Audio

Nothing’s first set of earbuds are called Ear(1) and feature active noise canceling for $99

The first product from Carl Pei’s new Nothing is releasing on July 27.

by
Joe Rice-Jones
July 6, 2021

Image: Nothing

The first product from Carl Pei’s new Nothing is releasing on July 27. It’s called the Nothing Ear(1), and it’s a $99 pair of mostly transparent earbuds that feature active noise cancelation (ANC). They’ll be released in the UK, India, Europe, and North America to begin with.

Pei was one of OnePlus‘ co-founders, so he knows the pulse of the mobile market. The three microphones in the Ear(1) work together to power the ANC, and Nothing’s marketing is aiming them against the AirPods Pro.

Will they live up to the promise? I mean, the $99 earbuds we’ve used to date are all lacking something vs the more expensive versions, that’s why they’re cheaper. Maybe Pei’s experience from OnePlus’ “flagship killer” days will come into force here, making the Ear(1) punch above their price point.

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For me, I’m all for the transparent looks. With most of the earbuds market copying each other’s homework, the transparent styling is something different, and I can’t wait to get hands-on experience of the Ear(1). If they sound as good as they look in the promo images, Nothing could be on to a winner here.

The other tidbit of news is that Nothing has acquired the rights to the “Essential” brand, which has laid dormant since the company shut down in 2020 after releasing one phone. Pei says that Nothing plans to do, well, nothing with the trademark, and snagged it as it was one of the possible branding choices when they were brainstorming company names.

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