Nothing has established itself as a brand that is a force to be reckoned with. Whether it is smartphones or audio products, the Carl Pei-led brand has introduced products that have made everyone sit up and notice. While it is safe to say that its smartphone launches have made a bigger splash in the market than the brand’s audio products till now, the all-new Nothing Ear and Ear (a) aim to change this. Here I’ll talk in detail about the Nothing Ear, but worth mentioning the change in the naming strategy from the brand. After launching the Ear (1) (review) and Ear (2) (review), the brand is simply calling the new top-end earbuds in this series Nothing Ear. While it might be confusing to some that the new wireless earphones are not called Nothing Ear (3), it seems like a positive move that the brand is simplifying its nomenclature. Now that we have this out of the way, let’s move to the new product and see what it brings to the table.
Design and controls
Unlike the Nothing Ear (a), which comes in a dazzling shade of yellow, the Ear comes with an identical design to its predecessor and the same transparent aesthetics that have become a hallmark of the brand. I have mixed feelings about this decision from the brand. On one hand, I like how the Ear (a) looks in the vibrant new colour, and it would have been nice to see other colour options for the Ear. But on the other hand, why fix it if it ain’t broken?
Despite the similar design, the Ear is ever-so-slightly larger in size and heavier than the Ear (2). But as we are talking about very slight differences here, the in-ear feel of these wireless earphones remains exactly the same. With a snug fit, I was able to use these TWS for hours on a stretch without feeling any stress on my ears. The earbuds didn’t fall out of my ears even I deliberately tried to shake my head wildly to test their fit.
The case doesn’t feel too big and easily slipped into my pocket. There’s a pairing button on the side, alongside the Type-C charging port. It is clear that the brand has retained the design elements that already worked for the previous generation TWS and honestly, there is nothing to complain about if it all works.
As far as the controls are concerned, by default, double-pinching on the left earbud stick skips forward the song or declines a call. Triple-pinching skips back the audio, and pinching and holding gives you noise control (switch between transparency and noise cancellation modes). A single pinch on the left ear stick performs the usual play/pause and answer/hang up calls functionality. Apart from the single-pinch controls, you can customise all the other controls and assign different functionalities to the various gestures. Similarly, you can do this with gestures on the right earbud stick too. I found the controls intuitive and after setting up the noise control and volume adjustment gestures initially, I got used to the controls in no time.
Sound quality and audio features
You might be thinking that if the brand has not changed the design, surely the focus would entirely be on the sound quality and the features. And if you’re thinking along these lines, you aren’t wrong. This is the area where the Nothing Ear truly shines. With a ceramic diaphragm and an 11mm dynamic driver, these TWS deliver rich sound that is authentic to the source. The Nothing Ear supports AAC, SBC, LHDC 5.0, and LDAC codecs.
You get an impressive sound signature here with a good balance across the entire frequency spectrum. These TWS deliver deep and punchy bass that doesn’t overpower the mids and highs. The bass feels tight and controlled, providing a satisfying thump to the beats without sacrificing detail or clarity.
Moving on to the mids, you get clear and accurate vocals, ensuring you don’t miss the subtle nuances of a singer’s voice. Listening to acoustic songs on these earphones was also a good experience as the notes are reproduced really well. The earbuds did a reasonably good at dealing with highs as well, thanks to crystal-clear sound.
Just like the previous TWS in the series, you can customise your sound profile or controls for the Nothing Ear through the Nothing X app. On the home screen of the app, you are treated to four sections – Equalizer, Controls, Noise Control, and Bass Enhance. The ‘Equalizer’ section lets you create a preferred sound profile, which can be shared later. The ‘Controls’ section lets you customise controls for gestures performed on individual earbuds. The ‘Noise Control’ lets you choose between Transparency, Noise Cancellation, and default (off) modes. Finally, the Bass Enhance (a new addition to the app), lets you enhance the bass performance offered by the TWS. I found the bass enhancement to be noticeable and I preferred to keep the bass at the highest level (level 5) at most times.
You can create a personal sound profile, do an ear tip fit test, toggle on/off dual connection and in-ear detection, and switch on/off Low Lag mode (for low latency in games). There is also a ‘Find My Earbuds’ option that lets you make your earbuds create a buzzing sound so that you can find them easily. You are also provided the option to switch between LHDC, LDAC, and AAC codecs through this app. The support for LHDC 5.0 and LDAC codecs enables high-resolution streaming over Bluetooth. If you’re an audiophile and hate audio quality damage, you would certainly appreciate this.
With the support for Bluetooth 5.3, my pairing experience was seamless on most occasions. However, I did face some audio syncing issues during the duration of my review. As I faced these issues rarely, I think the brand can iron them out with future updates.
ANC and call quality
While I have had some inhibitions in the past regarding the ANC offered on TWS, the Nothing Ear surprised me on this front. These wireless earphones support up to 45dB of noise cancellation, which is less than the 49dB offered by some lower-priced earphones. However, with the help of a brand-new Smart ANC algorithm, the Nothing Ear offers impressive noise cancellation. The brand says that Ear automatically checks the seal between the earbuds and your ear canal for noise leakage, then adds more noise cancellation to make up for it. This process happens every time you put in your earbuds (with ANC Mode on). No hearing test or manual switch is required.
The Adaptive ANC featured on the new earbuds is also improved. The company says it has refined the type of elimination you receive in real-time by optimising the noise reduction for specific scenes. The 3 modes of noise cancellation now correspond to real-life scenarios:
– High: Subway/Airplane
– Medium: Street/Cafe
– Low: Office/Indoor
Alternatively, you also get the option to manually select High, Medium or Low in the Nothing X app for a fixed level of noise cancellation. In effect, these earphones do a really good job of eliminating noise.
Coming to the call quality, the new version of Clear Voice Technology (v3.0) offers an AI-noise reduction algorithm that detects a voice, enhances it, and filters out unwanted background noises in real-time. As a result, the call quality is pretty decent too.
Battery life
The Nothing Ear promises to offer up to 8.5 hours (40.5 hours with the case) on a single charge without ANC. With the ANC turned on, these earbuds can give you 5.2 hours (24 hours with case).
These are noticeable improvements over the Ear (2), which offered up to 6.3 hours on a single charge (36 hours with case) without the ANC turned on. With the support for up to 2.5W wireless charging and a Type-C charging port, these wireless earphones are extremely convenient to charge in regular usage.
Verdict
The price hike from Rs 9,999 for the Ear (2) to the launch price of Rs 11,999 for the Nothing Ear might bother some people at first. However, in my opinion, the improvement in the sound quality, the ANC, and the battery life do justify this price tag. The price range chosen by Nothing for the Ear is particularly interesting as it doesn’t have massive competition that offers a similar package here. For a slightly higher price, you can get the Marshall Motif, while below Rs 10,000 you can go for JBL Live Pro+. The Nothing Ear is a great option if you don’t want to spend more than Rs 15,000 for your earphones and still want good sound quality, ANC, and battery life. Also, the unique design still makes these earphones stand out from the crowd.
Editor’s rating: 8 / 10
Pros
- Impressive sound signature with good balance across bass, mids, and highs
- Effective ANC even in noisy rooms
- Good call quality
- Easy-to-learn controls
Cons
- Slightly pricey
- Occasional sync issues
