This huge level of funding comes hot on the heels of its collaboration deal with Qualcomm and its hugely successful Nothing ear (1) earbuds. So, the question is: what is Nothing going to make?
More: Nothing ear (1) video review (opens in new tab)Best wireless earbuds
What do we expect to see?
With that product roadmap announcement coming very soon, let’s put our tin foil hat on and start making some predictions. In an interview back in November with India Today (opens in new tab), Manu Sharma, Vice President and General Manager of Nothing India confirmed that five products are in the works. What has been clear from my time covering Nothing is that it’s worthwhile paying attention to the wording that has been used in its releases. So, when Nothing CEO Carl Pei talks about a “vision of a seamless digital future,” and the company talks about changing “the consumer tech landscape,” there’s reason to believe we’re going to see expansions in this field. Given the huge success of the Nothing ear (1), I think hearing about some new earbuds would be a sure bet to make. My money’s on a Nothing ear (2), but they could be a more premium set of buds to go for the upmarket. The next logical expansion of Nothing’s consumer tech releases would be a smartphone. That’s what a certain image from @evleaks at MWC 2022 seems to suggest is coming down the way. Nothing’s close alliance with Snapdragon leads to this being a more likely product, too. The rest of the products are a little more up in the air, but my guesses would be a pair of over-ear headphones, a laptop and possibly a smart home device that joins this all together — like Facebook’s Portal but with Nothing’s attention to design. Imagine a transparent laptop design, see-through headphone drivers and a system that connects them all seamlessly. It has the potential to be the great united ecosystem that every Android OEM has been striving to achieve.
Outlook
Based on the moves Nothing has made, these predictions are just stabs in the dark. For example, Nothing hired Adam Bates, the ex-Dyson Head of Design & Product Experience. That’s great expert insight into home tech and there’s a wealth of opportunities in this area. Whatever happens, though, this amount of funding and the continually growing community investment funding shows there’s a lot of hype and confidence in Nothing to do something special. Keep your eyes locked.
