New earbuds by Teenage Engineering-founded firm Nothing feature ChatGPT integration

Nothing has officially announced the Nothing Ear and Nothing Ear (a), the brand’s latest flagship earbuds featuring a cool new feature: ChatGPT integration.

Users can choose between the $149 Nothing Ear, which is “built for audiophiles seeking the best sound quality” and the $99 Nothing Ear (a), that’s catered to those looking for the “ultimate daily audio companion.”

As explained by the Teenage Engineering-founded firm at launch, Nothing will “enhance its overall user experience with industry-first ChatGPT integrations in its audio and smartphone products.”

Through the new integration, users with the latest Nothing OS and ChatGPT installed on their Nothing phones will be able to pinch their Nothing earbuds to speak and ask questions to the world’s hottest AI tool. For now, the feature only works with the higher-end Nothing Phone (2); Full integration will be available for all Nothing and CMF products in June.

“By integrating ChatGPT with Nothing earbuds, including the new Nothing Ear and Ear (a), and with Nothing OS, we’ve taken our first steps towards change, and there’s more to come,” says Carl Pei, CEO and Co-Founder of Nothing.

Besides ChatGPT integrations, the Nothing Ear and Ear (a) also feature a bunch of hardware and software upgrades from their predecessors.

The Ear, for one, boasts Nothing’s “most advanced driver system to date” with a custom 11mm ceramic dynamic driver for extra richness and crispier highs. Nothing has also improved the dual chamber design from that of Ear (2) with two additional vents to improve airflow, delivering a clearer sound.

New personalisation options are offered as well — including a feature that lets you create a personal sound profile for each genre of music, as well as a bass enhancing feature. In terms of battery life, the Ear is said to last a cool 25 percent longer than Ear (2), offering up to 40.5 hours of playback (without ANC) after a full charge with the charging case or 8.5 hours of non-stop playback.

The Nothing Ear (a), meanwhile, is billed as a more compact and cheaper sibling to the Nothing Ear. Both earbuds do however share the same Active Noise Cancellation feature — Nothing’s most effective and intelligent yet, muffling up to 45dB of noise, twice that of the Ear 2. Both models are IP54 dust and water-resistant as well, though the Ear’s case edges out the Ear (a) a little with an IP55 rating compared to the latter’s IPX2 rating.

The cheaper Ear (a) also comes without the wireless charging feature found on the Nothing Ear, though fast charging is still available.

And for those looking to add a splash of colour to their Nothing setup, the Ear (a) arrives in an eye-catching yellow finish (remember a certain Playdate video game console?), in addition to the usual black and white finishes.