Nothing recently announced during its Q1 Community Update, live from Tokyo, Japan that it will be establishing a new foundation of its audio product suite with two new wireless earbuds, Nothing Ear and Nothing Ear (a). Simultaneously, Nothing announced it will enhance its overall user experience with industry-first ChatGPT integrations in its audio and smartphone products.
A culmination of consistent refinement in design and engineering over the past three years, Nothing’s newest audio products offer a premium user experience for the audiophile and everyday listener alike. The company has stripped back the product numbers on its audio products to centre the focus around the product and the user experience. Nothing Ear is built for audiophiles seeking the best sound quality while Nothing Ear (a) is for those looking for the ultimate daily audio companion.
“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,” said Carl Pei, CEO and Co-Founder of Nothing. “As always, we look forward to feedback from our community.”
Nothing Ear – Sound, Evolved
A refinement of Ear (2), Ear preserves and evolves Nothing’s iconic transparent earbud design to deliver the company’s best-ever audio experience, delivering richer sound without compromising on performance.
Sound
Engineered with audiophiles in mind, Nothing Ear touts Nothing’s most advanced driver system to date with a custom 11 mm dynamic driver featuring premium materials carefully selected to deliver the most authentic and clear sound, including a ceramic diaphragm for overall richness and crisper highs. Nothing has improved the dual chamber design from that of Ear (2) with two additional vents to improve airflow, delivering clearer sound as a result.
Ear supports the LHDC 5.0 and LDAC codec for high-resolution streaming over Bluetooth, resulting in powerfully pure audio. Ear can reach up to 1 Mbps 24 bit/192 kHz with LHDC 5.0 (Low Latency High-Definition Audio Codec) and up to 990 kbps and frequencies up to 24 bit/96 kHz with LDAC.
Nothing’s Advanced Equaliser provides more customisation through a simple graphical interface on the Nothing X app. Users can elevate their listening experience with Q Factor and frequency control, as well as create separate profiles for different genres. When an individual creates a Personal Sound Profile on the Nothing X app, the data recorded is used in real-time to adjust equaliser levels based on the hearing test results.
ANC
Ear features Nothing’s most effective and intelligent noise-cancelling powers. The new Smart ANC algorithm checks for noise leakage between the earbuds and the ear canal and adds more noise cancellation accordingly. Ear also accounts for background distractions with Adaptive ANC, which automatically applies one of 3 noise cancellation levels, high, medium, and low. At 45 dB, Ear offers noise cancellation that is almost two times that of Ear (2). With a bandwidth of up to 5000 Hz, Ear can effectively detect and reduce more challenging sounds.
Performance
Powered to go further, Ear’s compact custom driver allows for a larger battery, resulting in battery life that lasts 25% longer than Ear (2) – lasting up to 40.5 hours after a full charge with the charging case or 8.5 hours of non-stop playback. For quick power-ups, Ear supports wireless charging at 2.5W. Ten minutes of fast charge provides ten hours of listening time with the case.
Ear features Nothing’s most advanced Clear Voice Technology yet with a new talk mic design, which allows for less obstruction when speaking on a call. A new additional airway has been added on the stem so wind has a clearer pathway, which reduces interference by 60% compared to Ear (2).
Users can seamlessly switch between devices in real time with Dual Connection. With Low Lag Mode, Ear can reduce audio lag compared to normal use, depending on the connection with the other end device for seamless gaming. Pinch controls are accessible to skip tracks, alternate between noise cancellation modes, and adjust volume.
Nothing Ear (a) – Let’s Play
Made for every part of every day, Nothing Ear (a) is for music lovers. With a head-turning design and powerful noise-cancelling technology, it’s the ultimate daily audio companion.
Designed in London
Designed in London and in true signature fashion, Ear (a) features Nothing’s transparent design, but takes a new direction with a fresh bubble design and yellow colour. With soft contours and a slim rectangular frame, Ear (a) feels as good in the pocket as it does in the palm.
Hello, Yellow!
Ear (a) yellow is Nothing’s first product in a colour outside of black and white. Not only does yellow perfectly compliment the playfulness of Ear (a)’s design, it is a colour that, by theory, aligns with Nothing’s value of transparency. If one strips back how colours are built, they are left with the primary colours. This purist approach to colour led Nothing to Ear (a) yellow – a vivid and playful audio product.
ANC
With Nothing’s new Smart ANC algorithm, Ear (a) checks the seal within one’s ear canal for noise leakage and generates more noise cancellation to block out as much noise as possible. Adaptive ANC detects distractions in your environment and automatically applies high, medium, or low noise cancellation levels to your surrounding noise.
At 45 dB, Ear (a) offers noise cancellation that is almost two times that of Ear (2). Additionally, with a bandwidth of up to 5000 Hz, Ear (a) can effectively detect and reduce more challenging sounds.
Sound
Ear (a)’s new driver delivers 2.5x more transient power that takes advantage of Nothing’s game-changing dual chamber design. This increase in power delivers an even deeper and more powerful bass performance.
To protect sound details, Ear (a) is Hi-Res Audio Certified. It can stream high-resolution audio over Bluetooth connections at up to 990 kbps at 24 bit/96 kHz and is compatible with the widely supported LDAC codec* for high-resolution streaming over Bluetooth.
Performance
Ear (a)’s 500 mAh battery in the charging case and 46 mAh battery in each bud allows users to get up to 42.5 hours of music playback after a full charge with the charging case. For speedy power-ups, Ear (a) can Fast Charge for ten minutes and deliver ten hours of music playback (with case and ANC turned off).
For easy activity switching, Ear (a) can be connected to two devices at the same time. Like Ear, Ear (a)’s Low Lag Mode reduces audio lag compared to normal use, depending on the connection with the other end device. Pinch controls are accessible to skip tracks, switch between noise cancellation modes, and adjust volume.
ChatGPT Integration
Guided by a mission to advance consumer tech products’ transition to AI, as well as simplify and enhance the user experience, Nothing has integrated Nothing earbuds and Nothing OS with ChatGPT to offer users instant access to knowledge directly from the devices they use most, earbuds and smartphones.
Through the new integration, users with the latest Nothing OS and ChatGPT installed on their Nothing phones will be able to pinch-to-speak to the most popular consumer AI tool in the world directly from Nothing earbuds, including the newly launched Ear and Ear (a). Nothing will also improve the Nothing smartphone user experience in Nothing OS by embedding system-level entry points to ChatGPT, including screenshot sharing and Nothing-styled widgets. For more details about the rollout, please visit Nothing.tech.
Pricing and Availability
In Singapore, Ear and Ear (a) will be priced at SGD $229 and SGD $159, respectively, and will be available in limited quantities at Chamber Store and https://limitededt.com/ starting from 27 April.
General availability commences on Saturday, 4 May.
- Online
- Shopee Nothing Official Store
- Lazada Nothing Singapore
- Retailers
- Challenger store
*Press release by Nothing Singapore
