Nothing Ear Review: Impressive upgrades
Nothing Ear Review: After the successful launches of Ear (1) and Ear (2) previously, Nothing has introduced its latest flagship TWS earbuds into the fray, the Nothing Ear. With an eye-catching transparent design and improved Active Noise Cancellation feature, the device shows promising prospects in the segment to which it belongs. In this review, we endeavour to weigh the features and worthiness of Nothing Ear.
Nothing Ear Review: Design
To start with the design, the Nothing Ear flaunts a transparent design, similar to Ear (1) and Ear (2). The central part of the case has a white covering, while the corners are transparent, allowing a clear view of the buds inside. A strong magnet keeps each of the earbuds secured in their place.
The case features a function key and a USB Type-C port on the side. With an IP55 rating, the case is dust and water-resistant. It also features an LED light that glows in white, green, and red colours. The weight is similar to the Ear (2), notching just 51.9 grams.
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The Nothing Ear branding is on the outside, around the touch-sensitive area that allows you to control play/pause, ANC, as well as volume. The buds are equipped with optical ear detection, automatically pausing audio when removed from ears and turning on when plugged back in.
The fit of the buds is perfect and you can ascertain with the Earbuds fit option that enables you to play music to test the seal. This feature ensures a better noise-cancellation experience as well.
Nothing Ear Review: Connectivity
Supported by Bluetooth 5.3 with LHDC 5.0 and LDAC Hi-Res audio codecs, the Nothing Ear has got the connectivity option perfectly sorted. With a transmission rate of up to 1Mbps, the LHDC 5.0 gives 4 times better detail.
Along with the standard pairing process- enabling Bluetooth on the phone, opening the charging case of the buds and placing both the devices in close proximity- the Nothing Ear offers a fast pair option which works in the latest Android phones. Additionally, it has Microsoft Swift Pair, enabling seamless connection with Windows. Along with it, you get the option of connecting it to two devices simultaneously and switching the audio playback between them.
The touch controls can be customised using the Nothing X app on Android and iPhone. It is worth noting that not all commands are customisable. For example, the single or double pinch commands stay in the default mode.
Nothing Ear Review: Audio Quality
Equipped with two vents for improved airflow enabling less distortion, the Nothing Ear offers premium audio quality, thanks to a new 11mm driver. It leads to improved vibration amplitude, leading to enhanced bass. The audio quality gets crisper with the dual chamber design. While using it, you can feel clear vocals, deeper low frequencies, and clear high frequencies.
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The Nothing Ear has robust noise cancellation features, with the brand claiming it can block ambient sound up to 45dB, a clear improvement over its predecessors, Ear (1) and Ear (2). It comes with four modes- Low, Mid, High and Adaptive Mode- which get automatically adjusted as per the real-time environment. Interestingly, it also has a personalised ANC feature, tailored to the exact shape of a user’s ear canal based on 7 audio filters. Also, the call quality has improved significantly, minimising background noise, such as reducing the traffic noise, for clearer calls.
Nothing Ear Review: Battery & Charging
The earphones have a 46mAh battery, providing a standalone battery life of 8.5 hours without ANC. With ANC activated, it stretches up to 5.2 hours. The charging case, having a 500mAh battery capacity, can offer a total backup of up to 40.5 hours without ANC and can last up to a day with ANC. It takes about an hour and a half to fully charge the case along with the earbuds. Additionally, for quick power-ups-on-the-go, it supports wireless charging at 2.5W.
Nothing Ear Review: Verdict
To conclude, even though the design is familiar with the previous Nothing devices, the Nothing Ear offers impressive upgrades. The ANC feature has improved considerably, taking the audio quality a notch above. For users seeking a premium device that has almost all the bases covered including, call quality, customisable modes and a better IP rating, the Nothing Ear stands out as one of the best TWS earbuds in the market in this price segment.
