It’s pretty rare that global tech companies hold new product launches in Japan. Just about every press event I’ve ever been to here has been for domestic products or satellite launches for devices that are getting bigger announcements elsewhere.
This week, though, Nothing decided to host its latest product event in my home city of Tokyo. I was more than happy to go along and I encourage other tech companies to follow Nothing’s example. (Have you seen the yen lately?)
The actual product announcements were quite low-key: two new sets of wireless earbuds, both of which will eventually have ChatGPT integration when using them with Nothing phones. But Nothing is making a real effort in Japan, and I think it has a good chance of success. In fact, it’s already succeeding.
I will cop to having been suspicious of Nothing when the company first launched. The brand name sounded gimmicky, almost connoting a lack of substance in the company’s products. I bought the original Ear (1) buds and thought they were pretty bad, with average sound and extremely buggy connectivity undermining the admittedly cool design.
But to Nothing’s credit, the company went back and fixed a lot of issues, whether through firmware updates or all-around better hardware like the Ear (2). I started seeing a lot of Nothing buds worn out in Tokyo. And Nothing’s smartphones have emerged as credible mid-range options.
Now that Nothing seems to have found its feet from a technical perspective, I appreciate the way the brand focuses on design, community, and accessible pricing. It’s no surprise to me that it’s finding success here in Japan.
Founder Carl Pei, previously of Oppo and OnePlus, said on stage that Japan is the second biggest market for Nothing’s audio products. The company recently set up a permanent office here under the leadership of managing director Kichiro Kurozumi, who previously ran Apple’s product marketing for Japan and Korea.
Another example of how Nothing is taking Japan seriously is the new Phone 2(a)’s support for FeliCa, the ubiquitous NFC standard found on everything from subway gates to vending machines. Shipping a phone without FeliCa is a non-starter for mainstream success in Japan, but sometimes overseas OEMs don’t bother when they start to enter the country, particularly when they’re selling unlocked models rather than partnering with carriers.
The Phone 2(a) starts at a reasonable 49,800 yen (about $320), which undercuts Google’s Pixel 7A by almost 20,000 yen. I should note that the 7A does regularly go on sale and that the 8A is expected soon. Still, this is a good price for a product that I think would appeal to a lot of the people that Google has managed to capture in Japan.
Nothing’s phones can be appealing SIM-free options here for some of the same reasons the Pixel is. They offer stylish, intentional design and good performance at competitive prices. Headquartered in the UK, the brand doesn’t read the same way as an OEM like Oppo, Xiaomi, or even Samsung might in the budget segment.
And by making audio products a core part of the brand offering, Nothing can also reach iPhone users in one of Apple’s most dominant markets. The system-level integration isn’t quite as slick as with AirPods, sure, but headphones have been conspicuous fashion accessories in Japan for as long as they’ve existed. There are a lot of iPhone owners here who don’t want to wear the same AirPods as everyone else.
As for those new audio products, I’ve only been able to spend a few days with them, which is why this story is coming to you over the weekend. But in short, I’m really impressed with both of them.
The Nothing Ear is the new flagship, coming in at $149. It looks almost identical to the Ear (1) and (2), with a slightly refined charging case. I only have the Ear (1) on hand to compare to, but the new Ear just sounds stratospherically better, with a sparkling midrange that highlights a ton of detail across various genres of music.
The noise cancellation is good enough to be useful, but it’s not quite as effective as you’d get from Apple’s AirPods Pro. I think the sound quality goes toe-to-toe, though, which is impressive considering the Nothing Ear sells for $100 less. Nothing also gives you more control over audio profiles with the Nothing X app, including equaliser options and an adaptive bass-enhancing feature.
The Ear (a) sells for $99. The buds look very similar to the Nothing Ear, but they omit certain audio components like the Ear’s ceramic driver. The overall specs are surprisingly close, though, with Nothing claiming 45dB of noise cancellation on both products, and actually slightly longer battery life on the Ear (a).
Where the Ear (a) really sets itself apart is in design. Most obviously, it’s the first Nothing audio product to come in a non-monochrome colourway, in this case a delightful yellow that’s reminiscent of the Playdate console. I also love the new transparent charging case, which is stark and gorgeous. It’s also meaningfully smaller than the Nothing Ear’s case and feels better to throw into your pockets, although you do miss out on wireless charging.
The Ear (a) sounds great for a pair of $99 earbuds. While you’ll notice the Ear’s more defined sound in side-by-side comparisons, I could happily use the Ear (a) all day and not think too hard about the difference. I’m not a hardcore audiophile, granted, but I feel like hardcore audiophiles aren’t considering $99 wireless earbuds in the first place. The bottom line is I think these sound good and stack up well against direct competitors that sell for a lot more.
I don’t review a lot of earbuds, but I think the Ear (a) in particular is a really easy recommendation at $99. The design is truly unique and the sound is great for the price. The ChatGPT integration, which I hope to test soon, could also be a neat differentiator.
The Nothing Ear, meanwhile, is straight-up a very good pair of earbuds. For an extra $50, I think it’s the better pick if you care about sound quality and wireless charging. But if you have strong feelings about the colour yellow, I wouldn’t dissuade you from the Ear (a).
Nothing is clearly now a legitimate player in the audio space and beyond, putting out design-forward products that are backed by technical chops. I would not at all be surprised to see a lot more people wearing these buds around Tokyo soon. Despite my early scepticism, Nothing has undeniably hit on something — and the formula might just work better in Japan than anywhere else.