Editors' Note: There is a new version of the Nothing Ear earphones available. Check out the Nothing Ear (2).
Nothing is a new startup from Carl Pei, best known for co-founding popular smartphone brand OnePlus, which rose to prominence by offering budget-friendly alternatives to popular high-end flagship models. Instead of phones, Nothing is focusing on earphones—noise-cancelling true wireless earphones, to be precise. And when it comes to this category, it's safe to say that Apple's AirPods Pro are the biggest mainstream hit, but at $249, they're expensive. For $99, Nothing's Ear (1) earphones are among the more affordable alternatives we've tested, and aside from an appealing price, their design is worth noting, with a transparent case and earpieces that allow you to peak under the hood. Luckily the audio performance holds its own, with strong sound quality and above-average active noise cancellation (ANC), making these AirPod competitors easy to recommend.
The '90s Are Calling (In the Best Way Possible)
So many of the true wireless in-ears we review look similar, which is fine, if a little boring. Nothing's approach to this conundrum is to dip back into the '90s, with a transparent look that look that allows you to see nearly everything inside the earpiece’s stem, like the clear telephone from Clarissa Explains It All. The case, too, has a cool transparent design, and the earpieces have a dot-matrix-style logo printed on them in tiny writing. It’s a retro-futuristic look that the Teenage Engineering team—of PO-128 Mega Man Pocket Operator Pocket fame—had a substantial role in designing, along with tuning the 11.6mm drivers inside the earpieces.
The fit is secure, though it might not be ideal for exercise as there are no earfins or hooks for stability while working out. For everyday use, however, they should stay in place without issue. The earphones ship with three pairs of white silicone oval eartips in small, medium, and large sizes.
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The touch-sensitive panels on each earpiece are easy to operate with mirrored controls: a double tap on either earpiece controls playback or handles call management, a triple tap skips forward a track, and sliding up or down on the panel adjusts volume levels. The controls can also be customized to a degree in the app. It’s nice to see a volume control included on the earpiece—this is rarely the case—but the array of controls is slightly limited without backward track navigation or voice assistant activation. You can add in track backward in the app, but only by sacrificing track forward.
An IPX4 water-resistance rating isn't terribly impressive, but it's also par for the course for true wireless in-ears, especially those with active noise cancellation. It means the earpieces can withstand light splashes and should be fine in light rain or during a moderately sweaty workout, but you shouldn’t rinse them off under a faucet or submerge them. And, to be clear, the IPX4 rating extends to the earpieces only—not the case—so be sure the earpieces are fully dry before docking them.
As mentioned, the case is transparent, which is already unique, but even the squarish design is a bit of a departure from the rounded rectangular design we typically see. The included charging cable connects to a USB-C port on the side panel, where there’s also a pairing button. In addition, the case supports wireless charging via Qi pads. Even the charging cable, which is USB-A-to-USB-C, is thoughtfully designed, with a transparent sleeve protecting a white cloth covering.
The Ear (1) app for Android and iOS is simple and intuitive. There’s a section for noise cancellation, where you can switch between Light and Maximum modes, switch to Transparency mode to hear your surroundings, or turn both modes off. There’s also an EQ section, which is really just a multi-band EQ with presets for Balanced, More Bass, More Treble, and Voice-focused modes. It’s better than nothing, but we much prefer the more granular eight-band EQ offered by the $130 Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro. Other than this, the app has a Find My Earbuds function, as well as the ability to disable in-ear detection (which automatically plays music when placed in your ears) and update firmware.
The earphones are compatible with Bluetooth 5.2 and support AAC and SBC codecs, but not AptX. Fast pairing with Android devices allows you to simply hold the earpieces near your phone to pair. For iOS and other devices, you need to hold the pairing button on the case to connect.
