Nothing is back with two new pairs of earbuds, the Nothing Ear (1) and the Nothing Ear (a). They have slight differences, with the Nothing Ear (a) offering a more affordable price tag in addition to a more colourful and playful look thanks to the addition of a new yellow colour variant. Both look similar to the original Nothing Ear earbuds, but most of the changes are internal. With that said, we’ll focus on the Nothing Ear, which is priced at £149, and comes with much-welcome features including powerful bass, good battery life, and more – let’s get started!
Unboxing and Design
As with most of Nothing’s other products, packaging on the new Nothing Ear remains minimalist, and includes the earbuds themselves, a USB-C cable, and some extra ear tips. The case is similar to the original Nothing Ear case, with a transparent design and a button on the back for USB-C charging. Meanwhile, the earbuds themselves are lightweight and have a stem with a transparent case. It’s consistent with the rest of Nothing’s hardware identity, which does make for a more uniform aesthetic.
Nothing Ear 2024 Specifications
- 11mm dynamic driver with ceramic for better sound quality
- Codecs: AAC, SBC, LHDC 5.0, LDAC (with compatible devices)
- Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) with up to 45dB noise cancellation
- Transparency mode
- Lightweight: 4.62g for earbuds, 51.9g for case
- Wireless charging and fast charging compatibility
- IP54 water and dust resistance for earbuds, IP55 for case
- In-ear detection
- Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair
- Battery life: Up to 40.5 hours with ANC off (case + earbuds)
- Compatible with Android 5.1 and above, iOS 11 and above
- Pinch controls on earbuds (customizable)
- Talk time: Up to 23 hours with ANC off; 18 hours with ANC on
- Fast charging: 10 minutes for 10 hours of playback (ANC off)
Sound Quality and Usage
Sound quality on the new Nothing Ear is excellent, especially considering the relatively-affordable price point. The bass is rich and well-defined, without overpowering the mids or treble. The earbuds handle various music genres well, including pop, R&B, hip-hop, and even Afrobeats. They also perform well for podcasts with a clear voice mode. The earbuds are also comfortable and secure, even during workouts – the IP54 certification does mean that you can use them in light rain, although we’d advise to keep them away from water in general.
Smartphone App
Users can adjust their EQ preferences and other functions through a dedicated smartphone app, which is available on both iOS and Android. For this review, we used the Android version of the app via a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.
The app offers a ton of functions including fast Pair for Android devices and Microsoft Swift Pair for Windows laptops, in-ear detection for automatic play/pause, low-lag mode for gaming, high-quality audio options such as LHDC, LDAC, AAC, personal sound profile creation through a hearing test or age selection, dual connectivity toggle, hearing tip fit test, as well as “Find My” functionality. There’s also support for customizable earbud controls, in addition to a new bass enhancement feature.
Conclusion
For a pair of wireless earbuds in this price range, the new Nothing Ear offers excellent sound quality, good battery life, a great design, effective noise cancellation, and a competitive price. It’s a highly recommended option for anyone looking for a new pair of earbuds, and if you’re after a wallet-friendly wireless audio option, then these are a great consideration.
Of course for less than a hundred quid you can grab the Nothing Ear (a), although the more robust feature set on the Nothing Ear does make for a more attractive offer. You can check out the full video review here.
