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Nothing Ear (1) review: A clear winner

Our Verdict

The Nothing Ear (one)'s transparent design volition catch your attention, just it'due south the comfy fit, balanced sound, useful features and low price that will agree it.

For

  • Interesting design
  • Great sound
  • ANC with Transparency mode
  • Affordable

Against

  • Weak battery life
  • Non the most secure fit

Tom's Guide Verdict

The Nothing Ear (1)'south transparent pattern will catch your attention, merely it's the comfy fit, balanced audio, useful features and low price that will concord information technology.

Pros

  • +

    Interesting design

  • +

    Great sound

  • +

    ANC with Transparency mode

  • +

    Affordable

Cons

  • -

    Weak bombardment life

  • -

    Non the most secure fit

Nothing Ear (1) specs

Price: $99
Colors: Transparent
Bombardment life (rated): 4 hours ANC on), 27 hours (ANC on with charging instance); 5.7 hours (ANC off), 38 hours (ANC off with charging case)
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.ii
Processor: Non stated
Size: 1.1 x 0.8 x 0.9 inches (per bud); 2.3 x 2.iii x 0.nine inches (charging case)
Weight: 0.2 ounces (per bud), ii ounces (charging case)

The Zippo Ear (ane) conspicuously wants to be a rarity among the increasingly crowded rabble of true wireless earbuds. Its near obvious attempt to stand out is its transparent casing, parts and circuit boards peering out from within, but it'southward too something else nosotros seldom get to see: a quality 1st-gen product from a make new company.

Nothing was formed by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, and the Ear (1) is its first-ever production. And nevertheless instead of most-prototypical shoddiness with the kind of "aspirational" pricing you'd expect from a tech startup, this pair of buds is both well-fabricated and attractively affordable. It'south fifty-fifty got agile noise counterfoil (ANC), microphones that produce stellar call quality, and music performance is on par with some of the all-time wireless earbuds.

  • Nothing Ear (one) vs. AirPods Pro: Which wireless earbuds win?
  • Check out more of the all-time Apple AirPods alternatives
  • We've tested the all-time Bluetooth speakers

Information technology'southward not perfect — the loose fit won't adapt runners, and battery life underwhelms — merely generally, this is one seriously strong debut. Keep reading our Nothing Ear (one) review to find out why.

Null Ear (1) review: Cost and availability

  • $99 MSRP, sold direct from Zippo
  • Express release in July, full release in August

At $99, the Goose egg Ear (ane) is firmly within budget earbud territory. Information technology's even cheaper than the standard Apple tree AirPods, let alone the AirPods Pro that it's seemingly trying to compete with on features.

Nothing has two launches planned for the Ear (i): a limited release on July 31, and a general release on August 17. In other words, don't worry if you lot miss out on stock the kickoff time. Either way, yous'll have to buy direct from Nothing.

Nothing Ear (1) review: Design and comfort

  • Unique transparent styling
  • Comfortable, but non particularly secure

The see-through plastic on the Ear (1)'southward stems is arguably its signature characteristic. In truth this is not as disruptive and utterly singular a pair of headphones every bit some of Naught's pre-release hype would suggest — if the plastic was white it could be mistaken for only another AirPods clone — but I practise genuinely like how it shows off the circuitry underneath.

Nothing Ear (1) review

(Paradigm credit: Tom'due south Guide)

There's an attention to detail hither you merely don't get on most earbuds, from the tiny printed lettering on each stem to the conspicuously visible touch sensors.

Nothing Ear (1) review

(Prototype credit: Tom's Guide)

The earbuds besides feel more than solid than a lot of cheap wireless models, which might have something to exercise with their IPX4 rating — the same level of sweat resistance and splash-proofing that the premium AirPods Pro enjoys.

Nothing Ear (1) review

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

The Ear (one)'s replaceable eartips also share the slightly oval shape of the AirPods Pro tips. Whether intentional or not, this results in a similarly comfortable feel, and I hands went hours without needing to relieve any pressure.

Nothing Ear (1) review

(Image credit: Tom'due south Guide)

However, runners and gym-goers be warned: this is a comfy prepare of buds, but not a very secure 1. I sometimes found them working loose on long walks, and while fleeing a sudden torrential downpour, I had to terminate to choice upward one bud that had fallen out entirely. Still, at least that incident proved the water resistance worked.

Naught Ear (1) review: Controls and digital assistant

  • Touch sensors are reliable
  • No built-in digital assistant support, though

Those visible bear upon sensors do a very good job of registering tap and swipe gestures, which as the Anker Soundcore Life P3 has shown, isn't ever the case with cheaper true wireless buds. There'southward no single tap input, which is unusual, but double and triple tap, tap and hold and slide up/down inputs let for a decent range of control. That includes volume adjustment, a small-scale win over the AirPods Pro.

Nothing Ear (1) review

(Paradigm credit: Tom's Guide)

A less pleasant surprise is the inability to summon digital assistants similar Google Assistant and Siri. You can still apply your corresponding AI helper past activating it from your telephone, and the Ear (ane)'s microphones helped accurately parse my vocalism commands, merely you can't wake them up with a tap.

I rarely apply my digital assistant so this wasn't much of a problem for me, but it's worth bearing in mind if you're a regular vocalisation control user.

Nothing Ear (i) review: Sound quality

  • Balanced only powerful sound
  • Some EQ presets bachelor, but aren't necessary

Zilch went for a balanced sound signature on the Ear (ane), which to my ears was a skillful call. There'due south a healthy amount of low-stop — the bassline on Muse's "Uprising" sounded equally rich equally it was slathered in fuzz effects — and vocals cutting through cleanly.

