Nothing recently revealed its new wireless headphones called "Nothing Ear". We were able to try them for several days to give you our opinion.
Return to 2021. The young company Nothing has been founded for only a few months and is already generating interest. curiosity of the community tech by raising $7 million in investment for its future projects. The idea of the firm: make tech products fun and enjoyable. new and emancipate themselves from leading brands that no longer inspire dreams.
It is with this idea in mind that Nothing unveils its first product in July 2021: the Nothing Ear (1). Wireless headphones with an original design and displayed at the very attractive price of 99 euros in France. A successful bet given the various tests and feedback from the specialized press.
The year is 2024, the sailing company is now the Nothing Ear. No more numbers to differentiate them from other models of the brand (we will therefore call them "Ear 2024" to differentiate them from Ear (1)). The Nothing Ear therefore stands out as a little return to the roots for the firm.
Launched at a price of 149 euros in France, the Nothing Ear therefore rubs against each other. competitors like Samsung's Galaxy Buds or the Jabra Elite. We were able to try them before their official release and were happy to try them out. much more surprised than disappointed.
Editor's note: This review was completed by fully realized &agrav; from a copy of the product provided by the manufacturer. Audio testing was performed well. made on an iPhone 15 Pro Max, an Honor Magic6 Pro and a Nothing Phone (2).
A design that is refined in transparency
Fans of the Nothing brand won't find much à get your teeth into the design of the Nothing Ear 2024. The firm's new headphones fully incorporate the design initiated by the company. by the Ear (1) and the Ear (2) with a transparent case that stands out from the competition. The latter has a matte coating on one side. and a transparent opening with a magnetic system. to keep the case closed. Once the case is opened, we logically find the earphones housed on a magnetic system. which holds them well in place with a new matte coating of the most beautiful effect. The words "Nothing" replaced the old éwriting "Ear (case)" and an indicator light remains visible to keep an eye on the charge of the case and the headphones.
This indicator lights up white if the battery life of the box is greater than that. 30% and in red if it is lower. A rather imprecise piece of data, but at least we don't get bogged down with 40 color codes. The Nothing Ear case is however… quite thick which could be restrictive at times. put in a pocket, even if the product remains very light in the hand.
The Nothing Ear case is original and practical. © Julian Madiot
The Nothing Ear 2024 headphones benefit from a small facelift compared to the previous ones. their predecessors released in 2023. The tip of the earphones as well as the silicone tips now benefit from a revamped design. matte material that is more pleasant to the touch and looks a little less 'cheap'. than the previous plastic coverings of the Ear (2).
Nothing has therefore not been retouched; &agrav; the shape of its flagship headphones, to our great pleasure. The Nothing Ear 2024 fits very well in the ear and does not need to be fully pushed in to hold in place, which Avoids damaging the ear canal. It is also possible to run or do indoor sports without the earphones falling out of the ear or the listening experience being impaired. ;rée. A very good point for headphones which also have three sizes of tips (S, L and M) to fit & ;agrave; all ears.
Classic but frustrating controls!
The 2024 Nothing Ears have small clickable borders on which different commands can be associated to control your use. By default, the Nothing Ear commands are:
Pinch once: play/pause.
Pinch twice: pass à the following music.
Pinch three times: return à the previous music.
Hold: juggle between noise reduction and transparency mode.
Pinch twice and hold: no pre-established action.
© Julian Madiot
Using the Nothing smartphone (Google Assistant, Siri…) by pinching the earphones once, to lower the sound by pressing and holding on the edge of the earphones, etc, etc… If this personalization turns out to be pleasant, it still remains frustrating that Nothing has not integrated the customization. of functionality allowing you to raise or lower the volume of your music by sliding your finger along the stem of the headphones (as is particularly the case on Apple AirPods Pro)!
Powerful sound, especially bass
The first thing that catches your eye (or rather where you hear it) the first time you wear the Nothing Ear 2024 is bass power. We have tested é the new headphones from Nothing with multiple devices (Nothing Phone (2), Honor Magic6 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max) as well as on a wide variety of headphones. music of different genres. Pop, electro, rock, metal, rap… The majority sounds that we tested clearly denote deep and powerful bass which is gripping on certain music with bass marked as "Bad Guy" by Billie Eilish or "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes.
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These fairly marked basses, however, have the unfortunate tendency to distort. To muffle the lyrics of certain songs a little, it is sometimes recommended to change the lyrics. You can use the Nothing application's equalizer to fix this, but we'll talk about that a little later in this test.
