Nothing Ear 1 leak reveals totally transparent earbud design
Clear… but still unclear
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We were already the expecting the Nothing Ear 1true wireless earbudsto be among the most uniquely designed on the market thanks to their reportedly transparent components and overall minimalist aesthetic. Now, though, we’ve got a better look at what that design might look like in reality.
Twitter userAyush Vermahas uncovered what appears to be an image of theearbuds' case on one of the company’s partner websites. While we haven’t been able to verify the render, it does seem to fall in line withother pictures and teasersof the Nothing Ear 1’s we’ve seen previously.
🎧NOTHING EAR-1🎧So, here is the image of the Case of the upcoming Ear-1 (showing the positioning of the earphones). I guess, the white layer will hide the circuit and the battery of the case, as contact points to earphones are also coming from that white part only.#NothingEar1 pic.twitter.com/KUJloIUFecJuly 15, 2021
The design is quite polarizing, to say the least. It seems the Nothing Ear 1’s will arrive in a square case with a transparent bottom layer and asymmetrical hinge for the lid, while the buds themselves will sport a short transparent stem with contacts for charging, a bent in-ear design with eartips, a translucent section over the main components as well as red and black marking for the left and right buds, respectively.
Nothing to report
We also know there’ll be a special edition of the Nothing Ear 1 earbuds going on sale, too, availableexclusively on StockX. These will come with serial number engraving for the first 100 users, though right now that seems to be the only major departure from the regular variant.
As for the audio features they’ll bring, the Nothing Ear 1 will boastactive noise cancellation(ANC) at a fraction of the price of theApple AirPods Pro, which is rare in this segment of the market. Given the designs we’ve seen, we reckon the red and blue circles are the outwards-facing microphones, used to capture ambient sounds and cancel out the noise.
Set to be unveiled on July 27, the Nothing Ear 1 will cost just $99 / £99 (around AU$180). That’s not only cheaper thanApple’s ANC effort (which cost $249 / £249 / AU$399 at launch), but also most othernoise-cancelling earbudson the market right now.
As for other concrete details we know, there’s nothing to report as yet. The brand did recently post a cryptic image to Instagram – allegedly a close up of the earbuds – though beyond their obvious transparent quality, it doesn’t reveal all that much more by way of their design.
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A post shared by Nothing (@nothing)
A photo posted by on
Still, at least see-through materials fit with the company’s mission statement. According to Nothing, it’s goal is to “remove barriers between people and technology to create a seamless digital future that looks, lives, and feels like nothing.”
Notice it omits ‘sounds’ from that statement? We’re hoping that means the Nothing Ear 1 earbuds make a big impact on the ears, even if not on the eyes.
In any case, we’ll find out more on on July 27 – the event kicks off at 4am PDT / 9am EDT / 2pm BST / 11pm AEST.
Axel is TechRadar’s UK-based Phones Editor, reporting on everything from the latest Apple developments to newest AI breakthroughs as part of the site’s Mobile Computing vertical. Having previously written for publications including Esquire and FourFourTwo, Axel is well-versed in the applications of technology beyond the desktop, and his coverage extends from general reporting and analysis to in-depth interviews and opinion.
Axel studied for a degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick before joining TechRadar in 2020, where he then earned an NCTJ qualification as part of the company’s inaugural digital training scheme.
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