Last month we released two new audio products, Nothing Ear (a) - the perfect everyday buds, and Nothing Ear - designed for meticulous audiophiles.

Those familiar with our products will know that Nothing Ear is the successor to Ear (2). Maintaining its iconic design, the story of Nothing Ear lies primarily on the inside.

In this thread, we’ve delved into the internals of Nothing Ear to create a macro teardown photography series, highlighting all the improvements that our teams have made and admiring some of the great engineering within.

Many of us here at Nothing are fans of iFixIt and their contributors - we were inspired by their great teardown content and guides and decided to have a go ourselves. For our series, we took a fast-tracked route and picked one of each component straight from our production line, saving us some fiddly disassembly.

We worked with a London-based photographer, David Wilman, to create some compositions of the inner workings in high detail. The process was a lot of fun, so we hope you enjoy the teardown images!

Let’s Look Inside
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Inside the Left Ear

🔴 Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC)
🟢 Pressure/touch sensor

Despite their large size, the earbud FPCs intricately fold into the housing of each earbud, bridging all of the components such as the batteries and drivers to the main PCBA. Each earbud contains 3 mics - you’ll spot one of these at the end of the FPC in the image above. The other two are positioned on the main PCB - more on that later…

The touch sensor is what allows for pinch inputs from the user - allowing them to skip tracks, switch between noise cancellation modes, and adjust volume.
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Circular Earbud Components

🔴 11mm driver - Ceramic diaphragm
🟠 Driver rear with 4 vents
🟢 46 mAh earbud battery

One of the biggest upgrades to Nothing Ear is the new ceramic driver. Rarely seen in audio products, the ceramic material is distinctly rigid, making it a great choice for delivering crisp highs.

On the rear of the driver, you’ll see two additional vents, making a total of 4, to allow 10% more airflow within each bud compared to Ear (2).

Each earbud also contains a 46 mAh battery, which is a noticeable improvement compared to the 33 mAh batteries in Ear (2).
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Elements of the Earbud Stem

🟢 Transparent stem shell
🔵 Antenna module
🟠 Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA)

The stems of Nothing’s audio products have maintained the same iconic silhouette since the ear (1). Here you see the main components of Nothing Ear that contribute to creating this shape. The words ‘Nothing Ear’ in the Ndot font are etched onto each transparent stem shell and are easily read when assembled on top of the black antenna module.
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A Closer Look at the Earbud PCBAs

🔵 Mic for voice/talk
🟢 Feedforward mic for ANC and ENC
🟡 Bluetooth audio SoC
🔴 Battery charge chip
🟠 Touch/press chip

Above are the front and rear sides of our earbud PCBAs, featuring a series of chips, mics and 2 connectors for the FPCs and touch sensors.

Together, the 3 mics and an AI-noise reduction algorithm detect a voice, enhance it, and filter out unwanted background noises in real time.
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Inside the Ear Case

🟢 500 mAh case battery
🟠 Case PCBA
🔵 Wireless charge coil

The largest electronic component inside the charge case is the battery - Nothing Ear has a battery life that lasts 25% longer than Ear (2). The larger 500 mAh case battery and 46 mAh earbud battery mean a combined battery life of 40.5 hours with the case and 8.5 hours of non-stop playback on a single charge (with ANC off).

Our case PCBA and charge coil are uniquely shaped to fit inside of our distinctive charge case design, more on that below.
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Case PCBA

🟢 Pairing button
🔵 USB-C port
🟠 Inductor
🟡 Charge chip

Above is the PCBA from inside the Nothing Ear charge case, featuring the pairing button, USB-C charge port and all the logic and components required to safely charge the earbuds.
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Elements of the Ear Case

Contributing to Nothing Ear’s iconic appearance is the transparent charge case with its aesthetically pleasing unibody design; it’s made from a pressure resistant PU material, with 89% light transmission for a glass-like appearance. The electronic case components seen in the other images are all housed within the white central housing which is composed of two parts.

On the bottom right you see a series of magnets, the pairing button, case hinge and coloured dots which indicate where each bud should be placed.

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We hope you enjoyed diving into Nothing Ear’s improved internals! We had a lot of fun working on this project, learning about each part in more detail and composing the shots alongside our photographer.

Giveaway [Now Closed]

If you’d like to win a pair of Nothing Ear in the colour of your choice, like this post and comment below your answer to this question: which part of the Nothing Ear teardown made you appreciate the engineering behind these earbuds?

T&Cs: the giveaway will end on May 28th at 12pm BST! 3 winners who have liked and commented on the post will be selected at random, and given 1x pair of Nothing Ear in the colour of their choice (subject to availability), 1x Entei plushie, and 1x Nothing pen and notebook. A member of the Nothing team will be in touch via DM to inform you of your win. The winners must respond to this DM within 48 hours to claim their prize, or a new winner will be selected. Please note, there some regions we may not be able to ship to. Nothing staff or members of their family are not eligible to win 🎵

Winners will need to provide some personal data to claim their prize. Read our privacy policy for more information. You can familiarise yourself with our privacy practices, and contact us at privacy@nothing.tech if you have any questions.

    Related discussions

    Despite the large size of the FPCs , they are cleverly folded to fit within the small earbud housing. This demonstrates Nothing’s efficient use of space and careful design for component placement.

    Had not realised there were so many layers to the stem! Even though they’re transparent and you can see in and appreciate the design, I thought there were only two layers inside the shell not four 😆it’s imprerssive how Nothing can put so many small components into such a neat little package.

