Hey,
It’s been over a year since Ear(PC) was released, and since the last update in September, many new software and hardware features have not been integrated into the software. First of all, I’d like to thank you for your support on the initial version of this project, and I know how excited some people are about the release of the new version.
For the time being, only Windows was supported and, despite an initial assessment of the feasibility of opening up to Macs quickly, we quickly realised that this would not be possible for ARM Macs, which would have had an impact on availability for users.
In October 2023, the Chromium project updated the WebSerial library, enabling us to interact with Nothing/CMF products from a Chromium-based browser.
With this in mind, the project has taken a new direction and become a web app accessible from your browser, which means quite a few changes:
- The end of the native Windows application
- The arrival of the project on Windows, Mac, Linux and ChromeOS.
- The use of a recent Chromium browser, including Chrome, Brave, Edge and Arc.
This is the best solution for the rest of this project, which is now cross-platform and can be updated easily without any action from the user. More details on availability will be announced shortly.
The switch to Chromium implied a 2-click connection, one for identifying the device and a second for the connection. This was obviously not a good solution for users, so we reviewed the identification protocol to allow a 1-click connection, which is currently being integrated.
The base project was largely designed to work with ear (1) / ear (stick) / ear (2) and it’s a mistake that’s catching up with us and requires major changes to enable the future integration of new hardware without requiring too many changes, so many changes will be made to integrate new products into the project more quickly.
As for the changes ready for this update, here’s a list of what’s new:
- Moving away from Python and switching the backend to js
- Added management of Ear (stick) ANC if the firmware is compatible
- Added compatibility with CMF Buds Pro
- Added management of the EQ’s advanced mode: it’s now possible to switch back to a ‘simple’ preset if the last mode used was ‘advanced’, and it’s also possible to switch to advanced mode without being able to change the settings for the moment.
- Added compatibility with Nothing Ear (2024)
- Added compatibility with Nothing Ear (a)
The following devices may be added after the initial release:
- CMF Buds
- CMF Neckband Pro
- CMF Buds Pro 2
This delay, even if it is very long, allows me to ensure that the user experience is perfect from the moment of release.
I’ll be back with more details on the release soon.
