I was perplexed whenNothingrevealed plans to release a pair of open wireless earbuds.
I didn’t realizeopen earbudswere a thing and assumed the technology only came in the form of very pricey over-ear headphones. After doing some research, I quickly realized that open earbuds are becoming increasingly popular, and major manufacturers likeBose,Shokz,Soudcore, and more already offer similar open wireless earbuds. With that out of the way, after using Nothing’s Ear (open) for the last few days, I’m sold on the concept for several reasons (keep an eye on Pocket-lint for a full review in the coming weeks).
Unlike traditional wireless earbuds that sit inside your ears orreallyinside them like theAirPods Pro, the Ear (open) hover over them thanks to their weighted hooked design. They’re kind of like a modern version of those behind-the-head headphones that were popular in the mid-2000s, but far sleeker and more comfortable. This allows the wearer to hear the world around them while still listening to music or a podcast, which is the opposite of the noise-cancelling-focused approach Apple, Samsung, and Google take with their earbuds. The Ear (open)’s hooked design also ensures they’re always firmly attached to your ears, making them great to wear while doing something active or exercising.
Ear (open)
Nothing’s Ear (open) blend style, design, and comfort into a compact package that looks cool and sounds great.
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The classic transparent Nothing design is back
Few things are cooler than see-through tech
As isexpected from Nothing at this point, the Ear (open) case features a sleek-looking transparent case that feels high-quality. The Ear (open) resemble a gadget from a sci-fi movie thanks to their see-through over-ear design with a weighted end to keep the earbuds properly situated in your ears. When you’re wearing them, it feels like you have nothing in your ears, partly because the buds aren’t actually inside them. As someone who hates wireless earbuds that need to be inserted deep into your ear canals, like the AirPods Pro or Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, I like this aspect of the Ear (open) design. However, this also means that they don’t feature noise cancelling.
In terms of specs, Nothing says the Ear (open) last up to eight hours on a single charge and that their charging case can make it to 30 hours. A 10-minute quick charge can also provide two hours of listening time. The earbuds themselves are very light, coming in at just 0.3oz (8.1g) per earbuds – they’re so light that I often forget I’m wearing them. The Nothing Ear (open) feature 14.2mm custom drivers, and IP54 across the earbuds and case (minimal water resistance).
..the Ear (open) don’t feature much audio leak if you listen to them at a reasonable volume.
Other specs include two built-in mics that feature Nothing’s “Clear Voice Technology” and “Dual Connection,” which makes it easier to switch between devices (in my experience so far, this doesn’t seem to work consistently with the iPhone or Mac). Unfortunately, I find my Apple devices rarely automatically connect to the Ear (open), and sometimes they don’t disconnect from my iPhone after I put the earbuds in their case. The wireless earbuds also feature controls like double pinching to skip tracks, pinching and holding to turn the volume down (which feels weird), and triple pinching to skip back.
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The Ear (open) offer impressive audio quality given their open design
Who knew open earbuds could sound this great?
On the audio quality side, the Ear (open) don’t feature much audio leak if you listen to them at a reasonable volume.
This is in contrast to traditional open-back headphones that can sometimes sound like computer speakers strapped to your head to those around you. That’s not to say that there isn’t any audio leakage because there definitely is. My partner says that if I’m walking around the house listening to a podcast, she can hear the audio if she is close to where I am. This means I likely wouldn’t want to use the Ear (open) on public transit or while walking around in a crowded area.
Nothing’s Ear (open) cost $149 and release on October 1st.
While I’ve only used the Ear (open) for a few days, I’d describe the quality as comparable toApple’s AirPods 4, despite the earbuds not actually sitting inside my ears – in short, I’m impressed. Nothing says this is thanks to the Ear (open)’s ultra-light drivers and their stepped design, which allows the speaker to be close to your ear without compromising comfort.
Nothing’s Ear (open) cost $149 and release on Oct. 1. Pocket-lint will have a full review of Nothing’s Ear (open) in the coming weeks).
This device was provided to Pocket-lint by Nothing.
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