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Nothing Beats Phone 4b with Ear 3a

This week, Marques, Andrew, and David talk Pickle! Remember those? Then they discuss the new Nothing Phone 4b and the Ear 3a earbuds before getting into the upcoming Samsung and Google events that were just announced.

Andrew ManganellihostDavid ImelhostMarques Brownleehost

Jul 10, 20261h 24mWatch on YouTube

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CHAPTERS

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Chapter summaries

Mime vs. mine cold open and show rundown
The hosts open with a joke about growing up near a working mine, spiraling into a bit about an audio-only "mime podcast." They then introduce the episode’s main topics, including Nothing products, upcoming events, Twitter video tools, and a promised rant.
- •A speaker mentions growing up in Gold Rush country near the Empire Mine, prompting confusion with "mime"
- •Jokes about how a "mime podcast" would work for audio listeners
- •The hosts introduce themselves and preview the episode’s segments
- •They tease a forthcoming rant and several tech topics they’ll cover
Did they even test this? Google’s “Search a Song” humming feature
Andrew brings a rare positive “did they even test this?” segment: Google’s ability to identify a song from humming or singing. The group discusses how reliably it works and compares it to earlier standalone apps.
- •Andrew praises Google Search’s “Search a Song” tool for finding songs from humming/mumbling
- •They describe where the feature lives in Google’s search widget microphone flow
- •They compare it to the older era of Shazam vs. SoundHound competition
- •They talk about how these features became built-in phone capabilities over time
Meta glasses tampering update prompted by Joanna Stern’s reporting
Andrew brings up a Joanna Stern update: Meta is pushing a software update aimed at stopping recording when the glasses’ recording LED has been drilled out or tampered with. The hosts discuss why the LED matters and what they hope the fix can detect.
- •Andrew says Meta is issuing a mandatory update to stop recording if the LED has been tampered with
- •They describe how people drilled out LEDs so current still flowed but no light showed
- •They call secret recording “creepy” and emphasize the LED should indicate camera activity
- •They credit Joanna Stern’s coverage and hope Meta can detect already-modified units
Pickle pre-order refunds and vaporware skepticism
Marques reads an email from Pickle’s CEO announcing missed deadlines and refunds for deposits. The group revisits Pickle’s earlier claims and debates whether it will ever ship, framing it among other overpromised AI hardware.
- •Marques reads the refund email and realizes he pre-ordered a Pickle deposit
- •Andrew recaps Pickle’s ambitious January claims about AR glasses and a “memory-based” OS
- •They discuss skepticism around the demos and timelines, calling it likely vaporware
- •They note the refund is effectively an interest-free loan and debate what happens to later batches
- •They compare it to other hype-driven hardware and question whether Pickle will ship at all
Nothing Phone 4b: budget positioning, pricing backlash, and specs tradeoffs
The hosts break down Nothing’s confusing lineup and where the Phone 4b fits, with Andrew summarizing his review and the group reacting to community backlash. They go through pricing, regional SKUs, performance expectations, and how rising component costs reshape “budget.”
- •Andrew explains Nothing’s lineup structure (flagship vs. A-series vs. B-series vs. CMF) and why it’s confusing
- •Marques shares a tip claiming the 4b started as a CMF phone but got rebranded due to pricing constraints
- •They cite subreddit complaints about pricing and design elements like the phone’s "chin"
- •They list key specs discussed: AMOLED, 120Hz, 8GB RAM, 128GB storage, Snapdragon 6 Gen 4, and different battery/NFC SKUs for India vs. other markets
- •They discuss performance comparisons and the reality that phones in this segment are getting more expensive
Nothing Ear 3a: $99 earbuds, color choices, and the puzzling “Audio Snapshot” feature
The conversation shifts to Nothing’s new Ear 3a earbuds, their value at $99, and how they compare to other Nothing earbuds the hosts already use. They dig into “Audio Snapshot,” including on-case storage, call recording, transcription, and legal considerations.
- •Andrew describes the Ear 3a as a $99 option similar in spirit to earlier Nothing earbuds
- •Andrew and David say Nothing’s earbuds are among the company’s best products and a frequent go-to
- •They discuss the colorways and note most visible parts remain black stems
- •They unpack “Audio Snapshot”: 32MB storage in the case, recording what you hear, and accessing it via the Nothing X app
- •David points out the website shows call recording and up to two hours of conversations/meetings with transcription, while noting recording legality varies by state
Trivia setup: “in a pickle” origin and AI Overview hallucinations
Before the sponsor break, Marques sets up trivia about who popularized the phrase “in a pickle.” The group also laughs about AI Overview inventing fake Google code names when prompted.
- •Marques says Google’s AI Overview will invent fake Google product code names if prompted
