Carl Pei, one of the co-founders of OnePlus, left the company last year and founded Nothing, a technology company with the goal of removing "barriers between people and technology to create a seamless digital future". Nothing was quick to announce plans for true wireless earbuds, it got funding from Alphabet"s venture capital division, and it bought Essential, a short-lived company founded by Android co-creator Andy Rubin.
Until now, nothing is exactly what we"ve seen from the company, but that has changed today. In a blog post written by Carl Pei, Nothing has shown off the Concept 1 (via Android Authority), which it refers to as the "first expression of its design principles". It"s not completely clear what the product is, but it does look very similar to a true wireless earbud, which is the first product the company said it would be releasing.
Pei states that the Concept 1 is the interpretation of a current product category seen through the unique vision of Nothing - it"s weightless, effortless, and timeless, at least in the company"s eyes. The design is meant to be stripped down to its bare essentials, removing anything that isn"t necessary, including any branding on the surface of the product. It"s also meant to be simple and natural for anyone to use, and it"s meant to feel familiar in a way that makes it feel fresh for a long time. In this case, the design is apparently inspired by a tobacco pipe.
Being that it"s a concept, there"s no guarantee that a final product will necessarily look like this, but Nothing is trying to make it evident that its approach to design is at the very least unique. Nothing"s goal is to ultimately create a future with "no screens, no dedicated devices, just barely-noticeable technology that empowers us to be more human". Its first products will be announced this summer, but they"ll still be grounded in the technology we know today.