Ear's to Nothing: Why Nothing Ear (2) is Music to Our Ears

Nothing has come out with the second version of the Ear phone (earphone) called unsurprisingly the Ear (2) phone.

Founded by Carl Pei (previously having founded OnePlus), Nothing is his new mobile first company making tech that is affordable and aesthetically pleasing. The first product was the Nothing Ear (1) wireless earphones and now, they've raised the bar even higher with the release of their latest model, the Nothing Ear (2).

Nothing Ear (2) original package

The outer box has a tearable strip which allows the inner box to be removed.

Tearable strip

The inner box is very black.

Inner box

The top bit is the instruction manual in a sleeve.

Sleeve holding instruction manual

Removing the sleeve reveals the earphone case (in a removable plastic protective cover).

Case in protective plastic sleeve

Once the case is removed the side compartments are accessible.

Box side compartments

One side holds the USB-C to USB-C cable and the other the small and large silicon tips.

USB-Cto USB-C charging cable

Silicon tips

The case has a USB-C charging port and a button to initiate pairing.

Charging case

 

Charging case lid open

At first glance, the Ear (2) may seem like just another pair of earphones, but a closer look reveals its unique design and features that set it apart from the competition. The Ear (2) boasts a sleek, transparent design that showcases the inner workings of the earphones. This design not only looks futuristic but also allows for a better understanding of how the Ear (2) works.

Ear phones (2)

Looking from the other end, it's possible to see the metal filter that allows sound to pass through while now allowing ingress of particles from your ear.

Metal grill

But it's not just about looks – the Ear (2) also delivers top-of-the-line audio quality. With active noise cancellation (ANC), the Ear (2) blocks out all outside noise, allowing for an immersive listening experience. And now with an in-house designed impressive 11.6mm driver, the Ear (2) produces clear, crisp sound that rivals even the most high-end (fruity) earphones on the market. The diaphragm is made from graphene and polyurethane.

One standout feature of the Ear (2) is its press controls. With just a few presses, users can play or pause music, skip tracks, and even activate voice assistants like Siri or Google Assistant. The touch controls are also customisable, allowing users to set their preferred commands for even easier use. The Ear (1) used touch controls which could be triggered erroneously.

But perhaps the most impressive feature of the Ear (2) is its battery life. With up to 6 hours of continuous listening time and an additional 34 hours with the charging case, the Ear (2) can last through even the longest listening sessions. The earphone buds are also very light at 4.5g each (the case is 51.9g). Actual battery life will depend on use: -

• Playback with ANC off: Up to 36 hours with case and 6.3 hours with buds only
• Playback with ANC on: Up to 22.5 hours with case and 4 hours with buds only
• Talk time with ANC off: Up to 20.5 hours with case and 3.5 hours with buds only
• Talk time with ANC on: Up to 17.5 hours with case and 3 hours with buds only

Bluetooth is now at 5.3 supporting BLE, SPP, HFP, A2DP, AVRCP and AAC, SBC, LHDC audio codecs.

Water and dust protection has also been increased and is now IP54 for the buds and  IP55 for the case.

It's important to download the Nothing X app (iOS and Android) as many earphone features such as ANC/bud fit and balancer/equaliser are adjusted within it. It's also quite likely there will be a firmware update and this is performed through the app too.

Nothing X App

When these arrived they also came with a Nothing baseball cap and the obligatory sticker.

Baseball cap

Sticker

The are available to buy from the Nothing store and cost £129 (actually cheaper than the Ear (1)).

It's time to put Nothing in your ear (1)

Nothing is a London based consumer tech company who's mission is "to remove barriers between people and the technology we all use. By designing intuitive and smart technology that improves our lives without getting in the way Nothing wants to bring back artistry, passion, and trust. We want to help people unlock new and meaningful experiences not just in consumer electronics, but also in life." (from their website).

The first product is the ear (1) an in-ear earphone which features noise cancellation. They come with the usual 3 sized silicon tips (small, medium and large - though it's a shame there's no memory foam ones available). They come in a plastic case which holds the earphones magnetically so they align with the charging pins. The right earphone has a red dot on it (as does the magnet in the base) so it's easy to ensure the correct earphone goes into the right ear (sic). They are pretty light at 4.7 grams.

They come in a black box with pictures of the earphones, but to open it there's a tear strip so it can be pulled apart. Inside there's a shiny metalised case that pulls open and contains the earphone base (the earphones are in it), a side part containing the ear tips and another containing the USB C charging cable. The outer box does seem a bit of a waste.

The case is 58.6 by 58.6 by 27.3 mm and has a USB C port and a button which is pressed to start the pairing process. It can also be charged wirelessly through any QI compatible charger. It weighs 57.4 grams without the earphones.

There's an accompanying app (iOS and Android) that when connected shows the charge of the left and right earphones.

It allows switching between Noise Cancelation, Transparency and off (and whether it light or maximum).

Then the equalisation can be selected (Balanced, More Treble, More Base, Voice).

Tap settings can also be selected for both earphones (Triple Tap -> Next Song, Previous Song, nothing and Tap & Hold -> Noise Cancellation, nothing).

The app also allows (per each ear pair incase you've paired multiple pairs) In-Ear detection, Latency Mode (Normal or Low - designed for playing games but more prone to interference from other devices) and Firmware Update (it shows the current version and will allow clicking if a new version is available, updates are via Bluetooth and it can be quite slow and it's easy to think nothing's happening before the upgrade starts).

The instructions that come in box imply that the the earphones should be paired with the app (there's an option in the settings), however on iOS it did pair with the app, but music and other apps didn't seem to be able to output sounds through the earphones. When paired within the Bluetooth settings, the app recognised that the earphones were paired and all the functions worked and sounds and music could be heard though any app.

The batteries in the earphones should last around 5 hours and the case holds enough for 34 hours use (though you obviously need to put them into the case to charge them) - if active noise cancellation is on, then the total case time reduces to 24 hours.

The quality seems pretty good and they also work well for video conference calls (well some better than other, Google Meet decided to echo back your own voice).

The signal travels well and audio only started breaking up about 10 metres from the connected computer (and going through some internal walls).

With ear detection on, the music should pause, but when using with a device other than a phone it doesn't seem to work while triple tapping does move to the next track. This behaviour seems to have changed since the last firmware update as jiggling your head around (or dancing vigorously) would trigger something and the music would pause.

Overall the build and sound quality is very good and for only £99 pretty good value compared to fruity alternatives. They are available directly from Nothing's site and should arrive in a few days.