Clear sound with a case to match

I’m an earbud fanatic, but even I can admit that after a while, in-ears can all start looking (and even sounding) relatively the same. For that reason, it’s always exciting when Nothing releases a new set, as the company is known for its innovative, futuristic designs. Its latest release — the Nothing Ear — is no exception. Succeeding last year’s Nothing Ear (2), the buds drop the numerical naming simply going by the Ear, instead of the perhaps predicted Ear (3).

Like its predecessors, the Ear features a familiar, but refined luxury design along with the battery upgrade we wanted, wireless charging, and enhanced ANC. Plus, the custom 11mm drivers and advanced equalizer have me catching details in my favorite Taylor Swift songs just in time to inevitably over-analyze every nuance in her new album.

Nothing Ear

The Nothing Ear is simple, yet makes a statement in both name and performance with a transparently cool aesthetic, great in-app enhancements, and pro-grade sound quality.

Pros

• Intuitive touch controls
• Cool aesthetic
• In-app features make for a pro feel
• Pro features for $149

Cons

• In-ear pressure build-up after long wear hours
• ANC could be more powerful
• “Sharp” sound isn’t for everyone

Design, comfort and fit

Style, hinges, and bonus features

A staple feature, Nothing’s transparent, statement designs are what I look forward to most when the company drops a new product. The Nothing Ear, like the Ear (2), features an entirely transparent case with a thumb-shaped dip in the center. An exposed matte hinge sits subtly at the back of the case to open jewelry box-style to reveal the buds looking as if they float atop the magnetic cut-out beds on either side of a black divider, which features Nothing’s dot matrix logo.

The magnets are fairly strong, which is great for clumsy audiophiles like myself, as the buds stay in the case even when dropped from a short distance, relieving me of the embarrassment of searching for a lone bud on the New York City streets. If, however, you do find yourself misplacing a bud, the Nothing X app does include a Find My earbud feature, and I’ve already pinged my earbuds more times than I’d care to admit.

The buds themselves both feature short stems — I’d say slightly smaller than that of AirPods Pro — with a clear coating that also dawn Nothing’s dot matrix inscription. The left bud features a white dot at the top of the stem, whereas the right bud features a red dot instead of the typical “R” and “L” labeling.

Like other premium earbuds, the Nothing Ear come with interchangable ear tips for varying sizes and creates a comfortable, but secure fit in the ear. While providing a nice seal, the Nothing Ear does give a bit of built-up pressure after about six hours of straight wear.

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Sound quality and settings

Nothing’s app makes all the difference

The heart of getting the most out of the Nothing Ear’s sound quality is in the Nothing X app, which provides listeners with a hearing test followed by a real-time hearing compensation which analyzed my and personalized my equalizer settings. Once, I took about five total minutes to complete the tests in the app, along with adjusting my advanced equalizer to really punctuate higher frequencies, my listening automatically leveled up.

When listening to Taylor Swift’s Exile, for example, a song I’ve listened to on repeat since its 2020 release, I heard subtleties like birds chirping in the background and wind whistling for the first time. Ultimately, these buds gave me a “first” listening experience of one of my favorite songs. Pretty cool.

The Equalizer function also allows for bass-heads like me to really feel the music, and I felt a beautiful balance with both the high-pitched first string of Kacey Musgrave’s guitar and the soft, but powerful downbeats of the drum on Deeper Well. And at about 75% volume with bass all the way up, I could literally feel Bad Bunny’s Titi Me Pregunto reggaeton “bum bum bum” beats in my chest as I powered through my obligatory treadmill sprint.

Overall, the sound quality is so crystal clear and crisp that I found it prioritized instruments, and some may find it jarring. If you prefer a warmer tone, I’d stick to the likes of AirPods Pro or OnePlus Buds 3. The clarity difference between Nothing’s “sharp” tone and Apple’s “warmer” presence is similar to when you take a photo on an Android phone versus an iPhone — the colors have a cooler tone and emphasis on blues over yellows, giving a sepia filter tone. Whereas an iPhone emphasizes reds and gives a warmer, more subtle feel.

ANC isn’t nothing, but it fell short of my expectations

Admittedly, I love the almost disorienting ANC when I can let music create my world and forget the outside world exists. Nothing didn’t provide a Bose-level ANC quality, but it is impressive. I couldn’t hear my roommate on a phone call through our thin walls with the strongest ANC option toggled on and at 50% volume, but I could still vaguely hear the click-clack of my keyboard. When testing on the Subway, I could only vaguely hear the rattle of the car on the rails.

The infamous “stand clear of the closing doors” announcement still faintly rang through, which I suppose, for safety reasons, is a good thing. I’d say overall, Nothing Ear’s ANC is perfectly on par with Apple’s AirPods Pro 2, but still falls short of Bose and Sony.

Microphone quality

The answer to “can you hear me now?” is finally “yes”

Nothing introduced a new talk mic design with less obstruction along with adding an extra hole in the stem to provide wind with a clearer pathway, and it was well worth it. Callers report my calls are clear, even when my voice is competing with New York City hustle and bustle, and I can hear my callers almost as well as I can hear via my iPhone speakers. In fact, the microphone picks up my dictation almost too well as the sound of me swallowing gave me a jump scare as I recorded audio for a video.

ChatGPT integration

A Nothing exclusive

Building on its AI integration with its phone lineup, Nothing announced this morning that it’s integrated the buds themselves and Nothing OS with ChatGPT, offering Nothing phone users direct access to the AI tool with the pinch to speak function. These smarts, while we have to see how well they work, promise a futuristic approach to all buds.

Verdict: Does Nothing do something with the Nothing Ear?

Nothing does something great with its new flagship earbuds. My brutal pun aside, these earbuds are a great addition to the company’s lineup, providing a luxury aesthetic along with premium performance. The in-app equalizers and features made me feel like a studio pro as I toggled to find my perfect sound, and I have no doubt that these will be my mainstay as I listen to Taylor Swift’s Tortured Poet’s Department on repeat.

For $149, which is $100 cheaper than offerings from Bose and Apple, they’re great for Apple and Android users alike who want a solid pair of everyday buds with above-average performance and design.

The buds are available for pre-order starting today and will be available on Nothing.com starting April 22.

Top 5 songs I listened to with the Nothing Ear

1. Exile by Taylor Swift
2. Deeper Well by Kacey Musgraves
3. Tarot by Bad Bunny and Jhayco
4. Out Of The Woods (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift
5. Horses by Maggie Rogers