A few years ago, British tech startup Nothing entered the AirPods competition with its first wireless earbuds. They weren’t amazing, but it looks like a lot has changed since then.
Reviews of the novel Nothing Ear (a) earphones dropped on Thursday — and these novel $100 earbuds earned high marks from just about everyone. Between the sleek novel color scheme, surprisingly great sound quality, and shockingly low price, critics really like Nothing Ear(a).
Here’s what people are saying about these budget “doughnuts.”
1. Great sound quality
Of course, there is nothing more essential when it comes to headphones than how they sound. This seems like a huge win for the novel Nothing headphones. Parker Hall Wire had Very kind words about the sound quality of Nothing Ear(a):
These third-generation Nothing in-ear headphones have a very open midrange, making it incredibly basic to hear things like layered acoustic guitars and piano, which is especially noticeable compared to their predecessors. The sound is neutral, which means these headphones don’t have a huge, isolated mid-frequency section to accommodate brighter highs and punchier lows; the sound is much more clinical and solid than standard AirPods it’s difficult to compare them.
The comparison with Apple’s entry-level AirPods is noteworthy because they cost $180 by default. At almost half the price, the Nothing headphones seem to provide much better sound.
2. Effective noise reduction
Speaking of AirPods, the basic ones do not have vigorous noise cancellation at all. This is a huge sore point in Apple’s in-ear headphone lineup and has been for years. This is not the case with Nothing Ear(a); not only do they have ANC, but they are apparently quite good. Becky Scarrott z TechRadar mentioned that they drowned out noisy cooking sounds better than last year’s Nothing Ear (2):
The claimed improvement is 45dB compared to 40dB of ambient noise reduction, and if that’s difficult to quantify, let me tell you that when I sat down to do some work at home wearing the ear(s) with ANC on high, I didn’t realize the oven fan the exhaust fan was on (my other half was making breakfast), but as soon as I switched to Ucho (2), it became noticeable.
Many reviews note that it’s not the best in class ANC, but for $100 it’s difficult to want more than something that will block out everyday noises in your home or office.
3. Decent battery life
Battery is undoubtedly another essential factor when it comes to wireless earbuds. Nobody wants to be stuck on a plane without enough energy to marathon a few podcasts.
While you shouldn’t reasonably expect 10 hours of battery life from $100 earbuds, it doesn’t look like the Ear(a) is any slouch in this regard. AndroidCentral Tshaka Armstrong ran a battery test with each bell and whistle on and achieved approximately five hours of playback, which puts it on par with other in-ear headphones in (or above) the price range:
Rated at 5.5 hours of continuous playback with ANC on, I exhausted it within five hours with mixed operate. This includes 13 minutes on the phone, 45 minutes of transparency mode while walking around the neighborhood, and every activated feature that warns you that the battery will drain faster when turned on, including LDAC and multipoint support.
I should mention that my beloved Beats Fit Pros last about that long with ANC on, and these cost twice as much as the Ear(a).
4. One missing feature
Unfortunately, $100 headphones can’t be perfect. It’s simply impossible.
Numerous reviews such as Samuel Gibbs in Guardian, pointed out the lack of Qi wireless charging in the Ear(a) charging case. That said, overall, Gibbs’ take on the redesigned chassis was quite positive:
Nothing significantly improved the Ear(a) case, shrinking it to about the size of the best in the industry, such as Apple AirPods, while sliding nicely into watch pocket from a pair of jeans. It lacks Qi wireless charging and only has USB-C, which is a sacrifice good for the size.
Overall, the Nothing’s Ear(a) headphones seem to be some of the best you can buy for the measly price of $100. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have my finger on the buy button while reading all these reviews.
