Looks can be deceiving.

If you put Nothing’s last-gen Ear 2 next to its brand-new Ear wireless earbuds, you’d be hard-pressed to spot the differences. The case looks the same, save for a slight tweak in branding, the buds sport the same semi-transparent plastic that put Nothing on the map, and the colors are also a continuation of Nothing’s original design language (there’s black and there’s white).

But what’s not the same — unlike the playfully bright yellow Ear A wireless earbuds — is what you’re not seeing. For the Ear, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. King Kong. Curious George. It’s clear humans have a fascination with our closest living relatives in the animal kingdom.

But in real life, how intelligent are primates? Primatologist Zarin Machanda has dedicated her life to studying this most social order of animals — of which we belong. We share many traits with other primates, such as establishing and maintaining societies and other permanent groups.

Apes, which include orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos, are incredibly charismatic animals to study. There’s no doubt they tell us something about ourselves, Machanda says. However, when we consider them mirrors, we risk missing out on the true scope of all they really are. Machanda spoke with Inverse about their brilliant minds — and the cognition science still out of reach.