Nothing Ear (1) （Only for EU）

Ok so, I’ve had my Ear (1)s for a year at this point, bought them before receiving the Ear (stick) from HeyUp as a tryout so it was great to compare the two. At the end I decided the (1)s would be my daily driver for a very important reason: the (stick) wouldn’t fit my ears, but also because I really use a lot the active noise canceling (ANC) feature of the first gen Ear (1) nothing earbuds.

So, you know everything about these earbuds at this point: great design, good sound (in my opinion), nice battery life and good noice cancelation. When I first talked about the Ear (stick) on here, I praised the build quality of these earbuds, both the (1)s and the (stick)s. But there’s a catch! More on this later.

So. After a year, I still like these earbuds, they sound nicely, they’re comfy and their battery still lasts. I think the case held up pretty well, even though a bit scratched up (normal because it’s transparent). The design and aesthetic is still the strong point of this product, it’s amazing and every now and then people ask me about my earbuds, so it could also be an icebreaker.

There’s just one problem: one earbud opened up. Here’s a photo:

After just one year, it’s pretty strange, and I’m a bit disappointed considering that I’ve been reading many reports of this happening, probably because of the high temperatures of summer (I live in Sicily and sometimes we reach even 40 degrees celsius). On top of that, the transparent part just opened, there’s no cracks, or signs of…

The Nothing Ear (1) buds came out a little more than a year ago to a buzz of hype and anticipation. The buds were the first product released by the Nothing company, with Carl Pei (of OnePlus fame) at the helm. With all the hype, it was hard to tell what to expect from the phone. Now that I’ve gotten a chance to test them out myself, I can see what people were so excited about.

Appearance

I’ll start first with easily the most appealing aspect of the Nothing Ear (1). When you unbox the buds, the first thing that strikes you is that you just unboxed a set of earbuds that you can see through! Well, kind of. Nothing partnered with a Swedish company called Teenage Engineering to design the most interesting earbuds I’ve ever seen. The case itself is completely clear except for the middle section that holds the electronics and battery. The buds themselves are transparent as well, allowing you to see into the guts of the earbuds in the stem. Whenever I take the buds out to use them, I always take a second to admire the amazing design. The case and buds have a more square-ish design than most other wireless earbuds, and have a somewhat retro feel to them. I absolutely love it, and I can’t get enough.

Setup and app

The setup for these earbuds was much smoother than other earbuds I’ve tried before, and rivals the seamless pairing between Airpods and iPhones. Once I had the app downloaded, my phone recognized the Ear (1)'s ass soon as I opened the case. From there, connection was…

Voici mon avis sur les fameux Nothing Ears (1). Est ce une belle découverte ? Est ce qu’ils vont me réconcilier avec les écouteurs intras ? Ou au contraire je ne vais plus jamais les utiliser ? Réponse à la fin 😜

Oui c’est un peu long mais bonne lecture 👍

Unboxing (⅘) :

La première fois que j’ai vu la boîte, je me suis dit “Ça en jette, j’ai hâte de les ouvrir” et c’est vrai que c’est propre, il n’y a pas trop d’informations dessus, juste le nécessaire. Pour l’ouvrir, on attrape la petite languette à droite et on tire dessus pour enlever le film plastique. Ensuite nous tirons sur la petite languette avec le point rouge pour ouvrir la boîte. Petit bémol, une fois cette bande retirée, la boîte noire ne sert plus à rien, elle est déchirée et personne ne garde une boîte déchirée (a moins que … 🤔). Après on tombe sur une boîte toute grise sans inscription et là, on va enfin pouvoir découvrir ses fameux écouteurs.

À l’intérieur, nous retrouvons bien évidemment les écouteurs avec leur boîtier transparent, sur leurs gauche, les différents embouts et à leurs droite, le câble de recharge USB Type-C. Et rien d’autre, juste ce qu’il faut 👍.

Point à améliorer : il faudrait trouver un autre système que celui de déchiré la boîte 😉

Design (5/5) :

Le design des Ears (1) sort très clairement du lot. Perso je n’ai jamais vu d’écouteurs transparents, du moins, pas avant ceux-ci. Et franchement j’adore 😍 on les reconnait de suite et encore plus avec leur boîtier. Toutes les personnes…

Appearance: Sleek transparent design with a small pocketable case. I personally like a transparent design, so I definitely appreciate the appearance.

Setup and connection: Setup to your phone and the app takes seconds. As soon as you take the buds out the case and open your bluetooth on your phone, they are already waiting to be connected. The same goes for the app, you connect in seconds and you’re ready to use your buds through the app.

Performance: The overall performance is 50/50 for me. The ANC is not as good as the AirPods Pro but the sound quality is better than AirPods.

Rating: 4 ½

Nothing Ear is certainly something to experience!

First impression,

The packaging is definitely well thought out. I think it’s cool that Nothing Ear thought outside the box (pun intended) and created packaging that is unique and easy to open. As others have stated the silver box is plain but I personally like that it isn’t emblazoned with the name. It IS Nothing Ear and to have nothing on the box is kind of cool.

Inside the silver box is the clear smoked protective case housing the Nothing earbuds. Also included in the box are two extra pairs of soft foam ear pieces and a USB C charging cable.

Initial impression i

that the Nothing Ear buds are attractive and very minimal in size and weight. I like how they fit in my ears. The optional foam rings will likely adapt to fit most anyone.

While charging the Nothing earbuds I decided to unplug the included USB C cable and I tried my charging pad. Success! The Nothing earbuds happily charged away on the charge pad.

While charging it’s a great time to download the Nothing Ear app. It is very straightforward and easy to use. Pairing with my phone was quick and seamless.

Oh boy it’s time to give them a test run.

Sound quality is important when it comes to earbuds but fit and comfort are equally important. The Nothing earbuds fit nicely and seal quite well. They also sound great! I like how they will pause the input when removed from the ear and restart when put back in.

I have Airpod Pros to compare with these little gems. The…