Nothing

Nothing Ear (1) ‘Stick’ seems to be coming with revamped slim case

Ben Schoon | Jun 30 2022 - 1:24 pm PT

While all attention is currently on Carl Pei’s return to smartphones, it seems there may be another product coming from Nothing. A refreshed version of the Nothing Ear (1) earbuds has been spotted with a new “Stick” case.

Truly wireless earbuds have become a commodity at this point, but every once in a while a new option stands out. For the Nothing Ear (1), it was a general sense of quality and polish that pushed these into the public consciousness, topped off with a reasonable price tag.

While it’s been almost a year since the Ear (1) first debuted, it seems as though a minor refresh is on the horizon instead of a full sequel.

The Nothing Ear (1) “Stick” seems to put the same earbuds in a new case. The earbuds, as spotted by @stufflistings on Twitter, have a virtually identical design to the company’s existing earbuds, with just two tweaks.

The stem now has two dots at the bottom, and the “Nothing Ear (1)” branding is replaced by “Ear (1) Stick).”

It also seems like these might lack silicone tips, but it’s a bit hard to see if that’s what’s happening. It could just be a deceiving angle, but that would certainly be a notable change.

If so, it would suggest a more affordable price point, similar to Apple’s strategy of offering AirPods without silicone tips at a lower price than the AirPods Pro, which has silicone ear tips and active noise cancellation.

But the biggest change we can see for certain here is to the case design. Rather than having a clear case that’s in the shape of a square, this case is much slimmer with a rectangular design. The thin and longer case looks like it might be easier to slip into a pocket, which is certainly a plus.

It’s unclear when Nothing plans to officially introduce this product, but the July 12 release date of the Nothing Phone (1) certainly seems like it would be a good time.