Don’t expect a radical design change
If Nothing knows how to do anything, it’s stretch out a product launch for as long as possible — its slow and teasing announcements got on our nerves last year ahead of the Ear 1 launch. That hype train barreled on with the Nothing Phone 1, and most recently, Paris Fashion Week gave us our first fleeting glimpse at Nothing’s third product, the upcoming Ear Stick. Thankfully, regulators and certification authorities are largely immune to marketing, and deal with straightforward specs. Today we’re pleased to see Nothing’s next earbuds passing through the FCC, revealing a few details that we’d probably otherwise be waiting a while for Nothing to divulge.
Carl Pei’s marketing team may have learned a thing or two about design, but the imagery shared with the FCC could be a little underwhelming if you’re expecting the new true-wireless earbuds to differ from the Nothing Ear 1 significantly (via GSMArena). One image shows the Ear Stick still using a transparent shell like on the Phone 1 and Ear 1, along with black circuitry and antennae, but the overall shape of the transparent housing seems mostly unchanged.
The FCC paperwork (ID 2AZEQ-B157) reveals Nothing’s Ear Stick bearing model number B157 will use Bluetooth v5.2. Each bud will be equipped with a 36mAh Li-ion polymer battery, while the case will have a larger 350mAh battery, suggesting we should be able to recharge the buds around four times before the case runs out of juice. Fast charging capabilities aren’t immediately apparent from this label, but the retail box will include a foot-long USB-C to USB-C charging cable.
Packaging label for the Nothing Ear Stick
Although the Nothing Ear Stick made an unofficial debut at the Fashion Week, we’ll probably still have to wait awhile before more details come to light, especially about the seemingly unaltered design. The company intends to formally launch its earbuds later this year.
