As Nothing gears up for its first smartphone’s launch on July 12, the company seems to have silently refreshed its Ear (1) truly wireless earbuds, its first product launched in December last year.
The company seems to have decided against a complete sequel and is just refreshing the design this time. The new design features a stick-like charging case instead of the square puck we got last time. The stem too now has two dots at the button with the Nothing Ear (1) branding being replaced by “Ear (1) Stick”.
From what we can see in the leaked renders, it seems like the earbuds might not get a silicone tip in the refresh, but it’s hard to say from the render alone. Regardless, switching from silicone tips would significantly change an otherwise well-received product.
There’s no news on the price either, but considering the company’s budget-friendly goals, we don’t expect it to be any more expensive than the previous iteration. If anything, the possible removal of silicone tips might be a strategy to reduce price, something Apple did with its AirPods.
Regardless, the new case design is a welcome addition. It seems much more pocketable than the transparent square the previous version came with as this new ‘stick’ case is much slimmer, a much-needed improvement over the previous design.
There’s no word on any hardware upgrades at the moment, so there’s a likelihood that the changes are purely aesthetic in nature. We’ll have to wait for the official announcement to see if Nothing decides to change any of the internals.
It’s unclear when (and if) Nothing plans to unveil the new design. However, their upcoming July 12 keynote seems like a good time considering there are only two devices in the company’s lineup.
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