The Nothing Ear: What Happens When You’re Using the Same Wireless Ear Phone (nearly) Everybody Wants
Not everything needs to reinvent the wheel. Iterating on products has produced some of the finest wireless headphones that money can buy, and that is exactly what Nothing is doing with its new earbuds. Sure, at its founding the company vowed to do so much more than make headphones and smartphones—it hasn’t quite followed up on that promise yet—but at least we get affordable earbuds that don’t look the part.
And you’re still getting multipoint, Fast Pair (for Android), Microsoft Swift Pair, and a low-latency gaming mode in the cheaper buds. A bunch of stuff for just over $100. Battery life has also been totally sufficient, lasting for over five hours on both buds with ANC enabled or well over eight hours if you can go without it.
Both wireless earbuds come with three sizes of ear tips, with the medium installed as standard. The Ear felt a bit snugger for the average ear size, but that’s not a problem for anyone with smaller ears. The Ear reached Goldilocks’ porridge territory in size, stability and long-term comfort. I don’t dislike wearing the larger, more feature-rich Ear, but if I had to choose based on comfort alone, the Ear (a) would get my money.
The Nothing Ear costs $150 and the Nothing Ear (a) is $100—following the “a” designation Nothing uses on its cheaper Nothing Phone (2a) versus the Nothing Phone (2). The company started with the Nothing Ear (1) in 2021 and followed up with the Nothing Ear (2) last year, so why the latest Nothing Ear isn’t called the Ear (3) is confusing.
The Ear & Ear (a): Two Menagerie of Very Low-$Loss Wireless Earbuds
They’ll more than satisfy anyone if you spend a little more and lots of similar models. They work well and look great; what more can you ask for?
A pair of mature products, the Ear and Ear (a), have competitive sound, pricing, and user experience. From good-looking cases that easily fit in your pocket to smaller, more thoughtful design touches, these are some great wireless earbuds to consider if you’re hunting for a pair under $150.