London-based tech company Nothing will increase the price of its Ear (1) true wireless earbuds on October 26 by about 50 percent.
The news comes from Nothing CEO Carl Pei, who tweeted that the Ear (1) price would climb to $149 USD on the 26th. That’s a 50 percent increase over the current $99 price for the Ear (1) buds in the U.S. Although Pei didn’t say what the Canadian price would be, assuming a similar 50 percent increase, the Ear (1) buds would jump from $129 to about $193 in Canada.
In follow-up tweets, Pei justified the price increase by pointing to Nothing’s growth. The company expanded from its initial three engineers to 185. Moreover, Pei tweeted that the “Ear (1) has received 15 firmware and tuning updates, and is a completely different product” compared to when it launched.
Ear (1) was our inaugural product that will always have a special place in my heart. With almost 600k units sold, this product proved our team's capability to the world and enabled us to leap forward with Phone (1).
— Carl Pei (@getpeid) October 18, 2022
Pei also noted that Nothing has sold almost 600,000 units of the Ear (1) and that the product enabled it to launch the Phone (1).
The Verge points out that global inflation may also play a role in this change. The publication points to the pound’s slump in value as a potential motive for Nothing to increase the price of the Ear (1) buds.
Given that many reviews pointed to the Ear (1) buds’ value as a major selling point, the price increase may deter future sales. At $129, the Ear (1) buds were competitive, but if you need to shell out almost $200, other options become more appealing (like the third-gen AirPods for about $30 more). With that said, if you were thinking about picking up a pair of Ear (1) buds, you should probably do so before October 26th.
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