The Nothing Ear (open) is an aptly named device, considering it offers open-ear audio and is almost like wearing nothing. Cheeky wordplay aside, the point is that Nothing’s contender in the open-ear audio segment is able to make a strong case for itself, giving an impetus to the whole category in the process. Open-ear buds, for those unaware, are earbuds that sit outside your ear canal instead of invading inside, unlike conventional in-ear buds. This design has its own pros and cons, of course, and I’ll get deeper into those during the course of this review. So bear with me, and continue reading.
Table of Contents
Design
The signature design Nothing is known for continues, with the case featuring a transparent lid that clearly shows what’s inside. The elongated, oval-shaped case has smooth, rounded corners and a white base. A metal hinge and a Type-C port are placed on the back. The buds themselves feature an over-the-ear hook, with the earbud on one end and a silver cylinder at the other end. The latter acts as a counterweight and helps balance the bud on your ear. The buds rest outside on your ear canal when you’re wearing them, and allow ambient sound to enter, even when you’re listening to music. The buds are circular and sport a smooth finish, with the speaker facing inward. The buds make a rattling sound inside the case when it’s shaken, so that’s something to take note of. It’s not really a deal breaker, though.Also worth mentioning that the buds are IP54 rated and can handle a bit of rain and sweat. Most importantly, they’re extremely comfortable to wear over long durations, and those who have issues with the vacuum effect created by in-ear buds would find them especially comfy. While the 8.1g is on the heavier side compared to conventional earbuds, the Ear (open) don’t really feel heavy thanks to the soft-touch, flexible ear hooks and the fact that most of the weight rests on your ears.
Features and app
The Ear (open) come with 14.2mm dynamic drivers, work over Bluetooth 5.3, and feature support for AAC and SBC codecs. They also support Google Fast Pair, Microsoft Swift Pair and Dual-device connection, which allows you to keep them connected to two different audio sources (like your phone and laptop) simultaneously, and switch between the two as required.
The Nothing X app, available for both iOS and Android, allows you to not only update the firmware of the Ear (open), but also offers a bunch of EQ options for you to customise the sound as per your liking. You can also use the app to customise the pinch gestures. You see, the transparent stems below the buds can be pinched to perform actions — single pinch to play/pause music or answer/end a call, double pinch to jump to the next track, triple pinch to move to the previous track in the list, and a pinch-and-hold to control volume. These controls can be customised via the companion app. From a usage perspective, I can say that these pinch gestures are quite intuitive to use and once you get the hang of them, prove to be quite useful when you’re out and about.
Usage and performance
There are a few inherent differences between the usage and performance of open-ear buds as compared to conventional in-ear ones, and many of them are due to design. Because of the fact that open-ear buds don’t intrude inside your ear canal, they can’t offer any kind of noise cancellation, which makes them less than ideal if you want to completely immerse yourself in music. Since your ear canal isn’t blocked, you can hear ambient sounds while wearing the Ear (open), which can be considered a plus point as well as a con, depending upon your use case and where you are. Just to give you an example, the Ear (open) might not be a great option when you’re in a flight and want to enjoy music, since they won’t be able to cancel out the engine noise. On the other hand, these buds should be great for use at the airport when you don’t want to miss your flight announcements. Similarly, the Ear (open) work well for your morning runs or walks, and for jumping from one work call to the next. And since they’re so comfortable, you can wear them for long hours too.
Also, because of the way they’re designed, you can’t customise the fit, unlike in-ear buds that usually come with differently-sized rubber tips to suit different ears. And because human ears come in all sizes and shapes, the fit of the Nothing Ear (open) might not suit everyone. In my case, I found that by readjusting the position of the buds manually over my ear canal, the audio improved a fair bit. However, the buds refused to stay in that position for long. I’d have also preferred the volume levels to be a bit louder overall. That said, the sound quality is quite good, and there’s no distortion or crackling even at higher volumes. As long as you’re in quiet environments, you can enjoy music or video streaming from your phone, though bass is lacking for obvious reasons. Instruments are reproduced well, and there’s ample richness and depth regardless of genre. The Ear (open) work well for calls too, though again, you’d need to ensure there’s not much ambient noise.
In terms of battery life, Nothing promises up to 8 hours of listening time, with the case adding another 22 hours. In my testing, intermittent usage gives me around a couple of weeks, when used for my morning walks and work calls 5 days a week. So I’d say that battery life is another strong aspect. Fast charge is supported, so you can get up to 2 hours of use with a 10-minute charge, but you don’t get wireless charging.
Verdict
The Nothing Ear (open) will set you back by Rs 9,999. That isn’t pocket change, by any means. More importantly, it’s clear that they can’t really replace your primary pair of TWS buds, the ones you’d likely want to use for your daily commutes, flights, etc. However, if you’re someone who likes to stay aware of your surroundings while jogging, jumps from one work call to the next, and in general, prefers a comfy pair of buds for use over longer periods, the Nothing Ear (open) should be worth considering.
Editor’s rating: 7.5 / 10
Pros:
- Stylish and comfy
- Decent audio
- Good battery life
- Intuitive controls
- Could be louder
- No wireless charging
- Buds rattle in the case
