After leaving OnePlus behind, co-founder Carl Pei began Nothing—that is an organization referred to as “Nothing,” not the state of nonexistence. Its first product was a set of true wi-fi earbuds, and it adopted that up with a mid-range smartphone. Now, Nothing is taking one other swing at wi-fi earbuds with the poorly named Nothing Ear Stick. These AirPods-style earbuds drop some options from the primary pair of Nothing buds, however in addition they value simply $99. Apple’s earbuds are much more spendy, beginning at $170, and the Nothing Ear 1 are $150.
The Ear Stick buds have the identical clear aesthetic as Nothing’s different merchandise. They’ve the identical exterior stick part like the corporate’s Ear 1 buds (and AirPods, for that matter), however they relaxation within the outer ear fairly than poking into the ear canal. If the Ear 1 are Nothing’s AirPods Professional competitor, the Stick are akin to the entry-level AirPods. Inside, the Ear Stick buds sport a customized 12.6mm driver and sufficient battery for about seven hours of playback time. Nothing has loads of confidence within the audio high quality, however connectivity is proscribed to SBC and AAC—there aren’t any high-quality Bluetooth codecs like LDAC or aptX.
The case can be extremely stylized with a clear outer shell that exhibits off the earbuds once they’re locked in place. Merely rotate the tube-shaped case to take away them. There is no wi-fi charging this time, however that helps make the earbuds cheaper. The identical goes for lively noise canceling, which was out there on the Ear 1 however not right here.
Even with the lacking options, the Ear Stick might outperform the corporate’s different earbuds in some methods. Nothing says it has improved the antenna design, shifting the module farther down the stick, which makes the connection extra dependable. This was a problem with the Ear 1. In addition they assist Google Quick Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair to make it simpler to get the Stick earbuds related to your numerous units. Once more, that was an issue for the Ear 1. There is a companion app to manage the brand new earbuds, however when you’re utilizing a Nothing Cellphone, the buds will combine with the system UI for management.
Nothing doesn’t promote its smartphone within the US, however you’ll be able to order the brand new earbuds stateside. Pre-orders are dwell as we speak for $99. Nonetheless, anybody with a Nothing Cellphone can get 10% off the acquisition. Nothing expects to start delivery the Ear Stick on November 4th.
