Nothing is prepping a new pair of earbuds

When Nothing was unveiled early last year, founder Carl Pei promised that the hardware startup had a full road map. Early stories about the London-based firm alluded to a pitch deck full of Pokémon characters, each representing a different product in the pipeline.

Roughly a year and a half later, Nothing has delivered two major products: the Ear (1) and Phone (1). It’s an impressive showing in a world where young hardware companies are accustomed to playing it safe.

As has been customary with all of its product launches thus far, Nothing just teased another addition. It’s a new pair of earbuds, but ones that are apparently distinct from the $99 Ear (1). Housed in a cylindrical charging case, the new headphones also buck the company’s naming conventions a bit, as the Ear (Stick).

Ear (stick). Supremely comfortable. Exquisitely unique.

Revealed exclusively on Chet Lo's SS23 runway. pic.twitter.com/lzP3n4cQNR

— Nothing (@nothing) September 22, 2022

As ever, the tease asks more questions than it answers, though this confirms rumors from the summer that the company was working on a similarly priced follow-up to the Ear (1). A spokesperson confirmed that we’re looking at a “new charging case and new bud[s].”

At the moment, however, it’s not entirely clear whether this is intended to replace the original transparent buds outright, though it seems unlikely the company would replace the Ear (1) outright this early into their lifecycle. Nothing promises a lightweight and “supremely comfortable design” when they’re officially unveiled later in the year.

Until then, a whole lotta nothing.