It’s clearly time: all the news about the transparent tech renaissance
The new see-through Beats Studio buds along with other transparent tech. | Photo by Chris Welch / The VergeGadget, gaming, and smartphone manufacturers are trading in tired matte and dull metallic designs for transparent exteriors. Continue reading…
BigThink
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24662269/DSCF0790_Enhanced_NR_2.jpg)
Gadgets, much like fashion, can make style comebacks. For tech: we’ve lived through the ’80s beige keyboards, transitioned to the ’90s with gray and black plastic video game systems plus bright colors for Sony’s Walkman and Nintendo’s Game Boy handhelds, and then, at the turn of the millennium, welcomed the amazing see-through iMacs, N64 controllers, and other gadgets with clear casings.
And just like the return of grunge makeup and baggy jeans, transparent tech is back. See-through devices are leapfrogging over the ’00s piano white iPods, ’10s matte black smartphones, and some of today’s colored aluminum and glass finishes to (hopefully) become the next big trend. Now, we’ve got clear smartphones like the Nothing Phone, see-through earbuds like the Beats Studio buds, colorful translucent shell casings for game consoles, and even chargers and USB-C cables that show off some capacitors for your pleasure.
So dust off your Apple Studio Display CRT monitor, Toys R Us-exclusive Extreme Green colored N64 controller, and your other favorite transparent gadgets as you scroll through all of our clear tech news.
Carl Pei teases a see-through USB-C cable for the Nothing Phone 2.
The slow drip-feed of rumors and details about Nothing’s next phone continues, with exec Carl Pei tweeting a photo of a USB-C cable (only the ends are clear, which is a little disappointing) that we expect to see debut with the Phone 2 on July 11th.
You know we love transparent gadgets, and while a cable is pretty basic hardware, now that Beats has stepped up to match Nothing’s clear earbuds, it has to do more.
Nothing Ear Stick review: fewer features, more polish
The Nothing Ear Stick earbuds alongside their charging case.
With new gadgets, you sometimes hear about the “early adopter tax.” The idea is that a company’s first swing at an idea might not be perfect; it might be buggy, badly designed, or otherwise miss the mark in some way. Nothing’s debut Ear 1 true wireless earbuds are a case in point. When we reviewed them last year, we found they suffered from a lack of polish at launch, including some software bugs and a lack of software features.
In contrast, the Ear Stick feel like a pair of earbuds from a company that’s learning its lessons. The user experience is far better this time around, with far fewer connectivity and charging issues, and Nothing has updated its app to offer more control over their sound and shortcut controls. They also come in a redesigned cylindrical case, which is quirky and fun to use.
Nothing Phone 1 review: something else
Nothing claims its new Phone 1 can “Bring us back. To us” with “deeper interactions” and “brave simplicity.” It’s not the life-changing phone that Nothing makes it out to be; it’s just a good midrange device with flashing lights on the back.
The Phone 1’s unique light-up notification “glyphs” are somewhat useful, but more than anything, they’re a fashion flourish. Given that it’s backed up by solid performance and fair price, there’s nothing wrong with that at all.
Nothing Ear 1 earbuds review: almost something
There’s a lot riding on the Ear 1 wireless earbuds, which are the first product to come from Nothing — a new company created by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei. Backed with investment from GV, Tony Fadell, and influential creators like Casey Neistat, Nothing is aiming to build out an entire family of products that follow the design ethos debuting with the Ear 1. Transparency is at the heart of that: the Ear 1s have a clear “stem” that lets you peer at their internal components, and the unconventional charging case has a transparent lid to keep the buds in view at all times.
Pei has said his motivation for starting Nothing was a consumer tech industry that felt stale, unimaginative, and awash in gadgets that all feel very same-y. I don’t really buy into that viewpoint; sure, AirPods clones are everywhere, but the best earbuds from Samsung, Sony, Google, Amazon, and other big players are all visually distinct. Regardless, Nothing doesn’t see itself as “an audio company,” according to Pei, but the booming true wireless earbuds market seemed like an advantageous place to start. He’s also aiming to capture the same price-to-performance magic that was associated with OnePlus in its early days.
