Nothing is prepping a cheaper Ear (3a) — first details on price and colours
Nothing is getting ready to add a more affordable pair of earbuds to its lineup. The Nothing Ear (3a) has been revealed by reliable leaker billbil-kun via Dealabs, with pricing and colour options confirmed ahead of any official announcement. Whether those details are enough to justify buying the new model over the discounted old one is a harder question.
The price
The Ear (3a) is expected to launch at €99 in France — the same starting price as the 2024 Ear (a). No US or UK pricing has been announced, but if the pattern holds, expect somewhere around $99 or £89 at launch. That sounds reasonable until you consider that the outgoing Ear (a) has dropped to around £59–£89 in clearance sales, per 9to5Google. The new model will need to offer a clear spec upgrade to justify spending more on it.
The flagship Nothing Ear (3), which launched in late 2025 at £119–£179 in the UK, sits a tier above. Its headline feature is a charging case fitted with two Super Mic microphones and a Talk button — letting you hold the case near your mouth during calls or use it as a voice recorder. Whether that Super Mic system makes it down to the Ear (3a) is unknown, and that gap matters for anyone weighing up the two models.
The look
Four colours are confirmed: white, black, yellow, and pink. Pink is new to the earbuds line — Nothing has used the shade on its Phone (4a) series, so the Ear (3a) appears to be designed to match that phone's palette. The case is expected to carry the semi-transparent design with contrasting accents familiar from other Nothing hardware.
What's missing
Technical specs — driver size, ANC support, battery life — have not been disclosed. A launch date has not been announced for the US or UK. Until Nothing fills in those blanks, the Ear (3a) is a hard sell against both the already-discounted Ear (a) and rivals like the Samsung Galaxy Buds at similar price points. The colour options and the €99 price are a reasonable start; the rest of the story is still to come.
