Technologies

Want Fashion-Forward Smart Glasses? This Company Could Easily Make It So

Commentary: If there’s one company capable of making genuinely stylish wearable tech, it’s British indie darling Nothing.

Are smart glasses cool yet? In certain circles, the answer would likely be yes, but there are still plenty of people who’ll need more convincing (and yes, I’m one of them).

This week, we got a hint of a possible new entrant to the smart glasses market — one with the potential to put a stylish new twist on tech specs. British tech company Nothing is best known for making smartphones and headphones, but according to Bloomberg, it’s considering branching out into smart glasses.

The company is hoping to launch the glasses in the first half of 2027, said Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. The glasses will reportedly feature cameras, microphones and speakers, and have AI capabilities that will largely be handled off-device. Nothing declined to comment on the rumors.

Smart glasses are booming as a product category, with Counterpoint Research identifying 139% year-over-year growth for the segment in the second half of 2025. The market is dominated by Meta, making it ripe for a disruptive challenger — ideally a relative renegade — to come in with a fresh approach.

I’m a bit of a smart glasses skeptic, but I’d enjoy seeing a fashion-forward tech brand like Nothing branch out into eyewear. With the company’s emphasis on design, it seems like a natural fit for it to tackle wearable tech and hopefully put a unique spin on it that might persuade people like me that smart specs are indeed the way forward.

Here are three things I think Nothing could do to make a splash and set itself apart.

A continuation of the company’s transparent aesthetic

Nothing has built its brand around a transparent design language that exposes the underlying circuitry and wires inside its products. It’s nostalgic, bold and imaginative — and crucially would translate easily and effectively to eyewear.

Transparent frames are already very much a thing in the world of glasses, and even Meta has experimented with them. But I feel confident that Nothing could apply its signature aesthetic sensibilities in a way that would be distinctive and original. It could play with color — the blue and pink seen on the Nothing Phone 4A and 4A Pro, for example.

When I think back to my conversation last month at Mobile World Congress with Nothing’s chief brand officer, Charlie Smith, it strikes me that branching out into wearables feels not only like a natural next step for Nothing, but something the brand is much better placed to tackle than its less stylish competitors.

Smith, fresh off the boat from luxury fashion brand Loewe, spoke of being impressed by Nothing’s «rebellious creativity» and the much-needed spirit of fun it was injecting into an industry long been dominated by minimalism. «There’s something about this kind of retrofuturism, this nostalgia that we’re tapping into — people are loving it,» Smith said.

«Personal technology is actually a lot about self-expression,» he continued. «Our devices are really like an extension of us.»

Bonus points from me if Nothing finds a way to incorporate elements of its glowing glyph interface into the glasses.

A collaboration with a British indie brand

In a market flooded with devices made by massive corporations based in the US, South Korea and China, UK-based startup Nothing feels like the closest thing the phone industry has to an indie darling. What better way to cement that status than by collaborating with another British independent brand?

Meta’s collaborations with Ray-Ban and Oakley have been a winning formula in its own bid to establish smart glasses as a mainstream product category. But there’s also something predictable about a large company collaborating with another large company. Wayfarers might be timeless and easily wearable by anyone with a face, but they don’t exactly scream original thinking or a strong sense of personal style.

It would be much more exciting for Nothing to work with up-and-coming British designers (it did, after all, host a launch event last month at iconic London design school Central Saint Martin’s). Equally, it could opt to join forces with a more established designer, such as JW Anderson. Sure, the resulting glasses might not be a lowest-common-denominator product worn by every Silicon Valley executive, but that’s not really Nothing’s vibe.

Fortunately, there’s precedent for Nothing picking independent British brands to work with rather than hitting up the industry’s most recognizable names. Its audio collaboration with KEF has already yielded some of the most distinctive headphones on the market. I’m confident it can do the same with glasses.

A major focus on audio and music

Let’s not forget that before Nothing was a smartphone company, it was a headphones company.

The expertise it has established in audio over the past few years might just give it a competitive edge over most companies currently making smart glasses. Many people have been surprised by how good the sound quality can be on existing smart specs, including Meta’s, but Nothing has an opportunity to take it to the next level.

Encouragingly, Nothing’s audio credentials were another thing Smith brought up in our conversation.

