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Ed Sheeran announced the album title, tracklist and release date on 1 March 2023 through all social media platforms. He also announced a mini-European tour from 23 March to 2 April, to complement the release of the album's lead single. It was produced and co-written by Aaron Dessner of the indie rock band the National, who also produced Taylor Swift's albums, Folklore and Evermore, both released in 2020. Sheeran and Dessner wrote over thirty songs together during a month-long studio session, which was eventually cut down to the album's fourteen tracks. − serves as the final mathematical-themed album by Sheeran. On 29 April 2023, Sheeran announced a series of private shows in North America as part of a mini tour for the album.

− received a score of 65 out of 100 based on 14 critics' reviews at review aggregator Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable" reception. Alexis Petridis of The Guardian called it "easily his best ever album", an "insular record" on which Sheeran's "crowd-pleasing excesses are nowhere to be seen". Petridis acclaimed Sheeran's work with Aaron Dessner, who provides "atmospheric and beautifully done" as well as "understated string arrangements; twinkling, spectral synthesisers; gentle breezes of feedback and reverb-drenched electric guitars". Neil McCormick of The Telegraph gave the album five out of five stars, describing it as "a fluid, emotional, anxious and atmospheric album of therapeutic self-healing, in which the raw immediacy of Sheeran's feelings takes priority, shaking and warping material in subtle, twisty and deeply personal directions".

Nick Levine of NME wrote that − "definitely feels different. It's doleful and downbeat, melancholy and heartfelt, and doesn't contain anything as crass as 2017's cod-Irish folk song 'Galway Girl'". Levine also found that the album "feels like a warm but cautious hug from a sensitive friend – Dessner gives Sheeran space to say what's on his mind without trying to crowd him", also complimenting Sheeran's lyrics' "striking specificity". Robin Murray of Clash judged the "parallels" to Taylor Swift's Folklore, also produced by Dessner, to be "too neat to miss: removing the gloss, exposing the songwriting underneath, and swapping pop for a more 'serious' artform". Murray wrote that the "results are affecting, but – and this remains Ed Sheeran, after all – not devoid of schmaltz". At Rolling Stone, Maura Johnston said the album is "deliberately arranged, providing solid ground for Sheeran's meditations on a horrific collection of events", while his "lyricism returns to the spotlight, bolstered by finely detailed music that complements his crystalline lyrics and close-confidant delivery." Exclaim! listed the album cover as 10th worst of the year, writing: "the platonic ideal of guy-at-the-party-with-an-acoustic-guitar returns with an image of his own face smeared in what we truly can't believe is not butter. Given how flavourless his music is, we assume it's unsalted."

The Independent's Roisin O'Connor described − as "a departure, of sorts, for the better", on which Dessner brings his "anti-major chord, damper-pedalled piano style", "which in turn harks back to the acoustic-leaning sound of Sheeran's earliest work". O'Connor felt that "Lyrically, the album does fall short, but then Sheeran has spent over a decade trading in vague yet universal issues" although "he's trying his best to open up". Steven Loftin of The Line of Best Fit opined that while the album "doesn't follow usual routine", "it certainly doesn't fall far from the tree", and that it "throws into question why he doesn't at least attempt some form of progress" as he "seems happy to play to the masses with his own by-the-book formula that even when it employs the hottest new indie producer, still feels lost". The Observer's noted critic Kitty Empire regards the album as a visceral one dealing with mental health issues in a "coping to not coping" adult way. From The New York Times, Jon Pareles stated "They're sturdy songs, even as Sheeran sings about fragile emotions", whilst "Obviously, Sheeran doesn't worry about verbal clichés — though in these songs, the sorrowful tone makes them sound more unguarded than banal."

In the UK, − debuted as Sheeran's sixth number one on the UK Albums Chart with 76,000 chart units, becoming the fastest-selling album of 2023 until then. Physical sales constituted 71% of the figure, and it was also the best-selling album on the vinyl format during the week. The album entered at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 112,000 album-equivalent units, including 81,000 pure sales, during its first week. The sales figure outdid any sales week of Sheeran's last two albums and, at the time, marked the 10th-largest sales week of 2023 for any album. In Canada, it peaked at number two.

The album reached number one in Australia. In New Zealand, the album charted at number one. Elsewhere, it peaked at number one in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Scotland, Sweden, and Switzerland.

The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.

Track numbers are based on the deluxe CD edition.

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