Shortly after phone company Nothing teased their upcoming earbuds, leaked images emerged revealing what the third-generation Ear and Ear (a) models may look like. This information comes from news site Android Headlines which also mentions several potential features. Looking at their report, it appears that the next-gen models will look nearly identical to the previous model.
They maintain the transparent design the series is known for. However, if you look closely, you’ll see the words “NOTHING ear” on the side instead of the expected “NOTHING ear (3)”. This isn’t brand new info as the company has decided to ditch the old naming convention of adding the generational number at the end of their products. What's more, the pair will be available in white and black.
Much of this reflects what we see in the official closeup photo posted on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter).
The report claims the earbuds will have significantly better battery life than the Nothing Ear (2), clocking in at 7.5 hours with active noise canceling turned off, with the case, that number jumps to 33 hours. Features on the device include a resistance rating of IP54 to survive blasts of water and dust, plus support for dual connections. That last one allows the earbuds to “connect with two Bluetooth devices at the same time”. Fast charging is present on the pair too. A quick 10-minute charge will give you 10 hours of usage.
Striking design
The Nothing Ear (a) shares several of the next-gen offering's features with a few notable differences. Dual connection, IP54 rating, and fast charging are all here, however, it’ll have an even longer battery life at “eight hours of playback with ANC off”. The charging case increases its run time to 38 hours.
Not only will it be available in black and white, but also a striking shade of yellow. The silicone tips and the shell around them look like they’ve been dipped in mustard while the rest of the body is black. The charging case for the Nothing Ear (a) is also yellow.
It’s worth mentioning the eye-catching color scheme was hinted at on April 3 in a previous Nothing post on X. It had an image of a yellow frog next to a black beetle with text announcing an official reveal on April 18. The tagline “Play Date” is written on there as well. It’s unknown exactly what this means. But 9To5Google posits an interesting theory – this may be a reference to the Playdate gaming handheld.
They point out that one) the tagline in the X post and the name of the gadget are identical although written differently. And two) the device is a similar shade of yellow to earbuds. Nothing may be teasing it’s entering a new partnership with Playdate.
If you look at their Help page, Playdate states their device does not support Bluetooth connectivity although the dev team is working on it. The day of the update may on the horizon with the Nothing Ear (a) being the first Bluetooth audio device to work with the handheld.
Of course, take everything you read here with a grain of salt. It’s all just a theory given the clues. Either way, we’ll know for sure on April 18 during Nothing’s next Community Update.
Be sure to check out TechRadar's roundup of the best wireless earbuds for 2024.
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