Nothing continues to wow the consumer-electronics world with its wireless earbuds, boasting minute improvements while retaining the UK brand’s design identity with each successive model.
Released at the end of April, its latest, the Nothing Ear, reaches new heights with a familiar package.
The primary standout feature is the buds’ sleek and minimalist design, though you might find it difficult to tell the difference between them and the Ear (1) or Ear (2) at a glance.
The buds’ transparent form factor allows you to be privy to the internal components and circuits as though they were from the future. Three microphones feature in each bud for optimal sound pickup.
Not everybody’s ears are the same, which is why different-sized silicone tips are included to ensure a comfortable fit for all users. They are lightweight at 4.62g apiece, making you forget they’re fitted snugly in your ears.
Feel free to wear them during your workout sessions or while you’re pounding the pavement: light rain and sweat are no problem given its IP54 rating for water and dust resistance. The case itself features IP55 rating.
Performance
Audio performance continues to be impressive. Featuring custom-engineered 11mm drivers alongside a new ceramic diaphragm, airflow has been increased by 10% within each bud to deliver less distortion and richer clarity across a wide frequency range.
Music tracks with plenty of bass end up deep and punchy, and your ears will delight in clear and well-balanced mids and highs.
If you love cranking up the volume, the Nothing Ear is more than capable of meeting your demands by maintaining consistent audio quality with minimal distortion.
It supports LHDC 5.0 (1Mbps, 24-bit/192kHz) and LDAC 990 Kbps, 24-bit/96kHz) to make sure your Bluetooth streaming (AAC or SBC) is of higher quality than its predecessors.
Active noise cancellation (ANC) is again exemplary whenever there is a constant background noise, but wearing it in quieter settings such as the office is not as effective owing to its middling passive isolation.
Nothing claims the buds will automatically check for noise leakage before responding with the appropriate noise cancellation, but this works better in theory. It ends up more of a distraction if your environment experiences constant decibel changes, making this feature more useful in stable surroundings.
Connectivity and controls
What’s great about the Nothing Ear is its dual-connectivity ability; for example, you can hook it up to your phone and computer simultaneously. In the event of an incoming call while you’re enjoying a movie on your laptop, the Nothing Ear will switch seamlessly for you to attend to it.
Thanks to the aforementioned trio of microphones in each earbud, phone calls are extremely clear. The Bluetooth 5.3 standard is supported to ensure longer-lasting compatibility.
As pinch controls are the order of the day, Nothing has decided to ditch the touch controls found in its earlier earbuds, instead relying on pressure-sensitive panels on each stem.
It will not take you long to get used to where you should pinch intuitively, and you can also modify these actions using the Nothing X app.
Battery life and charging
The Nothing Ear managed to last for approximately four hours with ANC enabled and at maximum volume. Most users will not work within such parameters, so it is likely you will obtain more hours from the earbuds on a full charge.
In the event they run out of juice, all it takes is plonking them back into the charging case, which Nothing claims is good for another 40 hours of playback time.
The case supports wireless charging at up to 2.5W – if that’s too slow for you, feel free to plug it into a USB-C charger.
For those on the run, Nothing claims a mere 10-minute charge is able to deliver up to 10 hours of listening time. Now how about that?
All in all, the Nothing Ear is recommended for anyone who has yet to pick up a decent pair of wireless earbuds with ANC capability, the efficiency of which is to be expected given the price point.
At RM659 a pop and two colours to choose from – black or white – you’ll find it hard to find a prettier-looking pair of wireless earbuds that get the job done.
For more information on the Nothing Ear, click here.
Edwin Kee dreamt of being a pro-gamer only to have circumstances mould him into a programmer in a past life. He has since moved on to write about consumer electronics and other topics.