Nothing estimates battery life to be roughly 5.7 hours on a full charge, with the case holding about 28 hours on its own. These are decent numbers, but unfortunately, they’re with noise cancellation off. With noise cancellation enabled, things lower considerably, to 4 hours for the earpieces and roughly 20 hours in the case, but your results will vary with your volume levels.
Ear (1) Noise Cancellation and Audio Performance
The Ear (1) earphones deliver solid active noise cancellation for the price. In Light mode, it's only somewhat effective, but that’s enough in some scenarios. In Maximum mode, the ANC knocks out a good amount of deep low-frequency rumble, and it handles high-mids and highs fairly well. In testing, the sound of a loud restaurant recording was dialed back considerably, though the ANC did let through a top layer of high-frequency noise and hiss.
Thankfully, the earphones manage to avoid some common pitfalls we often encounter when testing more affordable ANC. For one, the ANC doesn’t seem to have a notable affect on audio performance. There’s also relatively little hiss added to the signal when ANC is on.
Compared with the $280 Sony WF-1000XM4—the best noise-cancelling true wireless earphones on the market right now—the performance here isn't particularly notable. But it compares relatively favorably with the $250 AirPods Pro and the $130 Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro, both of which are a bit more effective, but only slightly. For $100 and Nothing's first pair of earphones, that’s solid company to be keeping.
See How We Test Noise-Cancelling Headphones
When it comes to audio performance, on tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the earphones deliver solid low-frequency response. At top, unwise listening levels, the lows are powerful and free of distortion. At more moderate volume levels, the bass depth is still robust, and reasonably balanced with the highs in Balanced mode. In More Bass or More Treble modes, you get about what you’d expect, though the ability to adjust these parameters in more subtle ways would be welcome.
Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the Ear (1)’s general sound signature. The drums on this track can sound thunderous, but through the Ear (1)’s drivers, they have a natural, full sound that's neither over-the-top heavy nor thin. Callahan’s vocal’s get an ideal blend of low-mid richness and crisp high-mid definition, as the acoustic strums are delivered with strong clarity and brightness. There’s some sculpting here, but Balanced mode is more or less as advertised. Switch to More Bass mode and the drums sound thunderous and Callahan’s vocals a bit too deep. More Treble mode adds sibilance to a slightly annoying degree. Ultimately, you have these modes if you want to toggle between them, but Balanced sounds best to us.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” the kick drum loop receives enough high-mid presence for its attack to retain its punchiness, while the vinyl crackle and hiss in the background take a slight step forward in the mix. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are delivered with solid depth, and in More Bass mode, things get far more robust. In Balanced mode, the vocals are delivered clearly and cleanly, and again, in More Treble mode there’s some added sibilance.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, have a bright, clear sound with some added bass anchoring, giving the lower-register instrumentation a bit more body. Overall, the audio performance here is strong, especially in Balanced mode.
The mic offers solid intelligibility. Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone, we could understand every word we recorded. Though there’s some typical Bluetooth distortion, the mic’s signal is strong and callers should have no issue understanding you on a strong cellular signal.
A Strong First Showing
You might be drawn in by the design, but Nothing's Ear (1) earphones deliver very good sound quality and active noise cancellation for the price. Ultimately, the noise cancellation here can't compete with the likes of the $280 Sony WF-1000XM4 or Bose QuietComfort Earbuds, and the lack of custom EQ means you’re either stuck in Balanced mode (which sounds pretty darn good) or dealing with extremes in the bass or treble departments. But at $99, these earphones compare quite favorably with the AirPods Pro and other pairs in the $200 range, making them easy to recommend as a budget-friendly alternative. That said, for the best true wireless experience under $150, we still recommend Anker's Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro earphones, which deliver slightly better ANC along with more customizable EQ. But if you prefer the design of the Ear (1), you definitely won't be disappointed.
Nothing's Ear (1) true wireless earphones are one of the most visually interesting pairs on the market, and back up their good looks with solid audio performance and above-average noise cancellation for an affordable price.
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