As tech journalists, we are bombarded daily with news about new – supposedly revolutionary – technologies and products. Some of them turn out to change the way we live. Like smartphones. And others quickly disappear into oblivion.
However, when Carl Pei, who is one of the founders behind the hugely successful mobile manufacturer OnePlus, is behind the news, expectations are high.
Pei left OnePlus at the end of 2020 and announced in January this year that he had started a company called Nothing. A company whose purpose is to break down the barriers between people and technology – and give us all a seamless technological future.
The company quickly attracted support from what can best be described as celebrity investors: Twich founder Kevin Lin, Reddit boss Steve Huffman and even Tony Fadell, who helped bring the iPod and iPhone to the world. Just to name a few. Swedish Teenage Engineering was also associated with the design.
July 27th was the date the company’s first product was to be launched. A date that has been looked forward to and talked about a lot in the tech media.
In a presentation video, we saw Carl Pei present the product Nothing Ear (1) and hear the designers talk about how they have broken with tradition and conformity.
Among the breathtaking innovations is that the box and parts of the true wireless ANC headphone are made of transparent plastic. There is also a recess in the box so you can spin it around in your hand like a fidget spinner.
How Nothing Ear (1) sounds, a later test will show. But so far, it looks pretty much like a set of Apple AirPods, just with a “stem” in transparent plastic. And the idea of making tech products transparent we have also seen before. In the iMac computer – from 1998. At that time, the design led to a long-standing trend. But, hey, most of Nothing’s potential customers weren’t born at that time.
All beginnings are difficult, and with such undeniably skilled and creative forces as Nothing has gathered, groundbreaking products can easily come in the future. But so far, the news immediately corresponds to the company name: Nothing!
But judge for yourself. Here is the 42 minute long presentation and unboxing video:
The price of Nothing Ear (1) will be £99.