Nothing ear (1) is here: near-transparent AirPods Pro alternatives for a tasty price

Nothing ear (1) earbuds
(Image credit: Nothing)

Nothing, a London-based company co-founded by former OnePlus frontman Carl Pei, has just unveiled its first product. Say hello to the Nothing ear (1) true wireless earbuds.

The heavily teased and hotly anticipated Nothing debut is a swish, fruitfully featured proposition before we even get to their distinct transparent aesthetic. There's Bluetooth 5.2; an AirPods Pro-esque earpiece design, which weighs just 4.7g per unit; customisable touch controls; 11.6mm drivers; three mics for noise-cancelling which comes in three settings; app support and – finally – a wireless charger that supports Qi wireless charging.

Nothing ear (1) case and buds

(Image credit: Nothing)

In a nod to the nothing-y name, the casework is largely transparent, revealing several of the components housed beneath the bonnet – a feature that Pei has previously explained adds both cost and difficulty to the build.

In terms of battery life, the claim is just under six hours of playtime from the buds (just under five with ANC deployed) and up to an impressive 34 hours total with the transparent charging case (or 27 with ANC on). A 10-minute charge promises up to eight – yes eight – hours of juice, too. Neat.

On top of all of this, you'll get a Find My Earbud feature in the app to locate a lost earpiece, EQ optimisation and an IPX4-rated splash- and sweat-resistant rating.

And did we mention the price? The nothing (1) go on sale at 2pm BST on 31st July, via a limited drop on nothing.tech. Open sales will begin on 17th August across 45 countries, priced at £99 ($99, about AU$140). That's a lot of features for not a lot of money – especially considering the AirPods Pro are more than twice the price.

Fingers crossed they complement an excellent spec sheet with excellent sound quality. Watch this space...

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