Few startups have managed to quickly manufacture a full product line like Nothing. The London-based company announced another pair of earbuds on Tuesday, called the Ear Open. As the name suggests, these are open-ear devices designed to maintain a sense of situational awareness, rather than the approach of drowning out the world with active noise cancellation.
The new earbuds cost $149, the same price as the company’s Ear 2, $50 more than the budget Ear A, and $20 more than the new AirPods 4 (without ANC). Like the Ear 2, the new Open earbuds offer voice access to ChatGPT queries thanks to the Nothing X app.
Like other open-ear headphones, the new pair is designed for situations where the wearer needs to hear what’s going on around them. That might be while riding a bike or walking through the city streets. Sound leakage is inevitable with headphones that don’t have cups or padding to provide passive noise cancellation.
Hence, no one claims that “this open design is engineered with sound insulation and directional speakers to minimize sound leakage, ensuring privacy while providing a perfectly balanced soundstage.”
The Open certainly maintains the focus on style that has defined Nothing products since the beginning. They largely carry over the design language of the company’s Ear products. That’s a good thing, since open-ear headphones often tend to look like they were plucked from a Dollar General trash can.
There’s no telling what these earbuds are, but they’re 30% lighter than “traditional earbuds.” You’ll also get eight hours of playback on a full charge and a total of 30 hours when you factor in the case.
Pre-orders open Tuesday. Shipping to the US, Canada, UK and Europe begins October 1.
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