22 March 2023 , 15:14
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Nothing is a British tech brand that sprung up seemingly from nowhere back in 2021 with its first product the Nothing buds Ear (1). Since then they followed up with their own mobile device the Nothing Phone (1) as well as another set of wireless buds called Nothing Ear (stick) which was released last year.
Three years on and we have their first 2nd generation product and, as you can expect, the Ear (2) features a heap of refinements on their original.
As earbuds go the Nothing Ear (2) looks very cool (James Ide)The Ear (2) retains the signature Nothing, semi-transparent look and dot matrix font, which I must admit, I'm a huge fan of, in fact, the Ear (2) looks remarkably similar to its predecessor.
They are a compact set of buds with a height of 29.4mm, a width of 21.5mm and a depth of 23.5mm, they feature short transparent stems as well as all-white buds and rubber ear tips.
Currently, they are only available in white only which is a shame if, like me, you have the black Nothing Phone (1) and can be OCD about them matching.
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Each bud weighs only 4.5g and sits nicely in the ear without feeling loose or rattling around making them incredibly comfortable for all-day use.
The charging case is a mostly clear plastic square measuring 55.5mm wide, 55.5mm and 22mm deep, making it compact and very easy to pocket.
An advantage of the clear case is you can immediately see if the buds are in the charging case which is quite handy, you to put them in your pocket lose or put them down. The case also feels quite tactile with its cut-out elements.
The all-plastic design of both buds and case feels solid but not exactly robust, I really wouldn’t want to drop these, especially the case at only 51.9g.
They are well protected from water and dust with an IP54 rating for the buds and an IP55 rating for the case making both safe from splashes and sweat offering some peace of mind.
Putting the buds back in the case is a little fiddly at first as unlike many cases with an easy-to-see groove the Ear (2) case is less obvious.
LHDC 5.0 really does enhance your music experience but it's not supported on all streaming services (Nothing) Connecting the Ear (2) to my devices was really easy with both the Nothing Phone (1) and my other android devices thanks to Google Fast Pair being supported. The Bluetooth 5.3 connection was stable and reliable I didn’t have it drop out on me once even when in an office full of potential interference.
They also feature dual connection which I love as it allows me to connect them to my PC and my phone when I’m working, so I won’t miss any important messages or phone calls.
You don’t have to worry about missing your podcasts or songs when you remove the buds from your ears as the Ears (2) include in-ear detection so they'll stop playback when you take them out and pressure when you put them back in.
Controls for the Ear (2) have also changed from touch to pinching the stems as this is less prone to accidental touches. To use them you pinch to play pause, double pinch to skip forward or decline an incoming call, triple pinch to go back pinch and hold to turn off or on ANC.
The Sound quality has received a noticeable upgrade from the previous model, mostly due to an extensive redesign of the internal components including a new custom 11.6mm driver, stronger magnets and a dual chamber design.
I love the clear case as I allows you to see the buds but I do with it was completely see through (James Ide)The sound quality was great, with the music I listened to sounding incredibly clear and detailed bass was just right and didn't drown anything out or sound tinny at all.
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The inclusion of LHDC 5.0 is a game changer, which stands for Low Latency High Definition Audio Codec, which hasn't yet been incorporated in all Android devices yet, and not all streaming services yet support it as it's so new.
This offers better quality audio with more efficient compression, supporting faster transfer speeds of 900kbps and a sample rate of up to 96kHz.
This basically means higher quality audio and streaming sites that support the codec sound better and contain more depth on supported devices like the Nothing Phone (1).
Active Noise Cancellation is a must-have from high-end buds these days and Nothing has worked hard on improving its ANC technology, now reaching up to 40 dB from the previous 30 dB.
There are three initial ANC options including on, off and transparent which activates the mics and allows audio through which is especially handy if you need to be aware of your surroundings.
With the app, you have expanded options when ANC is activated which include levels on cancellation high, med and low as well as adaptive.
The Nothing X app offers incredible customisation options (Nothing)The adaptive mode listens to your environment and modifies the level of ANC based on your environment so this can save you battery when you are in quieter environments but will amp up the cancellation in louder spaces, I found this helpful when I was just out and about but in the office, I just prefer to turn the ANC up all the way.
Call quality was good on my phone, Nothing claims that the 3 microphones in conjunction with their improved algorithm will filter out background noise better than before.
I used the buds on a few calls, some in the busy office space and some in a coffee shop, it did a better job of isolation in the office surprisingly whereas in the coffee shop clicks and the odd voice would sometimes get through.
Battery life on the Ear (2)'s is great offering 36 hours from a full charge without ANC, the buds alone have just over 6 hours of battery each without ANC.
The case charges via USB-C to USB-C but it also supports up to 2.5W Qi-certified wireless charging and is reverse charge compatible with compatible devices like the Phone (1).
A quick 10 Minute charge can give you up to 8 hours of listening time if the ANC is off, which is great if you forget to charge your devices until the last minute.
The Nothing X companion app gives you access to several helpful features and not just the standard firmware updates and equaliser settings. If you are using the Nothing X app you can customise your listening experience using a few very helpful tools.
Reverse wireless charging is a handy little trick (Nothing)Firstly, you can check the seal on your earbuds by running the Ear Tip Fit test as making sure they are fitting correctly will ensure you get the best audio quality and noise cancelling available from the buds.
The next level of personalisation allows you to take a 5-minute test to calibrate the sound to your own unique profile, thus improving the clarity of music, and dialogue from things like films and podcasts it also means you won't need to turn up your volume settings quite so much to be able to hear clearly.
The test is simple and involves you listening for a beeping sound over background noise while its pitch changes and you confirm on the app that you can hear it.
You are provided with a breakdown of your range and now enhance frequencies included. It can also be re-tested which the app encourages you to do periodically.
You can also enhance your ANC experience by taking a personalised ANC test, but you need over 50dB of noise for an accurate test and it may feel a little uncomfortable for a second, now switching between my personalised ANC and regular ANC, I didn't notice a huge shift but it seems like this was effected by the sounds in your environment, most of the time I stuck to high ANC.
For those who like to game on their phones, there is a Low latency mode which ensures your audio inputs remain synced and you are getting you to get accurate feedback, which is vital with online games like COD mobile, PUBG and Fortnite.
The Nothing Ear (2) will be completely replacing the ear (1) which will no longer be available from Nothing but you may be able to find a set in the wild.
The Ear (2) will retail at a respectable £129 which is slightly more than what Ear (1) released however, this is a more sophisticated set of buds offering many more advanced features, so it feels like a great price.
They are available from the Nothing website from today and from tomorrow in-store, while other retailers like Amazon will have it from March 28.
Nothing Ear (2) Verdict: 4/5
The Nothing Ear (2) offers some substantial improvements over both the Ear (1) and Ear (stick). Improved ANC, audio quality, and incredible levels of customisation can allow users to improve what is already an exceptional audio experience.
Nothing has listened to their community and taken onboard many criticisms to make an overall better product that can compete with The likes of Apple Airpods and OnePlus buds Pro 2 and in some cases surpass them.
These improvements make them not just the best Nothing audio product in the admittedly small fleet but also some of the best buds on the market.