Nothing Ear (2024) review: They’re flawed, but Nothing is really starting to mean something

Nothing might be slightly self-conscious in its commitment to exposing the innards of products and its avowed desire to disrupt the tech industry but it’s hard to argue with the effectiveness and value-for-money of most of its products to date.

The London-based brand has found success with affordable smartphones such as the Nothing Phone (2) and Nothing Phone (2a) and has a wireless earbuds range that includes the Nothing Ear (2), which we gave five stars and a Best Buy badge last year.

The Nothing Ear are, rather counterintuitively, the follow-up to those earbuds and have plenty going for them. Good battery life, extensive active noise cancellation options, access to a very agreeable control app, a high comfort quotient and up-to-the-minute wireless connectivity are complemented by informative and confidently presented sound.

They have a dark side, however. Switch on the active noise cancellation circuitry and the lithe Dr Jekyll of the daytime sound becomes an altogether more threatening nighttime Mr Hyde. That limits their appeal quite considerably, which is a shame given how impressive their specification is for the money.

Nothing Ear (2024) review: What do you get for the money?

The new Nothing Ear will set you back £129, which is the same price as the Ear (2) cost at launch. Like their predecessors, the Nothing Ear are wireless in-ear headphones of the stem style originated by Apple and shamelessly appropriated by pretty much everyone else since.

In true Nothing fashion, they feature as much clear plastic in the design of the earbuds and their charging case as possible – and in true Nothing fashion, they have as literal and straightforward a model name as it’s possible to imagine.

Your money also buys you quite impressive specifications when you keep the asking price uppermost in your mind. The Ear use Bluetooth 5.3 for wireless connectivity, and are compatible with the SBC, AAC LHDC and LDAC codecs – so if your source player is up to it, a lossy version of hi-res audio is available.

Once the audio information is on board, it’s served up by a couple of 11mm ceramic-diaphragm full-range dynamic drivers that are positioned in a dual-chamber enclosure which has been carefully vented to assist with airflow.

You get a few very nicely implemented control options, too. Each stem features a pinch control, from where it’s possible to activate pretty much every control you can think of.

There’s also the Nothing X control app, which can be used to rearrange the pinches that are required to access specific functions.

The app has plenty more going on, too. It’s got a couple of EQ adjusters (one a straightforward graphic with four presets, the other a more in-depth eight-band equaliser with the option of saving some bespoke settings) and a hearing test to help the Ear perform to your particular hearing profile, for example. It’s where you can investigate your active noise cancellation options, check for firmware updates, switch the gamer-friendly Low Lag mode on or off, and plenty more.

The active noise cancellation itself is a three-stage system and is either on, off or in Transparency mode. When it’s on you’ve got the choice between High, Mid, Low and Adaptive settings, the last of which uses the three mics in each earbud (along with an AI noise-reduction algorithm) to assess your surroundings in real-time and adjust ANC accordingly. These mics also serve to facilitate voice-assistant interaction and, in conjunction with Clear Voice Technology, the making and receiving of calls.

The earbuds are IP54-rated against dust and moisture, and the charging case has a rating of IP55. There’s a USB-C slot on the case to facilitate charging, which can also be done using any Qi-certified charging pad.

Battery life is anywhere between 24 and 40 hours, depending on usage. The earbuds will last for around eight hours with ANC switched off, with the case holding four full charges. Turn ANC on and that figure falls to around five hours.

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Nothing Ear (2024) review: What did we like about them?

One of the most immediately enjoyable things about the Nothing Ear is how compact, light and comfortable the whole package is. The charging case is an eminently pocketable 56 x 22 x 56mm (WDH) and tips the scales at just 52g. The earbuds that travel in it, meanwhile, measure 22 x 24 x 29mm and weigh 4.6g apiece.

Nothing supplies a choice of three different sizes of silicone eartips and I found it extremely easy to get the earbuds comfortably positioned. They stayed that way through even the longest listening sessions but it’s important to take the time to get the fit just so initially, as the Ear are even more fit-dependent than your average true wireless earbuds.

Once they’re properly positioned, though, they’re easy to control thanks to some very well-implemented options. The control app is logical and stable, and the physical pinch controls don’t interfere with the way the earbuds fit. Both control interfaces are reliable – and if you decide to use your source player’s native voice assistant, those interactions are quick and effective too.

Similarly rapid is the sound the Nothing Ear make. With ANC switched off, and all options regarding EQ left well alone, the Nothing are pacy in the manner of a greyhound – and are about as lithe, too. Low-frequency information is far from the most substantial I’ve ever heard, but it’s straight-edged and swift – so rhythms and tempos all seem like they’re on the front foot, and music that relies on rhythmic expression (Aphex Twin’s Windowlicker, for instance) fairly motors along.

Integration of the frequency range is good, detail levels are high, and the Ear are alert to both the low-key harmonic variations in a solo instrument and the big changes in volume and intensity that are apparent in Talk Talk’s Spirit of Eden. They create a large soundstage and describe it confidently – and they give more than enough elbow room to each element of a recording, which means every aspect is properly represented. And this is not at the expense of the overall unity of presentation, either – the Ear allow everything to hang together convincingly.

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Nothing Ear (2024) review: What could be improved?

If all of the above sounds like just the ticket, you need to be aware that the audio attitude of the Ear changes quite markedly when you switch the active noise cancellation on.

Those skinny, manoeuvrable low frequencies suddenly gain a lot of substance, weight and confidence – and while this doesn’t skew the sound entirely, it most certainly impacts frequency integration, rhythmic expression and the overall balance of the sound. It makes the soundstage seem a little more crowded and confined, and it cramps dynamic expression a little too.

This unsolicited ramping up of low-frequency response in reaction to ANC being switched on makes it a little more difficult to assess the effectiveness of the noise cancelling here than it otherwise would be. The intrusion of external sound is reduced by switching ANC on, but how much of it is simply being masked by this new-found bass-end confidence is difficult to say. 

Nothing Ear (2024) review: Should you buy them?

You could do a lot worse than the Nothing Ear. They are properly specified, mildly interesting in design, have good battery life and are comfortable to wear, and their control options are also good. If you like a swift, energetic and upfront sound too, then you’re laughing.

Or at least you are if you’re not interested in the active noise cancellation aspect of the specification. Switch on ANC and it’s quite a lot like listening to a different pair of earbuds entirely – and that won’t suit every listener.