BREAKING: Carl Pei’s Latest Brand “CMF” is launching a Smartwatch, TWS Earbuds, and GaN Charger

Earlier this year, Nothing teased a sub-brand by the name of CMF with nothing more than just a logo reveal. Today, leaked images obtained by Twitter-user @techleakszone show three CMF products in the works. We upscaled these low-res images to get a clearer picture of the three products – a smartwatch, a pair of TWS earbuds, and a 65W GaN charging brick, all scheduled for an end-September release in India. All products have one thing in common – the use of a vibrant orange that draws instant attention to them, in a way contrasting Nothing’s transparent approach to design rather wonderfully!

This is an AI-upscaled Image (Ignore warped graphics on product)

The most prominent of the products is the smartwatch, which is priced at a budget-friendly ₹4499 ($54.48 USD) and comes with a 1.96″ AMOLED always-on display. Styled to somewhat lock horns with other budget watches/wearables like the Fitbit, the CMF smartwatch comes with an aluminum alloy case and a silicone band. A 330mAh battery gives it up to 13 days of use on a single charge, and the wearable works as a comprehensive fitness/sports tracker with support for 110 sports, along with features like heart-rate monitoring, blood-oxygen monitoring, stress monitoring, sleep tracking, etc. The spec sheet below compares the watch with other budget smartwatches on the Indian market, comparing features along with an incredibly competitive price tag.

This is an AI-upscaled Image (Ignore warped graphics on product)

The second product (code-named Corsola) is a ₹3499 ($42.3 USD) pair of TWS earbuds designed to compete with other brands in the low-budget segment. CMF’s earbuds are significantly different in appearance from the Nothing Ear (2) earbuds. They aren’t transparent, and they come in a circular case instead of a square one. The earbuds have up to 45dB of active noise cancellation and an impressive 37-hour battery life with the charging case. Just like the Ear (2), they are IP54-rated as well, although at half the price.

This is an AI-upscaled Image (Ignore warped graphics on product)

The third is probably the most interesting product of the lot – a GaN charger designed to compete in the accessories market and probably bring in the green for CMF by selling to both Android and iOS users alike. In a world where phone makers are increasingly deciding to ditch the idea of packaging chargers along with their phones, CMF’s 65W GaN charger makes quite an impact. With three ports (two USB-C and one USB-A), the charger can simultaneously power three devices, giving you a multifunctional power brick that takes care of your phone, tablet, and earbuds or power bank. The GaN semiconductor keeps the charging brick’s size extremely compact, and that bright orange color means you’ll never misplace it! The charging brick is expected to have a ₹2499 ($30.2 USD) price tag at launch a month from now.

Images via @techleakszone

The post BREAKING: Carl Pei’s Latest Brand “CMF” is launching a Smartwatch, TWS Earbuds, and GaN Charger first appeared on Yanko Design.

Nothing Phone (2): A Fine-Tuned Flagship Killer, With A Touch of ‘Fun’

Last year, Carl Pei took to the stage to proclaim that Tech had become boring, and it was time to inject some fun back into the industry again. In hindsight, the Phone (1) was an ideal proof of concept to show how exciting phones could be… The Phone (2), which officially launched today, shows a more iterative, refined version of exactly where Nothing is heading as a “small team with big ambitions”.

The launch of the Phone (2) is just as informal as last year’s Phone (1) keynote, and it’s a conscious effort on Nothing’s part to make sure that phone announcements aren’t highly precise, highly engineered, rehearsed monologues that are repeated year after year (major shots fired at Apple). Instead, Carl doubles down on the idea of keeping things fun by pairing up with Casey Neistat and sitting on a rollercoaster for the first few minutes, before vlogging the keynote just like Casey would.