- •Trivia question: which English-language author popularized the idiom “in a pickle”
- •The hosts struggle to guess and promise answers later
- •They segue into the sponsor break
Upcoming tech events: Samsung Unpacked foldables and Google’s Pixel teaser
After the sponsor, the hosts discuss how Samsung and Google are heavily teasing upcoming hardware. They speculate on what Samsung’s “new shape” foldable could mean, then move to Google’s Pixel event teaser and what they hope changes (especially Tensor).
- •They describe Samsung’s invitation language and visuals implying a differently shaped foldable
- •They speculate on naming and positioning differences between a regular Fold and an Ultra model
- •They discuss what “Ultra” might imply: cameras, battery, materials, and feature tradeoffs
- •They note Google’s August event teaser shows part of the Pixel design and mention hopes for Tensor improvements
- •They mention rumors like a potentially “glowing visor” and debate whether Google would tease it more directly
Pixel Watch pricing and color leaks, plus a detour into pyrite and “gold country”
Andrew goes deeper on Pixel Watch rumors: price increases, two sizes, and unusual color names like “pyrite.” The group riffs on what pyrite means, leading Andrew into a story about learning real gold vs. fool’s gold as a kid.
- •Andrew cites Pixel Watch rumors: a price increase and continued availability in two sizes
- •They discuss leaked color names including anthracite, warm gold, and pyrite
- •They interpret “pyrite” as fool’s gold and compare finishes like polished vs. satin/matte
- •A running bit returns to “mine vs. mime,” recalling the earlier cold open
- •Andrew recounts school trips to the Empire Mine and learning how to identify pyrite vs. real gold
Meta’s Muse AI image generation and Instagram opt-out backlash
The hosts react to Meta’s new Muse AI model and its integration into Instagram, emphasizing concerns about remixing people’s photos and likenesses. They highlight that the feature is opt-out and walk through where to disable reuse settings.
- •Andrew introduces Meta’s Muse AI as an image generation model integrated into Instagram
- •They criticize the ability to remix Instagram posts/profiles and incorporate others’ likeness and photos
- •A speaker stresses the feature is opt-out and recommends changing Instagram settings to disable it
- •They mention an invisible watermark and a web tool to check if an image was generated by Muse
- •They argue apps should visibly label AI content rather than relying on users to check watermarks
Twitter’s in-app vertical video editor and the stolen-content problem
The conversation moves to Twitter’s new iOS video editing/recording tool and whether it will actually promote original content. They argue that content theft is still easy, discuss platform incentives, and bring up DMCA “good faith” removal expectations.
- •Andrew describes Twitter’s new iOS vertical video editor (text overlays, auto-captions, green screen effects)
- •They note it’s iOS-only for now and question why it’s framed as solving stolen content
- •They discuss how reposting from TikTok to other platforms drives watermark-heavy content recycling
- •A speaker suggests penalizing or disqualifying stolen/watermarked content from monetization to incentivize originality
- •Marques brings up DMCA “good faith effort” expectations and says Twitter seems lax about copyrighted uploads
David’s PSA/rabbit hole: why new Siri looks limited in the iOS beta (App Intents and schemas)
Andrew explains a late-night discovery about why Siri appears constrained to Apple apps in the current iOS beta: third-party developers can’t ship the new capabilities yet. The hosts dig into App Intents, entity schemas, intent schemas, and why Google’s support could determine how useful Siri becomes.
- •Andrew says developers can test new Siri integrations in TestFlight but can’t ship them broadly yet due to the Xcode beta limitation
- •They distinguish older App Intents from newer additions like entity schemas and intent schemas
- •They compare Apple’s schema-driven approach to Google’s more “agentic button-pressing” model
- •They give examples like calendar and messaging data being visible only from Apple apps until third-party apps adopt the schemas
- •They debate whether Google would support these integrations, including the incentive tradeoffs for large platforms vs. smaller developers
Trivia answers and wrap-up: Shakespeare’s “in a pickle” and LG G7 Android version
The hosts return to trivia: they reveal the author behind “in a pickle” and quote the original Shakespeare passage, translating its meaning. They also resolve the LG G7 ThinQ Android-version question, update scores, and close the episode with a final nod to the mime bit.
- •They reveal “in a pickle” is credited to Shakespeare and identify the play as The Tempest
- •Marques reads and translates the original Shakespeare quote for modern meaning
- •They ask a second trivia question about the LG G7 ThinQ’s launch Android version and settle on Android Oreo 8.0
- •They share scores and joke about counting versions and years
- •They sign off, referencing the earlier mime/podcast gag and closing the episode

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