Nothing brings in Teenage Engineering for its product design
It seems that Carl Pei is just getting started with his new venture. The company has been piling on backing from different brands, people, and companies, along with picking up the remains of what was Essential. After confirming that Nothing’s first product would be some headphones, it’s entirely possible that Carl Pei has Nothing’s eyes set on some pretty sweet hardware.
The latest partnership comes with ‘Teenage Engineering’, which was announced as a “founding partner” earlier today. You may have heard of Teenage Engineering in the past, with popular creation tools like the OP-1, and it’s assisting in the development of the Playdate handheld portable console.
“I’m really excited to welcome Teenage Engineering to the growing Nothing family. They consist of some of the best designers and creatives that I’ve had the pleasure of working with. Together, we’ve created a product roadmap that’s unique and true to Nothing’s vision.”
We have even seen the company partner with IKEA for the IKEA FREKVENS portable music system. This was a modular speaker system that could be customized with a wide variety of accessories, including some LED lights, and more. And it seems obvious that Nothing would want to partner with a brand steeped in the sound industry, as Teenage Engineering has plenty of history in the space, along with recently introducing the M-1 Personal Monitor headphones.
If Nothing’s first product really are some headphones, then the move makes perfect sense. Although, we are kind of hoping for some combination of Essential’s old phone schematics paired with a kick-ass audio system (with some sweet headphones). It’s entirely possible that Carl Pei could be targeting the section of the market that cares a whole lot about having a smartphone with a built-in DAC.