Designer: Nothing

The Phone (2) comes with some significant improvements, but its design still remains familiar. The reason? Not just cost (because retooling, re-engineering, etc. eats into a lot of capital), but also to make sure that the phone’s design remains iconic and memorable. If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it… but definitely refine it to make it better. To that end, the Phone (2) comes with some pretty eye-catching visual refinements in the form of a new Glyph Interface that’s much more detailed and responsive than in the past. Unlike last year’s interface, this year has 11 individual LED panels, with individually addressable LEDs that can respond to different apps and features. The back of the phone also has a mildly curved glass that creates a uniquely comfortable experience as you hold the phone (so that edge doesn’t dig into your palm), and on the front, the selfie camera now shifts to the center instead of sitting in the corner. The phone also ditches the black colorway for a slate, anthracite-like gray that helps you appreciate the transparent rear fascia.

Pei mentions that even though Phone (1) was a proof of concept in a lot of ways, its overwhelmingly positive response proves that the company’s on the right track. Nothing has sold nearly 2 million Phone (1) units to date, and the device has even won a lot of design and tech awards (we gave the Phone (1) an award at the Mobile World Congress this year too). This has helped Nothing hire more designers, engineers, and solidify partnerships to make Phone (2) even better. Every aspect of the Phone (2) sees some form of an upgrade, from the chipset to the display, battery, camera module, and even the OS.

The front shows a great amount of iterative refinements on Nothing’s parts, in the form of a 6.7″ OLED display that now has 0.35mm slimmer bezels than before, and a 1600 nits peak brightness. The camera hole punch gets shifted to the center to aid the phone’s symmetric appeal and the UI, and the screen is now OLED LTPO, which means it can rapidly alternate between 120Hz and 1Hz refresh rates to reduce battery consumption and give you an always-on screen that rivals most flagships. The screen pulls power from the Phone (2)’s upgraded 4700mAh battery, and while Carl doesn’t specifically mention how the battery upgrade translates into hours of usage, he does mention a 40% bump in battery life compared to the Phone (1).

The Glyph Interface on the back is perhaps the most visible refinement of all. With multiple LED bands, it can now say and do a lot more than its predecessor. It’s a lot more responsive, customizable, and has a few tricks up its sleeve like a custom LED strip can light up to let you know you’ve got an ‘important’ notification pending. An LED arc on the top right works as a progress bar, helping you intuitively use the phone’s countdown timer; and integration with apps like Uber and India’s food delivery giant Zomato can show progress meters like how close your cab driver or delivery agent is next to you.

The new Glyph Interface has 11 zones instead of last year’s 5.

The new curved glass back highlights the phone’s premium appearance and hand-feel.

The new Nothing OS 2, which is expected to roll out soon, shows a beautiful monochromatic consistency with app icons, widgets, and other home-screen elements. Unlike other smartphones that have an explosion of color on their displays, with app icons fighting for your attention, the Nothing OS 2 focuses on, well, nothingness… or rather on Pei’s vision for a phone OS that’s fun and classy to look at. Last year, Pei revealed the Nothing OS by highlighting the company’s audio recording app. This year, Nothing unveiled a new Glyph composer feature, with a collaboration with Swedish House Mafia to help users build their own ringtones, glyph patterns, and personalized audio-visual experiences.

While the cameras look relatively the same, Nothing touts a few improvements on the camera front too, thanks in big part to the phone’s new Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, and a new ISP that shoots better images and video. The front camera gets a bump up to 32 megapixels, after last year’s 16-megapixel camera, and the dual-lens primary shooter features a 50MP camera like last year, but with a few significant software upgrades including better HDR, motion detection, blur removal, and low-light photography. How this pairs up to the smartphones of 2023 is still to be determined as the phone hasn’t gone on sale yet. We’re also excited to see what MKBHD’s camera tests for this year reveal, given that the Phone (1) didn’t fare pretty well last year. Our own verdict should be out soon too, as we review the Phone (2) for ourselves.

