Nothing, the technology company led by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, has announced its third product, the Ear Stick. As you can probably guess from the name, this is another audio product, making it Nothing’s second following the Ear 1. Nothing describes the Ear Stick earbuds as having a “half in-ear design,” which means they are much like Apple’s AirPods and do not create a seal in your ear to isolate you from the world. For that, Nothing wants you to buy the Ear 1 headphones, which also have active noise cancellation (ANC).
Each earbud weighs 4.4 grams and are made from plastic, with the now trademark transparent style Nothing introduced with the Ear 1 and then continued with the Nothing Phone 1 smartphone. The case is cylindrical and has an unusual twist action, where the transparent casing moves aside so you can remove the earbuds.
Inside each earbud is a 12.6mm driver, which Nothing says use the highest grade magnets available, and are very comfortable to wear. Nothing says the equalizer optimizes the bass response depending on how much bass it understands is leaking, a feature that uses the three microphones on the case. These also help remove environmental noise during calls. The Nothing Ear Stick earbuds connect to the new Nothing X app, available for iOS and Android, where you can customize the equalizer, use a Find My Earbuds feature, and customize the gesture controls. Nothing says the controls use distinct presses on the earbud’s stem to activate, helping to minimize accidental touches.
The Ear Stick’s battery will last for seven hours on a single charge, and for a total of 29 hours of use after charging with the battery in the case. A 10-minute charge will give two hours of use. The feature list continues with an IP54 dust and water resistance, in-ear detection, and Fast Pair with Android phones. If you have a Nothing Phone 1 all the features and settings are integrated into the phone itself, without the need to use the app, plus there’s a low latency mode available for Phone 1 owners too.
The Nothing Ear Stick costs $99 or 99 British pounds and will be released on November 4. The announcement also corresponds with a price increase for the Nothing Ear 1 earbuds, which you may remember launched at $99. Now the Ear Stick earbuds occupy that space Nothing has increased the Ear 1’s price to $150, although Nothing’s Carl Pei states the increase is due to rising costs.
