Today, Nothing has announced a new line of earbuds with the release of two refreshed models. The naming conventions may be a bit hard to decipher, but the Nothing Ear is an update to the previously released Nothing Ear (2), while the Nothing Ear (a) serves as a successor to the Nothing Ear Stick.
The most significant piece of news today is Nothing’s integration of ChatGPT with their latest earbuds. As the market for “AI smartphones” heats up with the likes of Humane’s Ai Pin and Rabbit R1, this London-based mobile company appears to have skipped a step by incorporating the technology directly into their earbuds.
If you have the ChatGPT app on a connected Nothing handset, you’ll enjoy the convenience of being able to ask the generative AI program questions simply by pinching the headphones’ stem. This brings a Siri/Google Assistant/Alexa-like experience to earbuds, with direct access to OpenAI’s popular platform.
“Nothing will also enhance the user experience for Nothing OS by embedding system-level entry points to ChatGPT, such as screenshot sharing and Nothing-styled widgets,” the company states. This feature will be exclusive to the new earbuds, available for preorder starting today.
According to Nothing, the Ear buds boast improved sound quality compared to their predecessors, thanks to a new driver system. This also allows for a bigger battery, providing up to 25% more battery life than the Ear (2). Additionally, a “smart” active noise-canceling system adjusts to environmental noise and checks for any “leakage” between the buds and the ear canal.
The Ear (a) model also offers noise-canceling enhancements, but its standout feature seems to be the bright yellow colorway, deviating from Nothing’s traditional black and white design.
With a reasonable price tag of $149 for the Ear and $99 for the Ear (a), both models are now available for preorder. Shipping starts on April 22nd.