That being said, the Phone (2) is quite an interesting development for Nothing, proving that it’s getting something right as it slowly moves towards smartphone domination as other Android competitors still push out ‘boring’ phones that all look the same and don’t deliver anything materially different. The Phone (2) goes on sale this week, with pre-orders open on the nothing.tech website, and a flagship-killing $599 price tag.

The post Nothing Phone (2): A Fine-Tuned Flagship Killer, With A Touch of ‘Fun’ first appeared on Yanko Design.

Nothing Phone (2) to roll out in summer 2023 with Snapdragon 8+. Here’s what it might look like…

The moment Carl Pei departed OnePlus and unveiled the Nothing brand, all of us knew exactly what was in store. When the Ear (1) TWS earbuds dropped, we knew it was just a precursor to a smartphone. Surely enough, Pei took the stage in the summer of 2022 to announce the Phone (1), a device that promised to shake the status quo. The Nothing phone (1) was unveiled with pretty impressive specs and a ridiculous £399 GBP ($475 USD) price tag – ridiculous by flagship standards, definitely. It’s been almost a year since that landmark moment, and looks like Nothing is gearing up for round 2. The company just announced that the Phone (2) will be revealed at a keynote event ‘this summer’, and following Pei’s visit to Mobile World Congress this year, we know that it’ll be using the Snapdragon 8+ Gen1 chipset.

However, the upcoming Phone (2)’s specs just dropped online, and the company (just like last time) released a cryptic render of a close-up that highlights one thing for sure – the Phone (2) will be an exercise in iterative improvement, just like the Ear (2) which released earlier this year. This concept by YouTuber Concept Central showcases what the new Nothing phone could look like. It retains the transparent design language and Glyph Interface, but makes just enough changes to really set the 2nd generation model apart.

Designer: Concept Central

The thing with making smartphones is that it’s an incredibly difficult task on a shoestring budget. For a company like Nothing, changing the design of every subsequent model means redesigning, re-engineering, and re-tooling… and that can drain a startup’s capital. That’s why the Ear (2) looked so similar to the Ear (1) because it hoped to establish two things. One, that Nothing’s design is on point, and that something that doesn’t look old and outdated doesn’t need revamping. And two, it’s easier to establish a brand by sticking to a visual design but making minor changes over the years. The Phone (2) concept from Concept Central reinforces that fact.

The Phone (2), for the most part, looks a lot like its predecessor, but has one glaringly obvious change – the camera array. Now with three cameras instead of two, the smartphone gets a minor (yet significant) makeover. The Glyph Interface gets a slight change, which in turn acts as a visual symbol of progress, and the camera system gets an upgrade, with a third lens added to the mix. This 3-lens array would also probably help the Nothing Phone (2) shine better in MKBHD’s blind smartphone camera tests.

The Glyph Interface has a touch of familiarity, but is different enough to look like an ‘upgrade’.

The side profile remains unchanged, giving the phone consistency.

The unique camera bump not only looks appealing on the Phone (2), but it would also make the device differentiate itself from the iPhone

The front of the phone looks exactly the same, although it runs the latest NothingOS 1.5 launcher on top of Android 13. Google is expected to announce Android 14 this week, although I’ll be surprised if the new Nothing Phone (2) gets the upgrade this soon.

As per GSMArena, the upcoming Phone (2) is rumored to come equipped with the powerful Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, along with either 8GB or 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB or 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. Its display is expected to measure 6.55 inches and feature an AMOLED panel with FullHD+ resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, and an in-display fingerprint reader. The potential specs also include a 50MP main camera with OIS, as well as two other cameras, likely an ultrawide and auxiliary cam. The Phone (2) is also said to have stereo speakers and NFC capabilities. Additionally, the phone is rumored to boast a large 5,000 mAh battery that supports fast charging and wireless charging.

The post Nothing Phone (2) to roll out in summer 2023 with Snapdragon 8+. Here’s what it might look like… first appeared on Yanko Design.

