I’ve absolutely loved watching London based tech company, Nothing over the last few years. They’ve really taken the tech world by storm by not only doing things differently from a design point of view, but also just really giving customers a lot of value by undercutting the competition, and that’s exactly what the company has done with its latest product, the Nothing Ear (2) wireless earbuds).
Design-wise, I can’t get enough of the Ear (2). Once again, the company has opted for a transparent design both with the actual wireless earbuds themselves, but also the case itself, which you can see straight through to the earbuds. On my first day of wearing them, I had a number of people ask what they were, which is a testament to just how unique they look in the ear.
Set-up with my iPhone was super seamless once I downloaded the Nothing app. This was the one area where I knew the earbuds would live or die, as connecting AirPods not only the first time, but each subsequent time you want to wear them is seamless, and I’m super happy to report that it’s an almost identical experience with the Ear (2). There wasn’t a single time that they didn’t connect to my phone instantly upon placing them in my ear.
THE CHEAPEST PRICE: $209 AUD FROM THE NOTHING WEBSITE
The Ear (2) are priced at $209, which is almost half the price of the AirPods Pro (Gen 2), and honestly, this feels like a steal given how similar they are both from and audio point of view, but also just how comparable they are from a features point of view. The Ear (2) doesn’t feel like it skimps at all with a charging case that can also charge wirelessly and a massive battery life of up to 36 hours (6.3 hours without needing to recharge in the case).
Noise cancellation in the Ear (2) are pretty fantastic. They’re maybe a tad below what’s available in the AirPods Gen 2, but not to the point that most people would notice unless using side by side. You’re able to use Adaptive Mode in order to have the earbuds detect distractions and adjust the level of noise cancellation to save on battery life.
Another really interesting feature is the Personalised Sound Profile. This requires you to take an ear tip fit test (to make sure you’re using the right sized tip). This then either will personalise your sound profile based on your age, or with a test that will carry out a number of sound tests, which you’ll then respond with whether you can hear the signal or not. After the test is complete, you can then go back and forth between your personalised sound profile, and I absolutely noticed an improvement in the personalised version, with it sounding richer and fuller.
@shannongrixti The Nothing Ear (2) are a much cheaper AirPods Pro alternative #nothingtech #airpodspro #headphones #nothingear2 #earphones #tech #techtok
The microphones in the Ear (2) have been upgraded from the original, with 3 microphones and AI noise reduction that work in conjunction with each other to ensure that your voice travels through clearly to the person on the other end, and there were absolutely no complaints from the people that I called whilst using the earbuds.
One thing that I really loved with the Ear (2) are the new controls. Unlike the AirPods Pro Gen 2, it’s actually a physical button on each side, which you can press quite easily with it providing a tactile response. You can customise the button to do a number of things with 1, 2 or 3 clicks as well as pressing and holding all resulting in different things.
Another great feature is dual connectivity, so that you can connect to two devices at once, but if you are deep into Apple’s ecosystem, you might miss the automatic switching between devices as you go from your iPhone to your MacBook to your iPad, although I suspect this will effect a small amount of people.
To put it simply, the Ear (2) are an absolute joy to use, with doing anything from listening to music, to taking calls, to watching TV shows sounding fantastic. I’d personally struggle to recommend a better sounding pair of wireless noise-cancelling earbuds at this price point, so it’s hard not to love the Nothing Ear (2).
