Nothing recently announced the latest addition to its wireless audio lineup in the form of the new Nothing Ear and Nothing Ear (a) earbuds. As such, the new earbuds feature upgrades in terms of sound quality, as well as built-in integration with ChatGPT for AI functions.
First up is the new Nothing Ear – interestingly, Nothing has ditched the numerical naming scheme for this one, and instead has gone back to basics for branding. In terms of features, the new Nothing Ear features a custom 11 mm dynamic driver in addition to an improved dual chamber design from that of Ear (2), with two additional vents for better airflow. There’s also a battery which can provide up to 8.5 hours of playback on a single charge.
The Nothing Ear also features support for LHDC 5.0 and LDAC codec for Bluetooth streaming, and can reach up to 1 Mbps 24 bit/192 kHz with LHDC 5.0 (Low Latency High-Definition Audio Codec) and up to 990 kbps and frequencies up to 24 bit/96 kHz with LDAC. There’s also built-in ANC as well as EQ via the Nothing X app for smart devices.
Nothing also launched the Ear (a), a more affordable option for budget-conscious buyers. The Nothing Ear (a) features a more playfully-inspired design with a yellow colorway, and includes a smaller charging case as well. It does come with a lot of basic features including ANC, and can even charge for ten minutes to deliver up to ten hours of music playback (with case and ANC turned off).
As mentioned earlier, Nothing has integrated ChatGPT into the Nothing earbuds and Nothing OS to give users instant access to AI functions. As such, users with the latest Nothing OS and ChatGPT installed on their Nothing phones can access ChatGPT directly from their Nothing earbuds, including the newly launched Ear and Ear (a). The company will also add system-level entry points to ChatGPT, including screenshot sharing and Nothing-styled widgets.
For pricing, the Ear and Ear (a) will be priced at $149 and $99 respectively and are now available for pre-order, with sales starting next week.