AirPods Pro have become a standard for wireless earbuds, but at £ 219 they come at a high cost. Thankfully, a new contender has emerged in the form of ultra-trendy start-up brand Nothing, which launched its AirPods competitor this week – priced at just £ 99.
The Ear (1) is Nothing’s first launch, but it has already garnered a lot of attention. It aims to stand out from the crowd not only with its cheaper price, but also with a unique see-through design. The outer shell is completely transparent and reveals the inner workings of the buds.
Carl Pei, CEO of Nothing, described the earbuds as “a breath of fresh air” – and he might know a thing or two since he co-founded the Android juggernaut, OnePlus, when he was just 24.
The ultra-light 4.7g earbuds definitely look stylish, with a red light marking the right ear and white silicone tips. But the technical data is also impressive: with an 11.6 mm driver, a full charge lasts 5.7 hours of listening time, while the wireless charging case lasts 34 hours. Wireless charging is Qi-compatible and the app has a practical “Find my earphones” function (tip: usually on the back of the sofa!).
The headphones also have active noise cancellation in three different modes and technologies so that your calls sound sharp even in noisy environments. As is standard now, there is also Bluetooth connectivity and tap and gesture control.
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To achieve all of this, the team apparently designed the ear (1) from scratch. Pei told Tech Crunch that transparency is a big sticking point in design: “It turns out that there is a reason why there aren’t a lot of transparent consumer tech products out there. It’s really, really hard to make it high quality. You have to make sure that everything looks just as good on the inside as it does on the outside. “
Although it is considered a competitor to Apple’s AirPods range, the ear (1) is priced comparable to Samsung’s Galaxy Buds + (99 euros) or Google’s Pixel Buds A series (139 euros).
However, Google does not use active noise suppression, but rather a passive adaptive sound function. It also lacks wireless charging of the case and a slightly shorter charging time (at five hours). The slightly more expensive headphones from Samsung go better together and hit ear (1) with 11 hours of battery life.
Will it win the battle of the buds? Time will tell, but Nothing has a multitude of tech giants by its side, including the founders of Twitch and Reddit and the inventor of the iPod. Also in March, crowdfunding raised $ 1.5 million in less than a minute.
You can get your hands on Ohr (1) with a limited drop on July 31st or wait for a wider release on August 17th.