OnePlus 11 Concept teaser images show a Nothing phone-like glyph interface shining through the back

Is OnePlus finally responding to estranged founder Carl Pei’s latest company?

Nine days ago, Carl Pei did something most CEOs don’t usually do. He uploaded a review of the OnePlus 11 on Nothing’s YouTube channel. After leaving OnePlus in 2020, Carl severed all association with the company he founded, focusing instead on Nothing – his new venture. This YouTube video was a fun way of looking at how far OnePlus had come after his departure. Today, OnePlus (now an Oppo subsidiary) replied with a cryptic image showing a phone that looks rather heavily inspired by the Nothing phone (1). The device, titled the OnePlus 11 Concept, will debut at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this following week.

Designer: OnePlus

Details on the OnePlus 11 Concept are extremely scant, but a user on Weibo did leak the above image, giving us a rather comprehensive look at what the phone’s back will visually appear to be. The otherwise black back panel is punctuated by a series of icy blue lines, hinting at either lighting or a novel liquid cooling system. The back panel’s rumored to be made from carbon fiber, with the blue lines running right underneath it, as is shown in the image below. There’s even a blue ring around the phone’s camera bump, giving the entire conceptual phone a distinctly futuristic, almost-TRON-like appearance. Details around the OnePlus 11 Concept will be revealed at MWC in Barcelona, which starts on Monday, February 27th.

The post OnePlus 11 Concept teaser images show a Nothing phone-like glyph interface shining through the back first appeared on Yanko Design.

What was that cryptic logo during Carl Pei’s Nothing phone (1) announcement? Here are our thoughts.

Like most people, I too was baffled to see that strange white-on-black pictogram when Carl teased the Nothing phone (1). Surely it meant something. Or did it mean ‘nothing’? Well, knowing the company’s ability and need to keep the hype train constantly moving, I’m sure that strange line-art wasn’t just randomly generated. Here are a few thoughts that immediately sprung to mind.

The most widely circulated interpretation of the symbol came from concept-designer Ben Geskin. Geskin’s design turned the C in the top left corner into a camera bump, and let the rest of the symbols naturally fall in line. This sort of opened up a few possibilities – firstly, of a wireless charging coil on the back (that’s what that main shape seems to be), although, along with the vertical line below that, it sort of looks like Apple’s MagSafe connector. Here’s what they look like side by side.

While I’m pretty sure Nothing can’t use the words MagSafe to announce such a feature (it would violate Apple’s trademarks), Carl did mention the fact that the phone was built to work seamlessly with products from other companies. Could the Nothing phone (1) have a magnetic connector on the back? Well, just the realist in me says that it’s highly unlikely, although the idea of having a wireless charging coil on the back that’s visible through a transparent facade sounds much more plausible.

Here’s a look at a render of the Nothing phone (1) concept kept right beside the Nothing ear (1). I have to admit that they do look like a part of the same product family!

What about those lines, though? Well, your guess is as good as mine, although the diagonal line on the top right, along with the letter C feels a lot like the prefix in Command Prompt. I’m clearly reading tea leaves at this point, but Pei did allude to the fact that the Nothing OS was going to be lightweight, powerful, flexible, and in black-and-white. Sounds an awful lot like Command Prompt to me from under my tin foil hat, but I’m obviously going off the deep end. At the same time, the vertical dot and dash at the bottom sort of looks like power and volume keys, don’t they?

Enough of weird speculation about the back; let’s move to the front of the device. While Geskin’s concept shows a hole-punch camera in the center, a fleeting glimpse of the Nothing OS preview made me think otherwise. Pei did mention that the clock and battery indicator would permanently sit on the top left and right corners, making it pretty clear that the Nothing phone (1) would either have a hole punch camera or a notch camera… or was he hinting at something different? When the Nothing OS preview shows the camera app opening, there’s a downward-facing arrow right where the hole punch camera would sit (refer to the image below). This leads me to believe that Nothing actually has something better in store as far as the front-facing camera goes, because why else would a digital element be in the UI if there was, in fact, a hole punch camera at that location?

