Nothing began its journey in 2021 with the Ear (1), and the sequel exhibits that the corporate isn’t standing nonetheless.
Whereas the wi-fi earbuds look similar to their predecessors, there are important upgrades in usability, portability and, in fact, sound high quality. They’re a bit pricier than the unique’s launch worth, however they nonetheless supply incredible worth in comparison with the 2023 earbud panorama.
Should you’re a fan of product design, issues that seem like they belong in Ridley Scott’s Alien universe or earbuds that simply supply good worth, preserve studying.
Nice expectations
The contents of the Ear (2) field.
Nothing has by no means shied away from a enjoyable unboxing expertise, and the Ear (2) follows the development. The buds arrive in a small field with an in depth macro shot of them wrapped across the high. Pull a bit tab to open the field, and also you’re introduced with the earbuds. Digging a bit deeper reveals two different earbud tip sizes and a brief USB-C cable for charging.
The Ear (2) charging case is a little more compact than the Ear (1), but it surely’s not that noticeable in your pocket. The place it units itself aside is within the particulars — or in some situations, the dearth of them.
The draw back of clear circumstances is that it’s essential clear them actually because earwax that rubs off your buds may be very noticeable. Ear (2) case pictured on the left.
Aspect-by-side, the brand new case appears to be product of extra sturdy plastic that appears extra premium than final yr’s. You possibly can nonetheless inform it’s plastic, however the case sparkles extra within the solar, and from the facet profile, it virtually appears just like the buds are submerged in water. It’s not as beautiful as glass or crystal, but it surely feels about as shut as we will get whereas conserving the load and moldability of plastic.
The premium feeling continues once you decide up the case, because the lid is extra comfortable than the flimsy high half of the Ear (1) case. On the older mannequin, you possibly can push the lid facet to facet for the reason that tolerances on the hinge weren’t excellent. That’s now not an issue because the lid locks in a small grove giving the case a extra refined really feel.
The white centre channel additionally acts as a foot on the underside to lift the case’s clear components up a millimetre. This sounds inconsequential, however mixed with the denser plastic, it permits gentle to go by means of the case in additional fascinating methods, making a slight glow across the unit. It’s a small change, but it surely provides to the subtle look. The refined micro waffle texture has been faraway from the white a part of the case, which was unhappy to see at first, however after spending a while with the brand new buds, the cleaner look of the matte white helps the opposite particulars shine.
One such element is the brand new magnets holding it shut. At first look, it appears extra full than the only magnet on the Ear (1). However once you look at the case from the highest down, it reveals that this magnet rework matches the dimensions of the hinge. Providing welcome symmetry between the back and front of the case. It’s not an ideal match, but it surely tells the story of Nothing’s capacity to obsess over the smallest particulars that make its merchandise really feel extra premium than their worth tags.
Nonetheless the best buds round
The Ear (2) nonetheless retain the semi-transparent design from the opposite Nothing buds, however there are tiny modifications upon nearer inspection.
My favorite change is that the air pass-through gap on the face of the bud has been changed with a small metallic vent, giving the earbud a higher-end look. Beforehand this was a small gap drilled into the plastic above the vent. Now it sits flush with the plastic shell eradicating the necessity for the opening in any respect. It’s a small design change, however the gap on the Ear (1) felt like Nothing added the vent to look cool. Now it appears like a practical factor, a extra spectacular achievement.
From left to proper: Ear (stick), Ear (2), Ear (1).
There nonetheless seems to be a faux vent on the underside of the stem. It’s disappointing, particularly after iFixit tore down the Ear (1) and revealed it could most likely look cooler if Nothing confirmed off the small circuit board contained in the buds.
When trying on the high within the buds’ stem, there are fewer transistors, however you actually must look intently to identify this transformation. Total, these are micro modifications that don’t considerably change how they really feel or match. This can be a good factor for me since I discovered the unique Ear (1) fairly snug.
