Founder of audio accessories maker Nothing, Carl Pei has accused an unnamed competitor of its ear (1) earbuds of attacking the company’s supply chain for the product. Pei made the revelation in a blog post to mark the first anniversary of the founding of the company. Obviously, as per the Pei blog post, the company has seen tremendous growth in the first year of its operation and has an overall great outlook, even if industry watchers feel the founder’s optimism may be overstretching the reality.
Pei stated that a major competitor was attacking the Nothing brand in the supply chain by trying to block the company’s access to important components needed to build the ear (1) earbuds. He also alleged that a proximate reason for the alleged action by the competitor could be the price tag of the Nothing ear (1). With loads of functionality available in the Nothing ear (1) including active noise cancellation, its price of $99 was seen as highly competitive for a start. Much of the established products with similar features were priced up to or even more than twice the price of the ear (1).
Pei says the goal within its first year of operations was to make the Nothing brand to be visible and this has been achieved. The Nothing ear (1) earbuds priced at $99, in the words of the founder, are selling like hotcakes, with up to 320,000 orders received for the true wireless earbuds since the product unveiling. About 180,000 of the Nothing ear (1) earbuds have been shipped so far, with up to 600,000 units forecasted to be shipped overall. The company has surmounted several challenges culminating in its formation and eventual manufacture of the Nothing ear (1) true wireless earbuds with ANC.
Pei continues to project an improved second year for the company and there are hints that the company may release a smartphone soon. This will shift the perception of the company as an audio/ headphone company and open it up for more investments. One note reminder however is apt – Carl Pei has had a seemingly flawless performance as the co-founder of OnePlus, and he could well replicate the OnePlus success story with his new company.
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- Carl Pei reveals battery life and noise cancellation feature of Nothing Ear 1 TWS
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