What’s happened? Nothing has officially revealed the design of the Ear (3), its next-generation earbuds. Following Nothing’s previous design choices, the buds look incredibly swanky, but bring much more to the table than just a new look.
- The case itself is made of 100% anodised recycled aluminum and features a clear lid that displays the earbuds beneath.
- The buds have white tips with mostly-black design and grey/silver accents.
- The metal antenna has been re-engineered to a flat finish and a thickness of just 0.35mm.
Why this is important: Nothing has been tight-lipped with information about these earbuds, so getting a look at the new design is exciting. The full specs won’t release until September 18, so you’ll have to wait until then to find out what kind of internal improvements have been made.
- The case has a dedicated “talk” button, and the new Super Mic, but it isn’t clear how the feature might be used.
- Unless there are also speakers on the case — enabling it to act as a third earbud while the others are charging — it’s hard to imagine the use case.
- Nothing says this is “an elevated product that looks and feels different, and functions in ways that are completely new to the industry.”
Why should I care? Earbuds don’t see much innovation these days. New designs are common, but performance has remained relatively stable for several years, with no major upgrades worth mentioning. The introduction of active noise cancelling and similar features marked the last major shift.
- Depending on how the Super Mic feature is used, the Nothing Ear (3) buds could signal a new wave of innovation.
- If aesthetics matter to you, the Nothing Ear (3) is one of the best-looking sets of buds on the market.
