Nothing Ear (3a) Leaks in Four Colors a Day Before Launch

WinFuture published full marketing renders of the Nothing Ear (3a) on Monday, sourced from “careless retailers,” one day before Nothing’s scheduled unveiling on July 7. The leak confirms four colorways including a new pink, a smaller case than the flagship Ear (3), and 12mm drivers with LDAC support. Pricing holds at €99 according to the same retail listings, matching what Nothing charged for the 2024 Ear (a).

Nothing will share full specs and final pricing during its July 7 event, which runs alongside the Phone (4b) reveal at 11:00 BST.

What the Leaked Renders Show

The gallery surfaced on WinFuture’s German site on Monday afternoon. The full Ear (3a) marketing gallery includes shots of each colorway, the charging case, and a few close-ups of the earbuds in use. 9to5Google framed the leak as the first full look at the product, calling it “largely kept secret” until this week. WinFuture itself credited the marketing materials to retailers who posted them ahead of schedule.

The renders reveal four colorways for the new earbuds. Pink is the one Nothing hasn’t shipped before in this lineup.

• Black, with a transparent shell and a dark inner insert.
• White, the brightest of the lineup against its clear case.
• Yellow, a carryover from the Ear (a) generation.
• Pink, a vibrant, saturated shade that 9to5Google describes as “far more vibrant and saturated” than Nothing’s other recent pink products.

The pink is the loudest statement in the set. It joins the pinks Nothing has already applied to the Phone (4a) and Headphone (a) earlier in 2026, but the earbuds sit further along that spectrum, more saturated than either of those products. Nothing has now confirmed all four colors in its own teaser video.

A Smaller Case, Familiar Shape

The Ear (3a) case borrows directly from the 2024 Nothing Ear (a), with the same transparent shell and colored inner insert. It sits shorter than the standard square case used on Nothing’s flagship Ear (3), a departure 9to5Google flagged as the most visible physical change from the older generation. The borrowed design language was inspired by everyday pill packets, per Nothing’s product page. That roundness carries over from the 2024 model, which Nothing described as “bubble-like.” Nothing lists the Ear (a) case at 49.2g with each earbud at 4.8g, a weight class the Ear (3a) appears to track given the design continuity.

A trio of small lights on the front of the case, likely a battery indicator, sits where the Ear (a) had nothing. The inner cradle is rounder than the Ear (a)’s rectangular one. The Ear (3)’s case, by contrast, is squarer and thicker, a different shape category that the Ear (3a) is explicitly stepping away from. WinFuture’s leaked images show the lights sit along the front edge, visible even when the case is closed.

What the Hardware Looks Like

WinFuture’s marketing materials show specific hardware details beyond what Nothing has officially confirmed. Sony’s LDAC codec is on the spec sheet.

Notebookcheck notes the codec can transmit at 32-bit/96 kHz, compressed to a maximum bitrate of 990 kbit/s. Hi-Res Audio Wireless is also tagged on the renders. The marketing renders also flag an “Audio Snapshots” feature accessible through a touch-sensitive surface on each earbud’s stem.

A second stem gesture handles call recording, and active noise cancellation status remains unknown from the leak itself, though WinFuture notes ANC is “likely” given the Ear (a) had it. Nothing’s Ear (a) page lists the codec and ANC pairing, which the Ear (3a) appears to inherit at the spec level. How the Ear (3a) fits against Nothing’s other earbuds:

The €99 Anchor

The €99 figure circulating ahead of launch traces back to earlier leaks picked up by French blog Dealabs, not to anything Nothing has said publicly. Basic-tutorials notes that Nothing has only officially confirmed the date, time, and colors so far. US pricing has not been announced, though the Ear (a) launched at $99 stateside per PhoneArena. A model numbered B190 also appeared in an Indonesian certification database, confirming the earbuds’ existence but providing no specs.

Holding the Ear (a)’s €99 starting price would keep the Ear (3a) below the €179 launch of Nothing’s flagship Ear (3), and basic-tutorials frames that as roughly €50 below comparable mid-range buds from Bose and Sony. The Ear (3) now starts around €129, narrowing the gap to the next Nothing tier. The price would also undercut the CMF by Nothing Buds Pro 2, which sits below €100 in the Nothing universe.

Only dating DJs this summer.

That tagline comes from Nothing’s launch teaser, posted to X on June 30 with the same July 7 date and 11:00 BST time the company is using for the Phone (4b) event. The teaser clip itself was filmed on the Phone (4b).

What Nothing Has Already Confirmed

Nothing’s official confirmation is limited but specific. The launch happens Tuesday, July 7, at 11:00 BST (6:00 AM EST, 12:00 PM German time). It runs as part of the same livestream Nothing is using to reveal the Phone (4b), and Nothing filmed the Ear (3a) teaser on the Phone (4b), turning one product into an ad for the other. The “Only dating DJs this summer” tagline leans into the music-first positioning Nothing wants for this tier.

The four colorways are also locked: white, black, yellow, and the new pink. Nothing teased all four by listing them on a spinning vinyl record in the teaser clip.

What Nothing has not confirmed: pricing, final specs, ANC figures, battery life, the Super Mic question, or whether the case will support wireless charging. None of those details appeared in the official teaser or the retail leak beyond the driver size, codec, and audio features. The Ear (a) launched without wireless charging and with the same ANC feature, so the Ear (3a) likely follows the same template if Nothing holds the line at €99.

Questions Remaining for July 7

The leak fills in much of the picture, but the official launch still has to settle several open items. Active noise cancellation is the biggest question, since the Ear (a) had it but the leaked renders don’t confirm whether the Ear (3a) will. Battery life is another unknown, with the Ear (a) rated at up to 42.5 hours with the case and the Ear (3) at 38 hours per basic-tutorials’ comparison. The leak also confirmed the B190 model name in Indonesia’s certification database but listed no specs, so most of the detail still has to land on stage.

The Super Mic, the Ear (3)’s case-mounted dual-mic for noisy calls, is widely expected to be cut to keep the Ear (3a) at €99, but Nothing has not said so. Wireless charging is also expected to be missing, again to hold the price. Tomorrow’s event will tell whether Nothing holds the line.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do the Nothing Ear (3a) launch?

Nothing will officially reveal the Nothing Ear (3a) on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, at 11:00 BST (6:00 AM EST), as part of the same livestream Nothing is using to announce the Phone (4b).

How much will the Nothing Ear (3a) cost?

Retail leaks point to €99, the same price Nothing charged for the 2024 Ear (a). Nothing has not officially confirmed the price, and US pricing has not been announced. The Ear (3) launched at €179 and now starts around €129.

What colors are the Nothing Ear (3a) available in?

Nothing has confirmed four colorways: white, black, yellow, and pink. The pink is new to Nothing’s audio lineup, following pink colorways on the Nothing Phone (4a) and Nothing Headphone (a) earlier in 2026.

What specs do the Nothing Ear (3a) have?

The leaked marketing materials point to 12mm dynamic drivers, LDAC support, Hi-Res Audio Wireless, a touch-sensitive stem for call recording, and an Audio Snapshots feature. ANC is expected but unconfirmed.

How do the Nothing Ear (3a) compare to the Ear (a)?

Both share the transparent case design and the €99 price point. The Ear (3a) adds a larger 12mm driver (up from 11mm), a new pink colorway, and an audio snapshots feature on the stem. Final spec parity, including ANC, depends on what Nothing confirms at the July 7 launch.