Massive sound enhancements
Whereas the primary era Ear (1) was tremendous, the successor gives a notable enchancment. The noise-cancelling (ANC) is way stronger, the efficiency gives extra steadiness, much less hum and a wider, extra immersive soundstage. Whereas I didn’t thoughts utilizing the Ear (1), I really get pleasure from listening to music with the Ear (2).
Nothing remains to be utilizing an 11.6mm speaker driver, however the tuning is significantly better, with help for Hello-Res audio frequencies as much as 24 bit/192 kHz. However I feel most individuals can be impressed with how they sound and the way a lot background noise they block out. Evidently one thing occurred across the launch of the Google Pixel Buds Execs in 2022, and now most high-end buds, starting from OnePlus to Apple, all appear to supply phenomenal energetic noise-cancellation. The brand new Nothing Ear (2) are not any exception and undercuts the favored competitors on worth.
Squeeze the facet of the Ear (2) to activate its controls.
The transparency mode could possibly be higher, however since I take advantage of it so not often, it’s not one thing that affected me. Alongside that, customers get handled to new sounds when toggling ANC and switching to transparency. Turning ANC on/off makes use of a refined drum beat that’s tuned barely in a different way for every perform. Apparently, once you provoke Transparency mode, the sound is a human letting out a fast breath. It is smart since turning on Transparency looks like aid as you hear the world once more, but it surely’s prone to be divisive amongst Nothing followers.
The lag has been decreased on the Ear (2), so watching movies is now a lot much less irritating, however there may be nonetheless a delay after I join them to my MacBook. On cell, there appears to be much less noticeable lag. This can be a drawback most wi-fi earbuds undergo from, however I hope Nothing works to repair it sooner or later. There’s a low-lag mode within the app, but it surely’s labelled for gaming, and I don’t suppose there’s a strategy to implement it on a desktop. Nevertheless, I’m nonetheless comfortable that I can at the very least watch YouTube with out lag on my strategy to work.
The mic hasn’t modified a lot, however I’ve solely examined it on indoor calls, and to this point, it’s been satisfactory. Nevertheless, no wi-fi earbuds actually have nice mics, so I’d say that the Ear (2) is usable however not for any skilled audio recording.
And most significantly, Nothing has dropped its barely-functioning contact controls in favour of simple squeeze controls just like the OnePlus Buds Professional and AirPods Professional (2nd-Gen). The corporate additionally used this superior technique on its Ear Sticks.
Refinement by means of software program
In comparison with the app that launched with the unique Nothing buds in 2021, the up to date Nothing X app (iOS/Android) is stuffed with options and tweaks to assist customers get probably the most out of their earbuds.
Past the low-latency toggle I beforehand talked about, there are techniques to personalize the sound ranges and ANC to your listening to. There’s additionally a match take a look at, a twin connection toggle, and a button to make your earbuds chirp if you happen to’ve misplaced them. This isn’t as efficient because the Discover My community that’s constructed into trendy AirPods, however that’s one of many belongings you lose since these buds are roughly $130 lower than the competing AirPods Professional.
If the music isn’t excellent, you may tune it with a normal in-app equalizer to personalize it to your style. You may also tweak the playback controls if you happen to’d slightly have quantity controls on the buds or need to tweak which bud does what.
I’m positive audiophiles can be irritated with how fundamental the equalizer is, however for most individuals, the app is straightforward to make use of and gives a number of controls and tweaks to assist make your buds swimsuit you. Whereas I attempted the automated sound profile take a look at, I ended up turning it off and bumping the bass down a notch which felt balanced to me.
Total, there’s lots of performance within the app, and revel in how a lot personalization you may add to the earbuds by means of just a few tweaks within the app. It’s not a lot, but it surely offers me a pleasant sense of possession over these buds in comparison with my Apple earbuds. With AirPods, you get what you get, and there’s a phenomenal simplicity there, however the Nothing Ear (2) lets you make them your earbuds, and mixed with the care that went into the look, they really feel like a product you may join with.