The only thing we can conclusively say about the Nothing phone (1) is that it’s coming in summer and it’ll run Nothing OS. Maybe looking at the Android launcher (which debuts next month) will give us a clearer picture of what to expect. That being said, it’s fun to imagine what the phone can look like, and what it’s capable of. Even if we’re completely wrong in our predictions, Carl definitely got one thing right. He got us hyped about tech again…

The post What was that cryptic logo during Carl Pei’s Nothing phone (1) announcement? Here are our thoughts. first appeared on Yanko Design.

“Compelling alternative to Apple.” Carl Pei wants Nothing to be a tech juggernaut with an open ecosystem

Much to our chagrin, Carl Pei didn’t announce the highly anticipated Nothing phone (1) at the March 23rd event, but he used the keynote to make the company’s vision clear – Nothing isn’t merely an Audio Company. It’s a community-driven tech startup that wants to be the “compelling alternative to Apple” by creating products that delight, deliver optimism, but most importantly, don’t restrict its users. Pei was quick to point out that the Nothing OS would be uniquely calibrated to bring the best out of all tech, delivering a seamless, top-notch experience even if you decided to use Apple accessories with your Nothing phone. In every way, it’s aiming to be a company that uplifts all tech, instead of simply uplifting itself.

The keynote could broadly be broken down into 4 separate announcements – Carl Pei’s vision for the company and the journey so far, the announcement of the upcoming phone (1) device, the debut of the Nothing OS (which will be available as a launcher on Android in April), and the allocation of $10 million in community investment, directed at Nothing’s community of fans and patrons.

Just like with the cryptic release of a render prior to the ear (1) reveal, Carl gave us a taste of a simple logo, hinting at the phone which is expected to drop in Summer. In cryptically talking about the phone, he mentioned the genesis of the iPhone and how it created excitement within the tech community – an excitement which has died down 15 years later, as companies simply create new phones by moving camera lenses around a rectangular box. Carl also spoke about a big tech ‘incumbent’ blocking their ability to build their product and supply chain (could it be Pei’s old company OnePlus owned by Oppo and BBK Electronics?). The NOTHING phone (1), which Pei mentions is now almost entirely ready, was created thanks to support from companies like Google, Samsung, Qualcomm, and Sony.

While the phone (1) never got announced, the keynote did give us a taste of Nothing OS, a version of Android that Pei mentions has 40% fewer pre-installed bloatware apps. The OS delivers optimal processing power based on the apps you use and how frequently you use them, ensuring a smooth performance with seamless transitioning, while background apps that aren’t being used are closed to allocate more RAM to apps that are currently active. The OS itself looks like ‘nothing’ too, as it aims to let you use the phone without getting distracted by animations, fonts, notifications, etc. The tech blends into the background, giving you a phone that feels great and intuitive to use.

Moreover, Pei fired shots at Apple for their ‘walled garden’ approach to design and product integration. He also pointed out that the minute you tried to move away from the Apple ecosystem, there was a palpable lack of integration, and the experience was scattered and shoddy, at best. To that very end, the Nothing phone (1) will be designed to work well and bring out the best in all sorts of accessories, with the company even developing special separate widgets for third-party products, like AirPods and Teslas.

The Nothing phone (1), which the company is slated to announce in summer 2022, will come with 3 years of software updates and 4 years of security updates, letting you use the phone for at least 4 years before you need to make a switch. There’s no word on design or pricing yet, although if the ear (1) was any indication, the phone (1) will almost certainly be a budget-friendly device.

The post “Compelling alternative to Apple.” Carl Pei wants Nothing to be a tech juggernaut with an open ecosystem first appeared on Yanko Design.

