Summary
- Nothing has announced that it’s getting rid of the numbered naming system for its upcoming earbuds.
- In addition to the Nothing Ear, the company will also release the budget-friendly Ear (a) on April 18.
- Additional details on the earbuds are currently unavailable, though it’s likely the Nothing Ear will cost $150, while the Ear (a) should slot into the $100 price segment.
Nothing released its first set of earbuds, the Ear 1, back in 2021. This was followed by the Ear Stick a year later, while the last Nothing-branded earbuds to drop were the Nothing Ear 2 in early 2023. The company has recently teased the launch of a successor to the Ear 2, even disclosing the April 18 launch date. Now, a teaser posted by the company over the weekend offers more details on the company’s upcoming earbuds while also confirming the release of the budget-oriented Ear (a).
Nothing Ear 2 review: Better sound, same crummy battery life
A step in the right direction, but Nothing’s still got some kinks to iron out
In a lengthy post on X/Twitter, the official Nothing account said it is getting rid of the numbered naming system for its upcoming standard earbuds, which was reported to be known as the Nothing Ear 3. Instead, Nothing says it will market it simply as the Nothing Ear. The brand says it is getting rid of the numbered system “to center the focus around the product.”
Meanwhile, the company also revealed that it would release the Ear (a), following in the footsteps of the Nothing Phone 2a, which arrived in select markets last month. The branding suggests the Ear (a) would be a cheaper version of the third-gen Nothing Ear, but it’s currently unclear how different the two models would be in terms of features, sound quality, etc. It’s also unknown whether Nothing will release the Ear (a) in the US, following the company’s decision to forego a conventional launch for the Phone 2a in the region.
What can we expect in terms of pricing?
Nothing took the bold call of bumping up the cost of the Nothing Ear 2 to $150, which is $50 more than the Ear 1’s launch day price. While the additional $50 brought some improvements like better sound quality, Nothing failed to make any major upgrades to the Ear 2’s battery life.
All things considered, it’s likely that the company will retain the $150 price tag for the 3rd gen Nothing Ear. This should allow the Ear (a) to slot into the highly competitive $100 price point. Nothing also provides a glimpse of what appears to be the stem of the upcoming earbuds in the tweet above, although it doesn’t give away too much.
