NOTHING EAR (1): TRENDSETTING TWS

Here comes Nothing

Their first product, the ear (1), brings extreme minimalism.

This piece of audio product is from a new brand called Nothing. Nothing wants to set things right. They say, they want to bring the excitement and optimism back to the Tech Industry.

I believe they truly are bringing the excitement back as I have never been excited before for any sort of tech products, especially in the audio product!

Let’s talk about the ear (1)!

These are a pair of 99$ / 6,999 INR truly wireless earphone.

Highlights

🔵 Pros

• Design

• Wireless Charging

• Attention to Detail 🔍

• Comfort

• Good Mic Quality

• Active Noise Cancellation (upto 40dB)

• Nothing Support 🫂

🔴 Cons

• Battery (of ANC🔋)

• Bad Highs Volume Sound

• Presets EQ only

• Slightly Buggy Software

Alright, let’s dive in!

🔵 DESIGN

The first thing that I notice is the buds having a Stellar Design. It has a clear aesthetic. I love what they've done with this unique design. They look dope!

The unboxing experience was very distinct.

When I see people wearing them in my college or in the street, I can clearly recognize them. These buds truly standout.

Also, the buds are very photogenic, especially the ear (1) White ⚪

⭐ - 9/10

🔵 FIT

They fit perfectly well in my ears. Each bud weighs 4.7g. They are so lightweight that they are very comfortable even for long periods of time.

Sometimes I forget them having in my ears and I go search for the buds only to find out that they were in my ears the whole time.

Sprinting with them wasn't an issue.

⭐ - 9/10

🔵 CHARGING + Qi

Case has a USB-C port. Charging speed is good. You don't have to wait for a long time to pair them back to enjoy playing music on them.

The case also support wireless charging.

⭐ - 8/10

🔴 BATTERY 🔋

Full charge: Up to 34 hrs in the case (5.6h, ANC Off); 24 hrs (4h, ANC On).

I was hoping it would be a bit longer, atleast for the ANC battery life.

For me (when ANC turned On), I set the volume about 70% - 80%, so, I get around 3h 30min battery. Sometimes about 3h 10min.

As I use them for long hours (ANC enabled only) and watch some series/movies at times, the 3h 20 min to 3h battery life isn't enough for me. About 5h of ANC battery life is ideal for me. I'd be very much happy with that number.

This TWS is not built for longevity.

⭐ - 6/10 (for ANC battery life)

🔵 ANC + TRANSPARENCY

The Active Noise Cancellation on these buds are good. Obviously not the best considering other expensive products in the market. I would say, they almost on par with OnePlus Buds Pro's Active Noise Cancellation.

Transparency mode is quite good as well. I can have a conversation with someone without the need to remove my buds. Not the best clear conversation, but a much perceptible conversation.

⭐ - 7/10

🔵 SOUND 🎶

Tuned by the audiophiles at Teenage Engineering.

(as you can see, even Budai is enjoying Nothing)

Has a 11.6 mm Dynamic Driver. They sound pretty good considering the price. Having ANC at this price is pretty clutch.

For me, the buds sound much better with ANC turned On, hence my addiction to ANC On only in almost all scenarios.

Bass is big, not super punchy.

Clear vocals.

They got very good Treble performance. I always use them with "More Treble" preset equalizer over other two preset equalizer.

They don't sound awesome when they are loud. I'd go with the volume as high about 75% - 80% only. Don't go much louder, as they get distorted.

Mic Quality has also been much better with the past firmware updates. I don't need to shout for the receiver to hear my voice properly.

⭐ - 7.5/10

🔵 NOTHING SUPPORT 🫂

This is one of my favourite and most crucial part from Nothing.

The support has been super responsive.

I have already made some acquaintances with few Customer Support Rep. If I got any queries or need some help, they always got my back.

Shout out to Samuel Gier and Venicevee

To receive the best support, I'd say reach out to them in Nothing's Discord Server, as sometimes their e-mail support and Twitter support page can be slow and non-responsive.

Having a crappy support team is a major downside for me. It prevents me from buying any products from them. Which obviously isn't the case with Nothing.

⭐ - 9/10

🗣️ EXTRA TALK

- Software experience was bad up until recent months. Before, I had a very shitty buggy software in my unit. From past few months, almost all bugs have been squashed out, including the major annoying bugs. As of now, only two small bugs still remain, and they aren't annoying to me, those are; 1) Buds reconnects, sometimes. 2) 1 second audio skip, sometimes... And you'll notice these two bugs during long hour usage only.

- have done some drop tests, some unintentionally, and the buds survived pretty good.

- there's an ear (1) app available for both Android and iOS devices. It's a good app with some presets EQ, and gets promising firmware updates.

- Auto pause feature

- with Find my Earbuds feature, they blast out a high pitched sound. It's loud !

- Low latency mode, it's good for sound and video synchronization, but definitely not good for gaming. You can notice minute audio lag.

- with recent firmware update, It can now toggle Voice Assistant by tripple tapping the bud.

- IPX4, splash resistance.

- volume swipes (up/down), this is a good feature. It takes some time to get used to it.

- comes with AAC and SBC codec.

- the case gets a lot of minor scratches. One can not keep it pristine and clean.

VERDICT

I had these cool earbuds for 1 year.

From my point of view, what makes the ear (1) differentiate from others, is the aesthetics. It's different and it's unique with a clear semi transparent buds.