Nothing officially reveals its true wireless Ear (1) headphones for $ 99

Nothing, the consumer tech startup led by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, has officially announced its True Wireless Earphones (1). The noise-canceling headphones are launched after months of teasing, concept imagery, and even a presale in which Nothing auctioned off 100 pairs of headphones before their official reveal. The Earphones (1) go on sale August 17 in 45 countries, including the US and UK, priced at $ 99 / £ 99 / € 99.

In a statement, Pei calls the ear (1) “a breath of fresh air in a crowded and indifferent market,” and said the headphones will “[set] the tone of our future connected digital world. Pei previously said his plan for Nothing is to create an ecosystem of devices in increasingly complex product categories.

With a design based on clear plastic, the ears (1) have a distinctive look that reveals some of their internal circuitry, and each ear cup has a color-coded circle (red or white) to indicate the corresponding ear. They come equipped with 11.6mm drivers, and Nothing’s hardware and software were both tuned by Swedish electronics house Teenage Engineering.

Battery life is rated at 34 hours when the headphones are used with their charging case, and 5.7 hours from the headphones themselves with ANC off (drop to 24 hours and four hours with ANC enabled, respectively). They can be charged wirelessly using Qi-compatible chargers or wired via USB-C. The ear (1) uses a trio of microphones on each ear cup to provide noise cancellation, which can be set to maximum for loud environments, light if it’s quieter, and there is a transparency mode for when you need to hear what’s going on around you. Headphones also cancel out background noise when using their microphones to make calls.

Image: Nothing

The Ear (1) have touch and gesture controls, and these can be customized through a companion app that also manages EQ and Find my Earbud features. They have Bluetooth 5.2 and they are IPX4 water resistant, which should allow them to survive sweat and light splashes. Quick pairing will be supported with compatible Android devices.

While the headphones go on general sale next month, Nothing is selling a limited set of headphones on its own website starting July 31. We will have a full Ear Headphones review soon (1).