earbuds, including the new Nothing Ear and Ear (a), and with Nothing OS, we’ve taken our first steps towards change, and there’s more to come… As always, we look forward to feedback from our community.”
Nothing Ear (2024)
For the new Nothing Ear, the company has used the same branding and design as on its earlier flagship earbuds – it’s not the Nothing Ear “3” or “2a”, just simply the Ear. It even comes with a design similar to Ears 1 and 2. But as far as upgrades go, a lot of the new stuff can be found – or instead heard – inside the earbuds.
Nothing says that the new Ear has its most advanced driver system, featuring a custom 11 mm dynamic driver, including a ceramic diaphragm for a rich sound and crisp-sounding highs. Nothing also says that the dual chamber design has been improved, with two additional vents to improve airflow and more precise sound quality. The new Nothing Ear supports both LHDC (Low Latency High-Definition Audio Codec) 5.0 and LDAC codec for wireless streaming over Bluetooth and powerful audio, reaching up to 1 Mbps 24 bit/192 kHz with LHDC 5.0 and up to 990 kbps and frequencies up to 24 bit/96 kHz with LDAC.
Nothing also allows users to fine-tune their earbuds via a built-in equaliser available within the Nothing X app. The app includes features such as Q Factor and frequency control and separate profiles for different genres. Thanks to the Ear’s compact custom driver, users get a longer battery life of 40.5 hours after a full charge with the charging case or 8.5 hours of non-stop playback. For quick power-ups, the Ear supports wireless charging at 2.5W. Ten minutes of fast charge provides ten hours of listening time with the case.
The Nothing Ear likewise supports a new Smart ANC algorithm, which can check for noise leakage between the earbuds and the ear canal to adjust noise cancellation accordingly. This is in addition to Adaptive ANC, which automatically applies one of 3 noise cancellation levels (high, medium, and low). Finally, there’s also improved Clear Voice Technology, which uses a new talk mic design, allowing for less obstruction when speaking on a call.
Nothing Ear (a)
The more affordable of the two earbuds, the Nothing Ear (a) stands out thanks to a slightly different look, which is emphasized even more thanks to a new bright yellow colourway, something that’s rarely seen on Nothing’s hardware line (which mainly revolves around black and white). The Ear (a) also features a smaller charging case, which is another difference from Nothing’s mainline wireless earbuds. Despite its lower price point, it offers essential features like Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and long battery life – a quick 10-minute charge can deliver up to 10 hours of playtime.
With the latest Nothing OS update and ChatGPT via Nothing phone, users can access AI functions directly via their Nothing earbuds, including the new Ear and Ear (a). Even better, Nothing plans to add more ways to interact with ChatGPT, like sharing screenshots and using custom Nothing widgets.
If you want to grab Nothing’s latest earbuds, you might want to order them now—the Ear and Ear (a) are priced at $149 and $99, respectively. Pre-orders are open now while sales start a bit later on the 22nd of April.
