The blue model goes on sale today on Nothing's website. Nothing teased the colorway through its community forum under the codename "Flaaffy" before posting to X with a caption referencing the ocean, the sky, and Yves Klein, Trusted Reviews reported earlier this week.

On pricing: the blue model is expected to match the existing model's retail rate, per both GSMArena and Trusted Reviews. The Ear (open) carries a $149 list price, but the white model is currently available for $99 on Nothing's US site, GSMArena noted. What "matching the existing model's retail rate" actually means in practice the list price or the promotional one is something neither Nothing nor any outlet has explicitly resolved. That ambiguity is the most important thing to check on Nothing's site before buying.

Worth noting: 9to5Google reported that the white version is "often on sale" rather than permanently reduced, which means the $99 rate reflects a recurring discount rather than a permanent price cut.

Regional availability follows the same pattern of partial information. The original Ear (open) opened for preorder in the US, Canada, and Europe before going on sale globally the following week, according to The Verge's launch coverage from late 2024. Whether the blue model follows the same rollout is unconfirmed.

Nothing confirmed to 9to5Google that this is a new colorway of the existing earbuds, nothing more. Trusted Reviews independently confirmed no changes to hardware, drivers, or software. Buyers get the same product that shipped in September 2024.

The specs: 14.2mm drivers, the largest Nothing has used in any of its earbuds, eight hours of battery life per charge, and 30 hours total with the case, per The Verge's original launch report. Bluetooth 5.3 with AAC and SBC codec support, dual-device pairing, and a Low Lag Mode for gaming that activates automatically on Nothing phones or manually through the app on other devices. Each earbud carries two microphones and Clear Voice Technology 3.0 for call clarity. Ten minutes on USB-C adds two hours of playback; wireless charging is not supported.

The earbuds weigh 8.1 grams each, Nothing's heaviest to date, The Verge reported. That's a direct consequence of the design. A silicone hook and three-point balance system hold the earbuds outside the ear canal entirely, so the driver housing rests against rather than inside the ear. You stay aware of your surroundings that's the whole point of the open-ear category. There's no active noise cancellation, by design.

Nothing's mobile app also enables a ChatGPT integration, The Verge noted. It's a feature that was notable at launch and remains part of the package today.

At $149 list price, The Verge positioned the Ear (open) as a direct challenger to Bose's $299 Ultra Open, which targets the same all-day wearability use case at twice the cost. That comparison still holds. The blue finish doesn't touch the underlying value equation.

The new shade itself sits on the restrained end of Nothing's color palette. Trusted Reviews described it as subdued rather than vivid, noticeably different from the saturated blue Nothing used on the Phone (4a) earlier this year. More wearable for daily use, less of a statement piece.

The decision is straightforward once launch pricing is clear. If blue arrives at $99, matching the current white promotional rate, it's a preference call. Buy the color you want. If blue debuts at the full $149 while white stays at $99, that's a $50 premium for a finish change on hardware that is, by every available account, completely identical underneath.

For anyone new to the open-ear category, the Ear (open) remains one of the more accessible entry points regardless of color. At list price it's half the cost of Bose's $299 Ultra Open for comparable core functionality, as The Verge established at launch. At $99 it becomes a considerably easier call.

Nothing has not announced a second-generation Ear (open), and there's no timeline for anyone holding out on a genuine hardware revision. A new color is the lightest possible way to keep a 2024 product in the conversation without engineering a new one. Whether that's enough depends entirely on what blue costs relative to the white model sitting in your cart right now. Check Nothing's site directly before deciding.