Question about Nothing Ear (1)

The hype is not (only) about what the headphones can do, but rather about the price. You won't find any good in-ears with adaptive noise control in the price range of around USD 99.

Another reason for the hype is that the former founder of OnePlus is the owner of "Nothing". At the time of their market launch, OnePlus made big waves with their smartphones, which could technically keep up with other flagship models despite their low price.

Not specifically. I pre-ordered them because of the design. Otherwise, they have a good price-performance ratio, but the hype is mainly due to targeted marketing by the brand itself.

The hype seems to be mainly because of the - admittedly - cool transparent design. According to video reviews, they are still quite buggy and the sound seems to be mediocre. But when I see how many people are walking around with Airpods (no matter which model), this point seems pretty irrelevant.