Nothing phone (1) breaks the ice with transparent design and rear fingerprint sensor

Nothing’s smartphone is one of the most anticipated gadgets of 2022 that we hope revives the stagnant design status quo. This concept design gives us a sneak-peak of what could be coming our way, and the transparent aesthetics is what’ll set the Nothing phone (1) phone apart from the crowded marketplace!

Carl Pei embarked on a fresh new journey with Nothing after the huge success at OnePlus, and things have grown from strength to strength ever since we came across “Nothing.”  The brand focusing on breaking the barriers between people and technology, created quite the buzz with the debut product, the ear (1) TWS earbuds in white, and more recently the black version found many takers too. The London-based brand announced in October their partnership with Qualcomm and total funding of $74 million so far. Things are looking forward to the launch of Nothing smartphone in 2022, powered by the Snapdragon chipset, and the anticipation is running high as to when a radically designed smartphone will be released from the camp.

How the phone will look is anybody’s guess right now, but it could get the same transparent design treatment as on the earbuds. I just love the idea of a smartphone with a transparent back showing off all the intricate hardware components. Design student Osho Jain shapes our vision of a transparent Nothing phone (1), and how it would actually look. The concept revolves around the same design philosophy that’s apparent in Nothing’s vision and their first-ever consumer product. The phone has a clear back panel immaculately showing the wireless charging coil and the camera module in a cool sea green color. The fingerprint sensor moves to the rear – indicated by the tactile touch of a red button.

At key places on the back, there are words etched on the panels covering the components. Things like “Rethinking Everything,” “Nothingness of this Universe” or “Power in Less.” The phone has a peculiar OnePlus feel to it, and I don’t blame Osho to go that way since Carl’s contribution in crafting the flagship killer has been pivotal in the brand’s success.

There’s no mention of the hardware specifications of the concept phone visualizing the future of Nothing, but we presume they are going to be flagship-level, at a much lower price tag. The focus of the concept here is on the form and the sleek shape of the phone’s rear. I can just keep staring at that back panel all day long, and not get bored, ever!

Designer: Osho Jain

 

The post Nothing phone (1) breaks the ice with transparent design and rear fingerprint sensor first appeared on Yanko Design.

Nothing smartwatch design with transparent sides of the dial has “Nothing” to hide!

A transparent dial smartwatch that exposes the innards from the casing’s sides is what I’ll take with both hands if Nothing adds one to their future line-up.

Carl Pei and his ideology have always inspired me to follow a very transparent approach in life. His separation from OnePlus into a refreshing phase of his next venture Nothing has made headlines for all the good reason – right from the initial phase to the debut of the first-ever product in the brand’s line-up. The Nothing ear (1) earbuds have brought new precedence in earphone design to the industry with zero compromises in audio quality or other features at a price that brings a smile to audiophiles’ faces.

So what will be the next exciting offering by Nothing? Will it be another audio product or something related to fitness and lifestyle? I’m betting on the latter and Gian Luigi Singh’s concept supports my belief. Quite understandably christened Wrist (1), the smartwatch envisioned by Gian follows in the footsteps of ear (1) earbuds. The wearable with a 38mm by 10mm case revolves around the philosophy of transparency in consumer products (and I love it), displaying the raw beauty of the complicated inner mechanism of the smartwatch.

This is reminiscent of some of the high-end skeletal watches or the niche transparent watches that expose the innards like the watch movement and other mechanical parts. So, unlike other contemporary smartwatches on the market, the Wrist (1) will expose internal components by using a crystal clear transparent case, displaying the raw beauty of the precise engineering of what makes the wearable tick from the sides. To keep up with the competition, Nothing will inculcate health and fitness-centric features such as a heart rate monitor and step counter. This is courtesy of the LED and photodiodes that work in tandem with the AI algorithms for the most accurate measurements.

Of course, the smartwatch will get water-resistant aesthetics to keep clear of water splashes or rain. The watch will be powered by Google’s Wear OS to make all the Google services run smoothly for an unparalleled user experience. Keeping in tune with the brand’s ecosystem, the Wrist (1) smartwatch will seamlessly pair with the Nothing ear (1) earbuds to keep a check on the battery and audio levels or customize the gesture controls.

