Is Nothing behind mysterious new ‘Particles by XO’ earbuds?

A new Bluetooth SIG list is available 91 Mobile phones and we’re speculating if nothing could be included in a second true brand of wireless headphones. The list itself is nothing interesting. This is for an unnamed pair of wireless headphones with model number B154, working with the Bluetooth 5.2 standard. But that model number, B154, previously appeared in a December report from 91 Mobile phones who said they’ll be sold under the name “Particles by XO,” though it’s unclear if that refers to the headphones themselves (Particles?), the sub-brand (XO?), or some combination of the two.

Meanwhile, the B154 is reported to refer to a pair of goofy-looking true wireless headphones with a strange bulbous design. Images of the headphones were found by app Detective Cuba Wojciechowski, who also reports that he found the “Particles by XO” brand listed as being made by Nothing in the firmware from the company’s servers. Features reportedly include support for active noise cancellation, according to 91 Mobile phones. Aside from that report, however, there aren’t many obvious connections of Nothing to this “Particles by XO” brand, which appears in a US trademark application filed for a company called “The Must Unknown LLC.”

So what’s going on? While it seems strange for a young company like Nothing (which has only released three products to date) to develop a second brand, its CEO Carl Pei previously hinted at such future developments. Last year, Pei told me he had ambitions for Nothing to consult with other companies to help them launch their products. “We [could] help them do a lot of the work they can’t do on their own,” Pei said. Could Particles by XO be the first of such partnerships?

A spokesman for Nothing did not immediately respond On the edgerequest for comment.