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Nothing officially reveals its $99 Ear (1) true wireless earbuds - The Verge
Apple wins patent for in-screen Touch ID and Face ID - 9to5Mac
Master & Dynamic's Incredible MW08 Earbuds Finally Get Wireless Charging - Gizmodo

Nothing officially reveals its $99 Ear (1) true wireless earbuds - The Verge

Posted: 27 Jul 2021 06:30 AM PDT

Nothing, the consumer tech startup led by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, has officially announced its Ear (1) true wireless earbuds. The noise-canceling buds launch after months of teases, concept images, and even a presale in which Nothing auctioned off 100 pairs of the earbuds prior to their official reveal. The Ear (1) earbuds will go on sale on August 17th across 45 countries including the US and UK, priced at $99 / £99 / €99.

In a statement, Pei calls the Ear (1) "a breath of fresh air in a cluttered and indifferent market," and said the earbuds will "[set] the tone for our connected digital world to come." Pei has previously said his plan for Nothing is to build up an ecosystem of devices across increasingly complex product categories.

With a design based around transparent plastic, the Ear (1)'s have a distinctive look that reveals some of their internal circuitry, and each earbud has a color-coded circle (red or white) to indicate the corresponding ear. They're equipped with 11.6mm drivers, and Nothing's hardware and software have both been tuned by Swedish electronics house Teenage Engineering.

Battery life is rated at up to 34 hours when the earbuds are used with their charging case, and 5.7 hours from the earbuds themselves with ANC off (dropping to 24 hours and four hours with ANC on, respectively). They can be charged wirelessly using Qi-compatible chargers or wired over USB-C. The Ear (1)'s use a trio of microphones on each earbud to offer noise-cancelation, which can be set to maximum for loud environments, light if it's quieter, and there's a transparency mode for when you need to hear what's going on around you. The earbuds also cancel out background noise when using their microphones to make calls.

The Ear (1)s have tap and gesture controls, and these can be customized via a companion app which also handles EQ and Find my Earbud functionality. They feature Bluetooth 5.2 and they're IPX4 water resistant, which should allow them to survive sweat and light splashes. Fast pairing will be supported with compatible Android devices.

While the earbuds will go on general sale next month, Nothing is selling a limited batch of the earbuds from its own website starting on July 31st. We'll have a full review of the Ear (1) earbuds coming soon.

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Apple wins patent for in-screen Touch ID and Face ID - 9to5Mac

Posted: 27 Jul 2021 06:46 AM PDT

Early rumors about the iPhone 14 suggest that Apple plans to lose the notch next year, with in-screen Touch ID or Face ID two possible ways to achieve this. A patent granted today describes how both forms of biometric authentication could be embedded into the display.

It would even be possible to embed the front-facing camera into the screen, though this is likely to be a later development…

Apple explains that the current iPhone design has the imaging sensor next to the display, rather than part of it – though the notch design does somewhat give the impression of it being part of the screen.

Typically, an imaging sensor is positioned below the protective cover, adjacent to the display stack. As such, a conventional electronic device incorporating both a display stack and an imaging sensor typically requires a large-area protective cover that extends beyond the periphery of the display stack in order to reserve space to accommodate the imaging sensor. This conventional construction undesirably increases the apparent size of a bezel region circumscribing the display, while also undesirably increasing the size and volume of the housing of the electronic device.

The main focus of the patent is embedding an image sensor into the display in order to read a fingerprint – that is, embedded Touch ID.

For simplicity of description, many embodiments that follow reference a construction in which an electronic device implements through-display imaging to capture one or more images of a fingerprint of a user touching a specified region (an "imaging region," above an imaging aperture) of the display of the electronic device.

However, Apple notes that the same approach can be taken for other forms of biometric identification, including Face ID.

As noted above, an electronic device can implement through-display imaging for any suitable imaging, sensing, data aggregation, or light capture purpose including, but not limited to […] face recognition.

Having both Face ID and Touch ID embedded into the display would be a way to keep everyone happy, and would also mean that Face ID could be embedded into Mac displays too, negating the need for them to have a wider bezel or notch. Bloomberg recently suggested that Face ID will come to Macs within a couple of years.

Longer term, it would be possible for the front-facing camera to also be embedded into the display. However, early attempts at this significantly degraded quality, including haze, low contrast, and inaccurate white balance. These issues needn't be barriers to Face ID, however, so it's almost certain we'll see this step first.

It's of course early days on the iPhone 14 front, and we issue our usual reminder that Apple patents all kinds of technology that it never brings to market.

Via Patently Apple

Photo: George Prentzas/Unsplash

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Master & Dynamic's Incredible MW08 Earbuds Finally Get Wireless Charging - Gizmodo

Posted: 27 Jul 2021 05:00 AM PDT

Image for article titled Master & Dynamic's Incredible MW08 Earbuds Finally Get Wireless Charging

Every few years, Master & Dynamic gives us another excellent reason to splurge on wireless earbuds. The MW08s that debuted earlier this year were no exception, but for $300 they lacked a popular feature that is being included with the new Master & Dynamic MW08 Sport: wireless charging.

On top of incredible battery life, earbuds made of luxe materials, and 11mm drivers that made the M&D MW08s sound as good as they looked, the stainless steel charging case had a satisfying heft to it. The only problem was that wireless charging, a feature that's becoming almost standard with wireless earbuds, doesn't work through metal, so the MW08s shipped without it. It was far from a dealbreaker, but on $300 wireless earbuds, its omission didn't go unnoticed.

Instead of releasing a more affordable version of the MW08s with a plastic charging case that made wireless charging possible, Master & Dynamic has gone the other way with its new MW08 Sport earbuds. The stainless steel charging case has been replaced by one made of woven Kevlar fibers so it's still as durable and eye-catching, but with the added benefit of Qi compatibility.

The MW08 Sport earbuds are available in blue, green, silver, and black, but the charging case is only available in black Kevlar.

What makes the new MW08 Sport better suited for sports and other more active endeavors? They offer the same IPX 5 water resistance as the regular MW08s, but the earbuds themselves are now made from scratch and shatter-resistant sapphire glass instead of ceramic, so they're lighter. Should they still fall out and accidentally take a tumble, there's less of a chance of them getting scuffed up or damaged. Master & Dynamic is also reducing the risk of a loose fit with the MW08 Sport earbuds by including two additional sizes of memory foam ear tips that offer a more secure fit, in addition to the five different sizes of silicone ear tips that shipped with the MW08.

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The catch? The new MW08 Sport now come with an even steeper price tag. At $349 they're about $50 more expensive than the MW08, so you'll need to ask yourself just how important wireless charging is to you.

Alongside the new MW08 Sport, Mastery & Dynamic is also releasing its own Qi wireless charging pad today. The $69 MC100 features a durable coated canvas top paired with a cast aluminum base featuring an integrated heatsink design on the underside that should slightly improve wireless charging efficiency. The charging pad can "supply up to 10 watts of power to compatible devices," including the MW08 Sport buds, but we'll admit it would have been cool if Master & Dynamic had used the same woven Kevlar finish on the MC100 so the two new additions would perfectly match.

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