If Car Pie and his team are watching this concept, they’d want to bring this to life for sure. Who knows, they might already be working on something similar or planning one for the future? Any which way, a transparent smartwatch by Nothing has got my huge thumbs up, already!

Designer: Gian Luigi Singh

Carl Pei’s Nothing debuts its first product – a pair of TWS earbuds with a ‘zero-secrets’ transparent design





There was a time when you could take a screwdriver and practically fix anything. A radio, a telephone, a washing machine, all you’d need was a simple tool to help you inspect, replace, and repair parts and your product was good as new, but that isn’t the case today. Try venturing a guess on what’s really inside your smartphone, or how your TWS earbuds work, and the regular consumer will probably draw a massive blank. We take these complex products for granted because they do their job without a fuss, but without even really knowing how beautifully complicated they are on the inside. Nothing, former OnePlus founder Carl Pei’s latest venture, is lifting the veil on products with its brand of minimalist ‘nothingness’. The ear (1) marks Nothing’s debut in the product space and comes with a rather alluring transparent design. The earphones sport a transparent housing that lets you really appreciate the design and detail gone into the product’s inner assemblies, and a transparent case accentuates the brand’s ethos… of being a breath of fresh air in a saturated tech space that’s all about making black and white boxes.

Partnering with Teenage Engineering over the design of the ear (1), Nothing highlights the fact that the design’s beauty lies in ints inherent rawness. “Nothing like you’ve seen before, the raw beauty of ear (1)’s stripped-down aesthetic features transparency to expose the engineering, including microphones, magnets, and circuit board. Everything that is ear (1) is there with purpose”, the brand mentions in a press release.

The earphones boast a massive 11.6mm audio driver, tuned to perfection by the folks at Teenage Engineering, who have established themselves as one of the leading audio-tech brands of our time. The audiophiles at Teenage Engineering painstakingly dialed in the software and hardware for balanced bass, mid, and treble performance, and equipped the TWS earbuds with Bluetooth 5.2 for incredible connectivity.

The earbuds sit rather tightly in your ear thanks to liquid silicone ear-tips, and are even equipped with ANC – a feature that’s definitely worth praise given the TWS earbuds’ $99 price tag. The ANC can be controlled with different modes – like a Light mode for moderate cancelation in a relatively noise-free setting, and a Maximum mode for much noisier environments like in the outdoors, or in public transport. A Transparency mode lets you easily listen to the world around you when you’re walking down roads or you need to pay attention to your surroundings, and the ear (1)’s built-in Clear Voice Technology dramatically reduces distractive background noise, like the wind.

Yet another noteworthy feature is the earbud’s battery life – a cumulative 34 hours, along with the charging case. I’ll admit, there’s definitely an allure to being able to see the earbuds inside their case – it’s almost like a work of art… and you’ve got to admire the way every single element in the earphones is visible, including the magnets that cause the buds to align inside the case. The transparency does trigger a human response to think that the earbuds are fragile, but Nothing ensures that they’re built to a world-class standard. They come sweat and water-resistant, and each earbud weighs a stunningly low 4.7 grams. The case charges wirelessly too, and is Qi-compatible.

The launch of Nothing’s ear (1) quite mirrors how OnePlus established itself as a brand. When OnePlus launched its first phone, it capitalized on crowd fanfare brought about by an alluring design, an extremely competitive price, and a highly limited edition drop that had the crowd begging for more. Nothing seems to be employing a similar strategy too, given its rather eye-catching transparent design and transparently low price. The TWS earbuds will also be available via limited drops on their website nothing.tech. Open sales will begin on 17 August 2021 across 45 countries and regions, including the UK, USA, and Canada.

Designer: Teenage Engineering and Nothing