Carl Pei’s new venture Nothing made a statement with its Ear (1) earphones. It has since been followed by a phone and a second set of headphones, but rumors about the second generation of the company’s primary audio release: the Ear (2).
Here’s everything we know about the Nothing Ear so far (2).
When will the Nothing Ear (2) be released?
Nothing has verified that the Ear (2) will be revealed on March 22, 2023, at 3 p.m. GMT. The promotional material notably features a stag beetle, whereas the marketing for Headphone (1) included ladybirds (the Phone (1) used colorful birds).
According to Nothing’s recent pattern, there is no definite release date for the Nothing Ear (2) as of yet, but it shouldn’t be too long after the formal March announcement.
The initial Nothing Ear (1) was published in July 2021, and the Nothing Ear (Stick) debuted in October 2022, indicating that there is no fixed pattern and that the business is still in its early stages. This makes predicting when the Nothing Ear (2) will be available difficult, but April or May 2023 is a safe bet.
How much will the Nothing Ear (2) cost?
Again, there’s no news from Nothing on this, as the business hasn’t even verified that the Nothing Ear (2) exists, and our normal way of looking at earlier generations’ pricing has been thrown off by a recent price increase on the Nothing Ear (1). Here are all of the rates we’ve found so far:
- Nothing Ear (1) launch price: $99/£99
- Nothing Ear (1) current price: $149/£149
- Nothing Ear (Stick): $99/£99
Nothing CEO Carl Pei stated that the price increase was due to ‘an increase in expenses,’ and with current currency changes, increasing inflation, and energy costs soaring due to Russia’s attack of Ukraine, it may be a while before we see another decrease. With this in mind, we believe that if the Nothing Ear (2) is released shortly, it will be priced similarly to the $149/£149 we see on the Nothing Ear (1) at the present.
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What features will we see in the Nothing Ear (2)?
As you might expect, the specifications for the Nothing Ear (2) are currently unknown. However, we have begun to see a few disclosures that provide some insight into what may be in store.
First and foremost, we have a clear glimpse at the shape of the earbuds thanks to renders shared by leaker OnLeaks with the tech site SmartPrix.
As you can see, they are nearly similar to the Nothing Ear (1), except that the name has been altered to Ear (2).
There are, however, some minor changes if you know where to look. In the image below, SmartPrix has emphasized some of those changes: the noise-cancelling microphone has been relocated from the top of the bud (the red box) to the side. Some of the obvious components (the orange and yellow frames) have also been slightly tweaked, and a few design elements, including the name, have been slightly brightened.
We assume that some of the internals have also been upgraded, but no solid information are known at this time. The first version had 11.6mm drivers, Active Noise Cancellation, and wireless charging, all of which we would expect to see on the replacement.
According to the SmartPrix story, the new version will also include tailored ANC settings, an advanced customisable EQ option, and a dual connectivity option to link with two devices at the same time.
The cheaper Ear (Stick) has some improvements that we’d anticipate the Ear to have as well (2). The main difference is a switch to bigger 12.6mm drivers for beefier audio, as well as a function dubbed ‘Bass Lock,’ which automatically changes the headphones’ EQ to compensate for any bass loss due to noise leak.
The (Stick) also uses ‘pinch’ controls rather than the fiddly touch controls of the Ear (1), so we wouldn’t be shocked if the Ear (2) follows suit – as hinted at by what appears to be a very small indent on the stem of the headphones in the images above.
These adjustments would help to address some of the flaws we discovered in our evaluation of the Ear (1). The audio quality was adequate for the price, but given that it has since increased by 50%, we would anticipate better audio performance if Nothing wishes to stay competitive. There were also some issues with the touch controls, which should be fixed in the updated iteration.
While the ANC was remarkable (again, at the initial price), it couldn’t block out all of the nearby environment, so a more potent version of ANC in the Nothing Ear (2) could be a true victor as well, even if it costs $149/£149 when it comes.
 wireless earbuds will make their debut on March 22 during a livestream announcement on the company's website. Watch...){kind=link}