After months of teasers and leaks, the Nothing Ear Stick was finally launched today. The Ear Stick earbuds are remarkably similar to the Nothing Ear 1, the company's first product that it launched back in 2021, and it offers both regressions and improvements. It’s clear that the Ear Stick isn’t supposed to be the company's second-generation earbuds, too. Nothing keeps selling the Ear 1 as its best-in-class premium earbuds alongside the Ear Stick at a new premium price.

Just like the Ear 1, the Ear Stick earbuds come with Nothing’s signature transparent design. Both the case and the earbuds themselves are see-through, allowing you to take a look at their inner workings. The case is also what gives the Ear Stick their name—it is a cylinder that holds the two earbuds when not in use, looking a lot like a lipstick. That’s exactly what the company was going for, as Nothing founder Carl Pei explains: “The case is inspired by lipstick silhouettes and features a unique, yet functional, twist opening.”

While this shape allows for compact storage and likely makes it easy to carry the earbuds around in your pocket or bag, the form also dictates one major disadvantage—it doesn’t support wireless charging. That’s a shame, as Nothing loves to show how well the Nothing Phone 1 and Ear 1 work together when it comes to reverse wireless charging.

The Ear Stick also lack active noise cancelation altogether, a feature taken for granted in many premium earbuds—including the Ear 1. Nothing tries to make up for that with a new dynamic 12.6mm driver that balances size and performance in order to enable a comfortable fit. Despite not coming with interchangeable tips in the box, Nothing says that the Ear Stick earbuds are “designed for comfort” thanks to their “half in-ear design.” That way, they’re supposed to be less intrusive in the ear canal than other designs. Nothing supports this claim by saying that the design was tested with over 100 people.

It’s good to see that the Ear Stick are also dust and water resistant with an IP54 rating. You shouldn’t wear them while you shower, but an occasional splash of water shouldn’t be an issue, much in contrast to the IPX4 rated Ear 1.

The Ear Stick are supported by a variety of extra software features. A new Bass Lock Technology detects how much bass is lost depending on the shape and fit of the Ear Stick in the ear canal, meaning to create a better bass sound. Like on the Ear 1, Clear Voice technology for better calling quality is also on board, with intelligent algorithms trying to get the most out of your voice even with a lot of noise around you. There is also a low lag mode for games that kicks in automatically, and you can pair the Ear Stick with any Android phone quickly using Google Fast Pair. The Ear Stick is also compatible with iOS devices running iOS 11 or higher.

On both mobile platforms, Nothing offers the new Nothing X app, which is the control center for the Ear Stick. You can customize the earbuds’ gestures with it and set your preferred EQ settings right there. On the Nothing Phone 1, this app is already integrated right into the system, easily accessible in the notification shade’s Bluetooth settings.

As for battery life, Nothing promises up to seven hours of listening to audio and three hours of calling on a single charge. This can be extended to 29 hours of listening and 12 hours of talking with the battery integrated in the case.

The Nothing Ear Stick will be available from 5:30 am ET on November 4 for $100/£100/€120 and are up for pre-order right now. You can get it at Nothing’s online store and select other retailers like Farfetch.

Those who were Nothing customers before are in for a small treat. Between November 4 and November 30, Nothing offers a 10% discount on the Ear 1 with a discount code sent out to Nothing Phone 1 and Ear 1 buyers. The code will also be available for those who backed the company before, so-called Black Dot holders.

At the same time, Nothing has also raised the price for its first pair of earbuds today, the Ear 1. It will now cost you $150 rather than $100, making the Ear Stick Nothing’s entry-level audio product. Nothing justifies the price raise with increased production and staffing costs as well as 15 firmware updates that are supposed to have made the earbuds much better over the past year, though it’s still rare to see a tech product get more expensive in its lifetime rather than cheaper.