      The precision and compactness of the internal components😎 ,especially the integration of the driver and circuitry in such a small space, made me appreciate the meticulous engineering behind the new Nothing Ear. Additionally, the design for easier repairs highlights thoughtful engineering.

      I don’t think anyone uses ceramic as a driver and seems like an industry first plus the ANC and also using materials which are friendly and also great in case of space usage of the space . Design . And best of all quality . Bring AI to this makes the software run the hardware smoothly giving a sound experience like no other . The case for it also well designed and may give first timers an impression that it could be a box with sound controls but looking further one finds that infact it’s a case to carry an recharge the Ear still the aesthetic Design language is amazing as I own a headband pro and the quality finish and ofcourse must say is the quality of the sound . The Ear is definitely open for more improvement regards sound and materials used . Yellow is like brilliant could go colour wild . Yet the concept of a frog and bug is so amazing. And I love and cherish nothing and of course CMF as hands down u got it u made me a customer for life . And after this one break down I can see tej ceramic driver but yet with ceramic as driver I wonder how it would work with carbon fiber as whole May be expensive but I think further research may be fruitful. Finally the battery is one thing to appreciate with these specs giving the end user a pleasurable experience and a first in the industry where the customer is given a say or in general techies and finding a balance between the hardware software and user experience.

        The following parts of the Nothing Ear teardown are interesting from an engineering standpoint:

        • Ceramic Driver: The use of a ceramic diaphragm in the driver is a noteworthy upgrade. This material is uncommon in earbuds but offers advantages in delivering crisp highs due to its rigidity.


        • Increased Airflow: The presence of four vents on the rear of the driver allows for 10% more airflow compared to the previous version. This contributes to better overall sound quality.

        • Larger Battery Capacity: The earbuds themself have a larger battery (46 mAh) compared to the previous version (33 mAh) which translates to longer playback time.

        • Transparent Case with High Light Transmission: The case is made from a special PU material that allows 89% of light to pass through, giving it a glass-like appearance.



          Rob ⚡️ As an aspiring product designer I really appreciate the difficultly of a having a transparent design while also fitting in the amount of components the ear has. To fit them all in to a normal ear Bud would be very challenging but to then have to make it look good since it’s transparent is just another huge level of difficulty.

            This is such a treat, to see a teardown and to have all of the elements on show! Thank you for this.

            My personal favourite elements are the unique look of the Wireless Charging Coil and the Battery sizes and shapes. It’s nice to know the mAh of each battery, for the case and the buds themselves and how they fit into the design.

            Nothing’s Ear products are iconic and timeless, so seeing them in this teardown is beautiful and only helps to appreciate their design more! 😍

            Rob ⚡️ The complexity in the build, and the number of different layers perfectly placed is “nothing” less than a masterpiece. And the fact that the company making this is just 3 years into making devices, makes us appreciate this beauty of the earbuds more. This is an example of how Nothing forms complex and feature-filled devices while maintaining the beauty of It’s decency and minimalism. 👍 Would never have appreciated the earbuds if i hadn’t seen the teardown.

            My personal favourite is the beautiful design of the PCB, in the shape of the earbud stem itself, it’s just a sight of it’s own. Truly awesome.

              Great article, thansk for bringing this to us! I also cannot believe how much packs into Nothing Ear 😮

              All of the internals are beautiful in their own right, but I particularly enjoyed seeing the individual batteries and wireless charge coil. Great to see how all these elements come together. The circular bud components are also very stylish when broken down, like how one has a red sticker and the other has a blue 🔴 🔵

              Rob ⚡️

              First of all I should start by appreciating the transparency of Nothing as a company, you guys really step up the game of what a company can be and should be.

              Now coming to nothing ear, really you guys are something else, you guys take on such a meticulous crafting tasks and deliver on it like a pro, the whole build and every part of nothing ear makes me appreciate all the members of engeneering team, designing team and everyone involved in hardware team. But to pick one part from nothing ear, I’d go with “PCBA” and “Antenna module”

              It’s hard to balance aesthetics with functionality and looking at how guys put all those things on such a small strap and still managed to look stylish is just a damn great job👏🏼 chef’s kiss🤌🏼

              Keep it up and keep growing like this you guys!

              And @Rob ⚡️ please let the team know how much the community is loving, appreciating and getting inspired by their work.

              Best of luck 👍🏼

                I Like th Part “Inside the left ear” With all parts in one earbud

                Rob ⚡️ The sheer number of layers for the electronics and the aesthetic elements all fitting together in such a compact footprint is definitely unexpected and fascinating. It is also super interesting that the wireless charging coil is an oval and not a circle. I would have imagined that a non circular shape would not work but apparently it does.

                  Rob ⚡️ Large evolution in small case…it’s really amazing that small case containing the game changer earbuds inside in it….😍…Really amazing earbuds…

                    Rob ⚡️ I loved the ceramic driver part, it was something new and a unique section in these headphones, also the functionality of the microphones integrated with each AI, the disassembly showed us to see how beautiful Of the ears.

                      The Buds are truly remarkable with their compact build, weighing just 4.62g. Their sleek, transparent design adds to their appeal. It’s fascinating to see the level of engineering packed into such a small package. Especially with all those layers in the stem.

                      Rob ⚡️

                      Elements of the Earbud Stem.

                      The audacity of arranging them so neat that it looks like NYC from top. Engineering masterclass.