Nothing seemed like a sign of power to be reckoned with. Whether it is mobile phones or audio products, the brand led by Carl Pei has introduced products that make everyone sit up and take notice. While it’s safe to say that the headphone launch has had more visibility in the market than any audio product it has released so far, the all-new Nothing and Ear(a) aims to change that. I’ll talk about Nothing Ears in detail here, but I need to mention the change in’s naming strategy. After the launch of the ear (1) (repeat) and ear (2) (repeat), the brand is only talking about the new ear-ear Nothing ear models in this series. While it may be confusing for some that the new wireless phone is called Nothing Ear (3), it seems like a smart move by the brand to simplify the nomenclature. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s move on to the new products and see what they have to offer.
Controls and design
The Ear has the same transparent aesthetics that have come to define the brand, just like its predecessor, the Nothing Ear (a), which is available in a striking shade of yellow. Regarding the brand’s decision, I feel conflicted. While it would have been great to see more color possibilities for the Ear, I do appreciate how the bright new color appears on the Ear (a). But then, if something isn’t broken, why fix it?
The case fits neatly into my pocket and doesn’t seem overly large. On the side, next to the Type-C charging port, is a pairing button. Since the brand has kept the design components that were successful for the previous generation of TWS, assuming everything functions as intended, there isn’t anything to be unhappy about.
Regarding the controls, double-pinching the left earbud stick automatically advances the music or ends a call. Pinching and holding allow you to regulate noise (switch between transparency and noise reduction settings). Triple-pinching skips back the music. To use the standard play/pause and answer/hang up call functions, simply pinch the left ear stick. You can personalize any control except the single-pinch ones, and you may give distinct functions to each of the different gestures. Likewise, you may also accomplish this with motions on the right earbud stick. After initially setting up the volume and noise control gestures, I quickly became accustomed to the controls and found them to be intuitive.
Sound quality and audio features
You may be thinking that the features and sound quality would take center stage if the brand had not altered the style. Furthermore, you are not incorrect if this is how you are thinking. The Nothing Ear shines in this situation. These ceramic diaphragm TWS speakers produce rich, true-to-source sound thanks to an 11mm dynamic driver. The codecs supported by the Nothing Ear are AAC, SBC, LHDC 5.0, and LDAC.
This has a very striking sound character that is well-balanced over the whole frequency range. The bass of these TWS is strong and deep, without overpowering the mids or highs. The bass has a pleasing thud to the beats without compromising clarity or detail since it seems tight and in control.
In addition to creating a custom sound profile, you may test the fit of your ear tips, turn on and off in-ear detection and dual connection, and turn on and off Low Lag mode (which reduces latency when playing games). Additionally, you may use the “Find My Earbuds” option to make your earphones buzz so you can quickly locate them. This program also gives you the ability to alternate between LDAC, AAC, and LHDC codecs. This is something that audiophiles like you would appreciate if you detest damage to audio quality.
Most of the time, I had no trouble pairing thanks to Bluetooth 5.3 support. I did, however, run into a few audio syncing problems when writing my evaluation. Since I didn’t frequently encounter these problems, I believe the brand can resolve them in upcoming releases.
Call quality and ANC
Even if I’ve previously been hesitant to accept the ANC supplied on TWS, the Nothing Ear shocked me in this regard. While other less expensive earphones give 49dB of noise reduction, these wireless earphones only support 45 dB. However, the Nothing Ear provides excellent noise cancellation thanks to a whole new Smart ANC algorithm. According to the firm, Ear automatically detects any noise leaking through the seal between the earbuds and your ear canal and increases noise cancellation to compensate. Each time you insert your headphones (with ANC Mode enabled), this process takes place. There is no need for a manual switch or hearing test.
The new earbuds’ enhanced Adaptive ANC is another improvement. According to the company, tailoring the noise reduction for particular settings has improved the kind of elimination you get in real time. Now, the three noise suppression modes match actual situations:
– High: Airplane/Subway
– Mode: Café/Street
– Low: Indoor/Office
As an alternative, the Nothing X app gives you the ability to manually choose between High, Medium, and Low for a fixed amount of noise reduction. Overall, these earbuds are rather effective at blocking out sounds.
Regarding call quality, Clear Voice Technology’s latest version (v3.0) features an AI-noise reduction algorithm that recognizes and enhances voice calls while simultaneously filtering out unwanted background noise.
Battery life
Without ANC, the Nothing Ear claims to provide up to 8.5 hours (40.5 hours with the case) of use on a single charge. These earphones can last you 5.2 hours (or 24 hours with the case) when the ANC is turned on.
These represent a significant improvement over the Ear (2), which provided up to 6.3 hours (or 36 hours with a case) of use without the ANC activated on a single charge. It is very handy to charge these wireless earphones regularly because they enable up to 2.5W wireless charging and have a Type-C charging connector.
Verdict
Some individuals may initially find it bothersome that the Nothing Ear is now priced at Rs 11,999, compared to Rs 9,999 for the Ear (2). But in my view, the enhanced battery life, ANC, and sound quality more than makeup for this premium. Nothing for the Ear picked a pricing range that is especially intriguing because there isn’t much competition for this kind of product. You can purchase the Marshall Motif for a little bit more money, or you can choose JBL Live Pro+ for less than Rs 10,000. If you want good sound quality, ANC, and battery life but don’t want to spend more than Rs 15,000 on earbuds, the Nothing Ear is a great option.