© Julian Madiot
Concerning the mids and highs, the latter are rather well managed by the Nothing Ear of 2024. It is however possible to go through the The app's EQ to make them stand out more on certain tracks. Overall, there's very little to choose from. repeat. The Nothing Ear transcribe quite well the different instruments which litter the different pieces tested. Guitars, pianos and violins are perfectly audible and recognizable which is an excellent point for Nothing headphones.
The "wow" This is particularly noticeable the first time we use the headphones, as the quality and quality of the earphones are excellent. is there. Without necessarily having to go through the headphones' companion application, the Nothing Ear 2024 impresses upon first listening.
Solid noise reduction for disappointing transparency mode
The 2024 Nothing Ears are in-ear headphones, which often come with noise reduction technology to isolate themselves from their surroundings as well as a transparency mode for, & Conversely, hear more ambient conversations.
The noise reduction of the Nothing Ear 2024 is very good. The earphones achieve clearly identify ambient noises and à isolate the latter to fully concentrate on your music, your video or your conversations. The latter are also very clear even now ;even when you are in a particularly noisy environment such as a road intersection or an amusement park.
Transparency mode, à the opposite, turns out to be quite disappointing. Like the Ear (2) released last year, the Nothing Ear of 2024 fails to achieve its goals. sufficiently isolate conversations from other ambient noise and simply filter everything out by attenuating your entire environment to allow you to hear clearly. both your music as well as the discussions around you. Unfortunately, when trying to combine the two, the Nothing Ear crashes and you will quickly remove the headphones from your ears to hear your interlocutors clearly. Used outdoors, the results are similar and the Nothing Ear will make you hear your music as well as the truck honking in the distance.
A companion application as effective as ever
More and more manufacturers are accompanying their headphones with a companion application allowing them to personalize their audio experience. Nothing escapes rule with the "Nothing X" available on both Android smartphones and iPhones.
The latter is also very intuitive and reflects well the identity of the very "geek" of the brand. The headphones are automatically detected when the sync button is held and the application is launched.
The Nothing settings, noise control and bass boost.
The equalizer has four pre-installed profiles that emphasize a smooth experience. balanced, more bass, treble or voice. On a majority of music, we will tend à switch to the manual equalizer which will then reduce the intensity a little. bass to enjoy a more “true” sound. Fans of really powerful bass, however, will be able to accentuate the latter, in particular by using the “bass reinforcement” option.
Using the Nothing X application on a daily basis is relatively pleasant and intuitive. The navigation is clear and the menus are well thought out to find what you need. It's also easy to juggle between our different brand headphones if you still have an older model.
Decent autonomy for efficient charging
The autonomy of the previous Nothing Ear (2) had left us a little behind last year ; since the earphones could be used for 5 to 10 minutes. 6 hours straight (with active noise reduction). For its new Ear wireless headphones, Nothing announces improved autonomy that can increase up to 100%. 8.5 hours without noise reduction.
A piece of data that we were able to verify on the copy that we received at the same time. writing. The Nothing Ear headphones lasted a little less than 8 hours without noise reduction and around 6 hours with it. A fairly honorable score even if we still find better among certain competitors and Nothing does not seem to improve too much on this point. The box supplied with the headphones allows, as for & him to benefit from 4 & 5 full charges of the earphones, which allows you to enjoy them for a total of approximately 40 hours before needing to recharge the case.
Side recharging precisely, the Nothing Ear can be charged for around ten hours of use in just under 10 minutes. Enough to quickly refuel.  ;Allow a little less than an hour to fully recharge the Nothing Ear. The case is also compatible with wireless charging of another device such as the Nothing Phone (2).
The Nothing Ear case can be recharged wirelessly. © Julian Madiot
Our conclusion to the Nothing Ear 2024 test
By keeping the comfort of these previous headphones while improving the quality of the headphones. audio, Nothing hits hard with its new Nothing Ear. The latter surprise with their powerful sound which rings true straight out of the box despite the noise. some bass a little too pronounced. Fortunately, the Nothing X application allows you to readjust everything if you want to have a cleaner and more balanced sound. Lovers of big bass will stay, as for à them, to the angels. The noise reduction, if not the most effective on the market, still turns out to be very correct to enjoy your music without being disturbed by ambient noise.
On the side disappointments, we regret that autonomy has not moved much since the last Ear (2), but especially the transparency mode which turns out to be quite simply useless as it stands and will force you to change the mode. remove the headphones to hear those around you clearly.
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