Nothing 'Ear (1)' True Wireless Earbuds Launch to Take on AirPods Pro With ANC and Unusual Design for $99

Nothing, a new brand from OnePlus founder Carl Pei, has today officially launched the "Ear (1)" true wireless earbuds after months of anticipation around the company's AirPods Pro rival.

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The Ear (1) features an in-ear design, Active Noise Cancelation, Bluetooth 5.2, IPX4 water resistance, and a charging case with Qi-compatible wireless charging and a USB-C port. Fast pairing is supported on Android devices only.

The ANC uses three microphones on each earbud and can be set to Maximum for loud environments, Light for quieter environments, and there is also a transparency mode for hearing the sound around you. During calls, the microphones are used to cancel out background noise.

The Ear (1) earbuds offer 5.7 hours of battery life with ANC turned off, and 34 hours of battery life when used with the charging case. This drops to four hours for the buds and 24 hours with the case with ANC switched on.

Each earbud can be controlled with tap and gesture controls, which can be customized with the accompanying app. The app also features EQ controls and Find my Earbud functions.

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One of the most striking things about the earbuds is their unique design based around transparent plastic, which reveals some of the device's internal circuitry and magnets. Each earbud has a color-coded red or white circle to indicate the left and right ears.

Inside, the earbuds feature 11.6mm drivers. Nothing's hardware and software have been tuned by the well-known Swedish electronics company Teenage Engineering.

The Ear (1) earbuds cost $150 less than Apple's ‌AirPods Pro‌, but offer many of the same features, such as a premium design, ANC, transparency mode, IPX4 water resistance, 24 hours of battery life with the charging case. Some features, like Bluetooth 5.2, three microphones per earbud, and earbud weight, are actually better than ‌AirPods Pro‌, but they will of course lack Apple-specific features such as auto-pairing with the H1 chip. The Ear (1) earbuds are also cheaper than Samsung's $200 Galaxy Buds Pro.

In recent months, Nothing has undertaken an aggressive and secretive marketing campaign to build enthusiasm around its true wireless earbuds. Pei has previously said that the company plans to launch a connected ecosystem of new devices that will extend far beyond this initial product.

The Ear (1) earbuds will go on sale on August 17 in 45 countries, priced at $99 in the United States.

Tag: Nothing

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Top Rated Comments

DEMinSoCAL Avatar
50 months ago
Same features as AirPods Pro, significantly less money, and yet everyone here has not seen or heard them first hand think they're crap. No bias here!

I think they look better than the AirPod Pro's and I like the price. I would have to listen to them and see how well they work for calls, etc.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gaximus Avatar
50 months ago

Ah yes, the very clear indicators for left and right ears, a red and a white dot.
Very simple: One goes into my red ear and one goes into my white ear. ?
Red and white have been used on audio equipment to indicate left and right for 70+ years.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
afb8 Avatar
50 months ago
hey, if it lasts longer than a year w/o the ANC or mics crapping out, then it's better than the Airpods Pro.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
50 months ago
I love the design. It's pretty unique.

Can't go wrong with the price either.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Art Mark Avatar
50 months ago

hey, if it lasts longer than a year w/o the ANC or mics crapping out, then it's better than the Airpods Pro.
You think all AirPods crap out in a year, or did you have that happen to you? And if they did crap out in under a year you can go to an Apple store and get another pair. Most likely even after a year. I've had products returned for less than that with no issue. BTW if you base your entire opinion on one experience that happened to you it may not be the best method for judging a product.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
calys Avatar
50 months ago
if these have even somewhat close anc quality to the airpod pros, and half decent sound quality, these’ll be an amazing deal
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)