Nothing Ear (1) review

(Image credit: Tom'south Guide)

If anything, the Ear (1) reminds me of (what else?) the AirPods Pro, in how information technology manages to present a lively soundstage that's under control simply never also muted or flat. There's enough of particular on display as well, like the subtle sound of guitar fretting movements on Lorde's "Stoned at the Nail Salon."

If you really desire, yous can utilise the app — more on this in a moment — to switch between four dissimilar EQ presets. I recommend sticking with the default "Balanced" contour for the most part, though. "More treble" sounds more hollow than sparkling, "More bass" is a little too boomy and "Voice" just makes everything sound similar information technology's coming out of an old radio. Even podcasts, which consist of zilch just voices, sound worse.

Nix Ear (1) review: Active noise counterfoil

  • Practiced for the money, with multiple modes
  • Not as effective as more than expensive rivals

As cool as information technology is to go ANC on a inexpensive pair of wireless buds, individual implementations pretty much never compare to the likes of the AirPods Pro or Bose QuietComfort Earbuds.

Sure enough, the Ear (1)'s sound-silencing tech won't win any awards. Loud subway trains can overwhelm the effect, and even indoors y'all can't completely cake out TVs and keyboards without simultaneously playing music at a reasonably high volume.

All the same, am I happy information technology's hither? Sure. The ANC might not be globe-leading merely it works well plenty to quieten passing traffic, or permit me to piece of work in peace with a window open up.

There are two levels, Light and Maximum. Low-cal can suffice for the distracting sounds of domicile life, only if y'all're out and about, Maximum is noticeably more effective. There's also a Transparency mode, which is useful too. It makes picking up speech easier without inadvertently boosting the volume of droning sounds like AC units.

Zippo Ear (1) review: App and features

  • Mix of essential and potential useful utilities
  • Notice My Earbud allows brusque-range locating

The Ear (i) app is a worthwhile download. Its primary entreatment is making the touch controls customizable, at least to an extent: the tap and hold gesture tin can merely bike through ANC modes, though the triple tap gesture tin can be assigned to a variety of tasks.

Nothing Ear (1) review

(Paradigm credit: Tom's Guide)

If yous want to leap to a specific ANC fashion instead of cycling through them one by one, the app'southward got you covered at that place too. At that place'south even a Discover My Earbud tool; this won't help you locate a lost pair across town, but if you're inside the full general area of the Ear (1) you tin can have both earbuds emit a piercing, continuous beep. Yet again, it's another way that Nothing's buds offer AirPods Pro capability at a much lower toll.

That said, there'southward nothing here to equal the Apple buds's spatial audio mode, or instant switching between devices. In that location's supposed to be fast pairing with Android devices, though this wasn't enabled on my review unit at the time of testing.

You lot exercise go on-ear detection, though, and this works flawlessly. Music is paused almost instantly upon removing an earbud, and resumes quickly once it's dorsum in place.

Cipher Ear (ane) review: Battery life

  • Per-charge uptime is curt
  • However, tin can exceed official estimates

On newspaper, the Ear (1)'s bombardment life is cipher special: Nothing promises a mere 4 hours with ANC on, or an oddly specific 5.7 hours with it off. The charging case pushes things closer to the industry average, with grand totals of 24 hours with ANC or 34 hours without.

Nothing Ear (1) review

(Paradigm credit: Tom's Guide)

The skilful news is that the Ear (1) overperformed in our testing. With ANC on the Maximum setting and volume at fifty%, it took 4 hours 51 minutes for the right earbud to run dry, followed past the left bud another xvi minutes afterward.

The bad news is that this notwithstanding isn't all that slap-up. It beats the 4 hours 30 minutes of the AirPods Pro, which is worth commending, but even cheaper ANC earbuds tin hit 6 hours betwixt charges.

The Ear (1)'due south charging case gets some goodwill back, though. It can refuel over USB-C or wireless charging, the latter being another college-end feature non normally seen on affordable models.

Nothing Ear (i) review: Call quality and connectivity

  • Excellent call performance
  • Bluetooth v.ii works well

One surprise highlight of the Ear (1) is how well information technology handles telephone calls. To test, I phoned a friend twice, using the AirPods Pro immediately followed by the Ear (1). And, although Apple tree's buds are among the best headphones with a mic for voice and video calls, the aural difference was negligible.

Outside, a tiny bear on of groundwork noise was more axiomatic on the Zip buds, and indoors I was told I sounded slightly more echoey. But once more, the difference was extremely pocket-size, and my phonation came through clearly in both environments. On my end, I besides thought my friend sounded louder and clearer on the Ear (1).

It helped that the Bluetooth five.2 connection stayed potent throughout, though audiophiles may decry the lack of support for any aptX codecs.

Zippo Ear (1) review: Verdict

Pei has described the Ear (1) as "a jiff of fresh air in a cluttered and indifferent market place." While it's not really equally groundbreaking as that might suggest, finding a pair of wireless earbuds that delivers this level of operation for under $100 is a very rare matter indeed.

Nothing Ear (1) review

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

The Ear (1) sounds amend than the average entry-level buds, while having an atrocious lot more than features, and is drastically more affordable than its noise-cancelling peers. The short bombardment life and loose fit hateful we'd like a refined follow-upwards even more, only correct now the Zippo Ear (i) is still i of the best deals in headphones.

James joined Tom'south Guide in 2020, bringing years of feel in consumer tech and product testing. As Sound Editor, James covers headphones, speakers, soundbars and anything else that intentionally makes noise. A PC enthusiast, he besides covers the occasional spot of computing and gaming news, unremarkably relating to how hard it is to discover graphics menu stock.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/nothing-ear-1

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