«The audio side of the business is really important to us because of the connection to music culture,» he said. «We love the idea of [our community] being tech and music and fashion… like this next generation of creatives all coming together around the brand.»

Embracing music culture could be a key differentiator for Nothing and help make smart glasses a more compelling product for people who are yet to be sold on video capture and AI features.

In the past, I’ve argued that headphones are the ultimate AI wearable, but I’m prepared to revise my opinion if those headphones happen to be inside a pair of glasses I genuinely love to wear.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, April 8

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 8.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Hint: It uses a lot of the letter Z for some reason. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: ___-Carlton (hotel chain)
Answer: RITZ

5A clue: Span of the alphabet
Answer: ATOZ

6A clue: Cable channel with an out-of-this-world name
Answer: STARZ

7A clue: Takes care of, as a squeaky wheel
Answer: OILS

8A clue: Toy on a string
Answer: YOYO

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: When a post receives far more negative comments than likes, in social media slang
Answer: RATIO

2D clue: World’s leading wine producer
Answer: ITALY

3D clue: Middle of the human body
Answer: TORSO

4D clue: Sleeping sound
Answer: ZZZ

6D clue: Tofu base
Answer: SOY

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 8, #562

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for April 8 No. 562.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Working out.

Green group hint: Cover your face.

Blue group hint: NFL players.

Purple group hint: Leap.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Exercises in singular form.

Green group: Sporting jobs that require masks.

Blue group: Hall of Fame defensive ends.

Purple group: ____ jump.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is exercises in singular form. The four answers are crunch, plank, situp and squat.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is sporting jobs that require masks. The four answers are catcher, fencer, football player and goaltender.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Hall of Fame defensive ends. The four answers are Dent, Peppers, Strahan and Youngblood.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ jump. The four answers are broad, high, long and triple.

Technologies

The $135M Google Data Settlement Site Is Live — See If You’re Eligible

Use the settlement website to select your preferred payment method, and you may end up $100 richer.

You can now file a claim in the $135 million Google data settlement. The case centers on claims that Android devices transmitted user data without consent. Specifically, the class action lawsuit Taylor v. Google LLC contends that Google’s Android devices passively transferred cellular data to Google without user permission, even when the devices were idle. While not admitting fault, Google reached a preliminary settlement in January, agreeing to pay $135 million to about 100 million US Android phone users.

The official settlement website for the lawsuit is now live. The final approval hearing won’t occur until June 23, when the court will consider whether Google’s settlement is fair and listen to objections. After that, the court will decide whether to approve the $135 million settlement.

In the meantime, if you qualify and want to be paid as part of the settlement, you can select your preferred payment method on the official website. There, you can find information on speaking at the June 23 court hearing and on how to exclude yourself or write to the court to object by May 29.

As part of the settlement, Google will update its Google Play terms of service to clarify that certain data transfers do occur passively even when you’re not using your Android device, and that cellular data may be relied upon when not connected to Wi-Fi. This can’t always be disabled, but users will be asked to consent to it when setting up their device.

Google will also fully stop collecting data when its «allow background data usage» option is toggled off.

Who can be part of the settlement?

In order to join the Taylor v. Google LLC settlement, you must meet four qualifications:

Be a living, individual human being in the US.
Have used an Android mobile device with a cellular data plan.
Have used the aforementioned device at any time from Nov. 12, 2017, to the date when the settlement receives final approval.
You’re not a class member in the Csupo v. Google LLC lawsuit, which is similar but specifically for California residents.

The final approval hearing is on June 23, so you can add your payment method until then. The hearing’s date and time may change, and any updates will be posted on the settlement website.

If you choose to do nothing, you will still be issued a settlement payment, but you may not receive it if you don’t select a payment method.

How much will I get paid?

It’s not currently known exactly how much each settlement class member will receive, but the cap is $100. Payments will be distributed after final court approval and after any appeals are resolved.

After all administrative, tax and attorney costs are paid, the settlement administrator will attempt to pay each member an equal amount. If any funds remain after payments are sent, and it’s economically feasible, they will be redistributed to members who were previously and successfully paid. If it’s not economically feasible, the funds will go to an organization approved by the court.