With, well, nothing to show the public for months, Nothing, the low-tech startup founded by former OnePlus founder Carl Pei, has finally released concept images of his next wireless headphones. The company says that transparent devices – purely conceptual at this point – have a limited brand and remain in line with the company’s simplified approach to technology.
It all starts with design, the soul of a product: https://t.co/n2lPLdCAP4 pic.twitter.com/i9YbsNUuJN
– Carl Pei (@getpeid) March 9, 2021
The company said the wireless buttons, entitled Design Concept 1, are “the starting point of our route to nowhere”. Early in its existence, the enigmatic company promised, as part of its design principles, that it “would remove the barriers between technology and people to create a continuous digital future”.
“Concept 1 is the first expression of our design principles,” said the company in a blog. “It represents Nothing’s overall design philosophy – no specific product or category per se.” The device is said to “be inspired by a grandmother’s pipe” and was designed to work weightless, timeless and effortless.
Last month, it was announced that the technology label had chosen Teenage Engineering as one of its founding partners. Alphabet’s venture capital business, Twitch co-founder Kevin Lim, and Reddit co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman all invested in the mysterious venture.
Concept 1 is the first stage of the company’s goal of creating a comprehensive and integrated technology ecosystem, although the company recognizes that it will take time to develop. Teenage Engineering’s deputy head of design, Thomas Howard, said Wallpaper.com that nothing assumes about “nothing” is a “20 or 30 year old vision”
A spokesman for Nothing said that the design of its true wireless headphones, due for release this summer, will have features similar to Concept 1, including transparency, use of familiar shapes and minimal branding. “Although the same design principles are followed and there are similarities to Concept 1, the final product will look different.”
Meanwhile, Pei’s former venture, OnePlus, recently announced that its Series 9 phones will be launched in late March.