The Ear (1) Companion App, also known simply as Ear (1) was the first official mobile application developed by Nothing to accompany its first true wireless earbuds, the Ear (1). Launched in mid-2021, the app enabled users to customise settings, update firmware and explore advanced features.

Ahead of the Ear (1) launch on 27 July 2021, the official companion app appeared on the Google Play store. At launch, features included checking device battery levels, ANC adjustment/controls, gesture customisation, in-ear detection customisation, “find my earbud”, equaliser controls and firmware updates.^[1]

Initially, the app was sized around 10MB and required devices to be running Android 5.0+.^[2] It was later released for iOS users.

The app continued to receive updates including improved call connectivity and Bluetooth stability, more accurate battery indication, “find my earbud” enhancements and more.^[3]

In November 2022, Nothing rebranded the Ear (1) Companion App as Nothing X, coinciding with the launch of Ear (stick). The updated app featured more device compatibility, a refreshed UI, improved pairing, enhanced gesture controls, further EQ customisations and more.^[4] In June 2025, the CMF Watch app was also migrated to Nothing X.^[5]

On 28 September 2021, Carl tweeted that 100k Ear (1) units had been shipped, yet nobody had found the easter eggs.^[6] This prompted a search by the community.

It’s believed that some users discovered the first easter egg by “randomly touching […] the buds on the home screen of the app” which accelerated discussion and discovery by others.^[7]

In app version v1.0.8, the pattern was 6 taps on red, 2 taps on white, 1 tap on red, where red and white corresponded to the left and right ear buds: 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴⚪⚪🔴^[8]

For an unknown reason, this pattern was changed in app version v1.0.9 to 1 tap on white, 1 tap on red, 3 taps on white, 2 taps on red, 1 tap on white, 5 taps on red: ⚪🔴⚪⚪⚪🔴🔴⚪🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴^[8]

After Carl confirmed the customise case light wasn’t the only easter egg, users continued their search.^[9]

Originally titled ear (0), it was later renamed to concept (1).^[10,11]

This was unlocked using the same style of tap patterns. For this easter egg, the pattern was 1 tap on red, 1 tap on white, 4 taps on red, 6 taps on white, 1 tap on red, 1 tap on white, 2 taps on red, 1 tap on white: 🔴⚪🔴🔴🔴🔴⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪🔴⚪🔴🔴⚪ ^[12]